I was scrolling through social media as I do and came across someone saying b mix doesn’t vitrify at cone 6. We Only fire to come 6 right? Or is the final glaze firing higher than that? I’m just concerned with possible mold growth.
2 Likes
Clay bodies vitrify at the manufacturers designated cone temperature. Our current glaze firings are cone 5. I’d like to see your source.
2 Likes
Laguna b-mix 5 is vitrified at cone 5 which we fire to at make ict.
It can also be fired at cone 6 (can request cone 6 at Evans)
B-mix shouldn’t be fired higher than cone 6 as it can start to bloat and misshape.
As long as our kiln firings hit true cone 5 minimum then your piece will be vitrified.
(If by chance what you read said cone 06, that is low fire and very different than cone 5 or cone 6. B- mix will not vitrify at cone 06.)
2 Likes
This may have been it! My mistake. I’m still not sure what the difference between 0#’s and #’s are in terms of firings. This is a relief though, thank you.
2 Likes
MakeICT fires to Cone 5, which is midfire and glazes used on the midfire stoneware need to be able to fire at cones 5-6.
In contrast The pieces Evans sells premade to glaze are low fire and need to be fired at Evans because those pieces need fired to cone 06 which is much cooler than cone 5 or cone 6. That low fire clay will melt at the higher temps and ruin the kiln shelf in the makeict kiln. Also for those Evans pieces glaze rated for low fire is needed (most of the glazes at makeict are rated for midfire only)
Maybe this chart will help.
3 Likes
Thats a great chart.
I would consider printing it [at City Blue, to get it tall] and have many of the mixes and glazez written in in a new column on the side.
A useful reference at a glance? Not sure where it would hang though.
Just dreaming about making…
And I have seen what Thad refers to where a piece overfires and flows and melts itself to the $$ furniture. And neighboring pieces. Ruining everything it touched. And now you cant reuse that furniture as the residue will remelt and likely ruin whatever is fired near it. Or the shelf below. Drips, runs…
[My Mom had a kiln, now its mine. Ive seen more things than I understand, but i am always going to defer to Thad’s experience. And am glad we have such a willing resource/lead to guide us.]
These firing charts are helpful for me to wrap my head around the cones.
Maybe there is somewhere a chart like it could be printed and posted, but it wouldn’t need to be big necessarily. You do have a neat idea, but the glazes at makeict are all able to be fired at cone 5 so they would be listed in the same area. All but one or two do fine at cone 6 too.
Some there also can be fired lower or higher, but since we don’t fire at the other cones that doesn’t matter much in the studio.
Glaze chemistry is amazing. It’s way over my head. But I’ve been learning all I can for a couple of years now through research and trial and error.
The clay body used has a big effect on the outcome of the glazes. (B-mix, buff, calico, reds, blacks, etc)
Even small differences like if the piece ends up in a hotter or cooler place in the same kiln firing can affect the glaze.
It’s so interesting!
I use B-mix and fire pieces at makeict when I cone 5 will work and at Evans when I want to take the piece up to cone 6.
The Amaco celadons perform best at cone 5 but can go to 6. (Except Cherry blossom looses its color at 6)
I prefer firing at cone 6 when combining glazes and going for the drip and multicolor effects. Many Mayco and Amaco Potters Choice glazes I like to use seem to do best on my Bmix at cone 6.
(I just realized you said you have your own kiln now. Congratulations!!
You will learn so much!
I’ve often seen it recommended you not have low for clay in your studio if you usually fire mid fire clays. It’s too easy to forget to keep the low fire pieces separated to where one doesn’t accidentally make it into a cone 5 or 6 firing.)
Happy making! 
···
Sent from my iPhone
On May 5, 2024, at 7:50 AM, Teya Chavez (or Tim if you knew me when…) via MakeICT Forum noreply@talk.makeict.org wrote:
| Teya MakeICT Member
May 5 |
- | - |
Thats a great chart.
I would consider printing it [at City Blue, to get it tall] and have many of the mixes and glazez written in in a new column on the side.
A useful reference at a glance? Not sure where it would hang though.Just dreaming about making…
And I have seen what Thad refers to where a piece overfires and flows and melts itself to the $$ furniture. And neighboring pieces. Ruining everything it touched. And now you cant reuse that furniture as the residue will remelt and likely ruin whatever is fired near it. Or the shelf below. Drips, runs…
[My Mom had a kiln, now its mine. Ive seen more things than I understand, but i am always going to defer to Thad’s experience. And am glad we have such a willing resource/lead to guide us.]
Visit Topic or reply to this email to respond.
To unsubscribe from these emails, click here.
1 Like
I mislead the audience.
Truth minute;
I do have a kiln. Still.
I have since Mom passed in 2016. And i always had access to hers before that. I “play” with materials. To show the affect of pottasium, or boron, or sodium. [Low melters all]. And then, there are the higher temp oxides…
My kiln… Its not hooked up. [Do you want it?] I probably cant sell it except probly for scrap. Its got an analog controller, no readout, and who knows if the heaters still work. Not sure why anyone would go the expense of hooking up a maybe-it-works-heater and try the necessary cone trials. So i probly cant sell it. I dream anyway.
And may come back to ceramics when functional needs arise.