[Clayart] old cones

[paul gerhold]

I have never r, in thousands of firings, used kiln wash on the cone supports. If, when I remove a bent cone after a firing it sticks slightly I just take the supports and clean them. Of course my setter is adjusted so the cones do not bend too far and I don't leave a kiln unattended for any significant amount of time near the end of the firing. 

If a cone is really melting enough to stick to the supports I would guess for some reason the rod is not moving freely and the kiln is actually firing significantly higher than the kiln would indicate.

Paul

Sent from my iPad

> On Oct 11, 2021, at 5:09 PM, Arnold Howard <arnoldhoward at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> A few days ago, a customer came to my house with a used kiln she had just purchased. I’ll have to write a kiln story about it later. The kiln was in the back of her truck. 
> 
> One of the cone supports was covered with a blob that had once been a cone. It looked like a thick coating of glaze. The cone had stuck to the supports, which prevented the weight from dropping. 
> 
> Before each firing, pull out the cone supports and examine the kiln wash. The coating should be thin and without cracks. Wipe off and reapply if necessary from a tiny finger nail polish bottle. 
> 
> Sincerely,
> Arnold Howard
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Sep 24, 2021, at 1:36 PM, mel jacobson <melpots at mail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> We have been experiencing some sticky cones and some
>> over fires on one electric kiln.  I will probably
>> exchange the entire norton kiln sitter...I have all
>> new parts...But, one of our vendors asked colleen.."are your
>> cones really old?"  yes, like 25 year old boxes.
>> 
>> Arnold and I have no reason to believe cones can get old.
>> 
>> It seems to be getting crazy.  Arnold likes to advise folks
>> to keep a small bottle with thick kiln wash to dab on the
>> cone holders.  I have used itc in the past. but, not on this
>> kiln.
>> 
>> I know, I know...what is the recipe for kiln wash for
>> this sort of application.  ?
>> what have veteran potters experienced with this issue.?
>> (colleen is now using a new box of cone 08 bars, and she
>> is experiencing kiln firing fear.)
>> 
>> We had the cone packs blow up in the baby stoneware and
>> i fired it with two pyrometers and color.  hit cone 11 perfect.
>> Had one pyrometer stick at 1900...threw that one out...hit it with
>> a brick.
>> 
>> I am sick of this issue.
>> Mel
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> website: www.melpots.com
>> www.melpots.com/CLAYART.HTML
>>