[Clayart] Cleaning advancer shelves

[William Schran]

Yep, I¹ll fess up to learning about Advancer shelves through trial and
error.
Came in one morning to find the shelves stacked against the wall dripping
with condensation.
Called Smith-Sharpe, talked with Donna (those who have met her in the past
know all about that experience), she said wipe them off and fire away.
I did as instructed, no problem!
Best dry spot to store these shelves is inside the kiln!

Bill

Bill Schran
www.creativecreekartisans.com
wschran at cox.net




On 11/8/16, 8:00 AM, "Clayart on behalf of Dick White"
<clayart-bounces at lists.clayartworld.com on behalf of tgrcat at verizon.net>
wrote:

>Jeff,
>
>We have a full set of advancers for our gas kiln at the community
>college, and they are very easy to take care of. Even the worst student
>drips come off quickly. We use an old 6" green (silicon carbide)
>grinding wheel held flat on the shelf and rubbed vigorously in a
>circular pattern.
>
>A couple of other tricks we have learned: After a few firings you will
>find that the kiln posts will begin sticking to the underside of the
>shelf and lift up with it as you take the shelf out, and then just as
>you are half out of the kiln one will drop off and break a few pots. You
>should not kiln wash the shelves, but we do wipe the ends of the posts
>with kiln wash to prevent them sticking.
>
>Also, our outdoor kiln shed is covered, closed and well ventilated, but
>unheated. There are times in the winter when the weather will change
>from cold to warmer and humid. When those humid breezes blow through the
>shed, moisture will condense onto the still-cold stack of shelves
>leaning against the wall. Moisture is not a good thing with advancers,
>so keep them covered with a plastic sheet or store them inside the
>closed kiln.
>
>And finally, I take no credit for discovering these bon mots; it's all
>Bill's fault ;-)
>
>dw
>
>Jeff asked:
>> Hi,
>> I just upgraded shelves to used Advancers and was thinking about how to
>>clean them before deployment.
>> I was thinking a sensitive sandblast session.
>> Any counsel?
>> Thanks
>> Jeff
>