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Friday, April 16, 2010

Kiln And Clay day

Spent today cleaning up and processing the latest batch of reclaimed clay. I ended up wedging around 30kg. I used some from the last batch to get the consistency right as it was a little firm. It means I have a good amount to play with next week.
I also took the kiln apart to find out why it has tripped out during the last firing. It turns out the thermocouple has died. It has been on it's last legs since I got the kiln, but I have managed to keep it doing it's job by cobbling it together each time it broke. This time I can't. I popped in an old one I had laying around, but even though I managed to get it working it was giving false readings. When I heated the kiln to around 70 degrees it thought it was 220! Slightly out!
So I'll have to try and find a cheap secondhand one if I can.
Before I sign out I'll just answer a couple of questions relating to my last post:
First Nu Kua: The udu drum's sound with t.sig: Even though I've only used it on the little test drum it sounds very good. It has a reasonable ring (considering it's size) and a good resonance from the sound holes. I think t.sig is likely to improve the sound a little as burnishing compresses the clay and the t.sig seals the surface enhancing the compression. It's only clay after all, it's not glaze. The large drum was too loud for my camera to record. It maxed out the microphone. NB That's before it's fired!
Cindy (Dirtkicker Pottery): The writing on the ginger jar: "Love is not finding someone to live with, it's finding someone whom you can't live without". Other jars had other proverbs. I printed out hundreds last year with a view to using them on my slipped mugs.
Thanks for visiting.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for your answer , sounds like i might try it! with the TS the udu looks sooo good! I have so far only fired them, no glaze, no TS so here's a new project on my to do list! :-)
    don't you just love it when an udu sounds so good you can feel its vibration?

    grtz,
    Monique

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