Test-ey Tiles

NOTE: This is from testing I did while in undergraduate – I actually posted this originally to my abandoned blog here: http://sumileighcasey.blogspot.com/ back in 2014.

The tale of these test tiles tells a tale of tremendous testing turmoil. It is laden with mishaps, uncontrollable variables, and like anything of this nature, chock full of learning and surprises.

DISCLAIMER: These results, while quantifiable, are obviously the result of various un-testable issues that may or may not have occurred within the kiln; thus, I do not guarantee that you (or I) will be able to ever recreate these results.

The Kilns

So. I have four kilns represented here, and never noted which ones went in which one.

#1 The first kiln was our test kiln at school. I was on a role and pumping out amazing test tiles when my teacher needed it for another student. It stopped working directly after. The tiles I managed to get out of this kiln looked great though!

#2 I decided to find a test kiln of my own, and I did. I found the most ancient thing you have ever seen. It’s a Paragon test kiln from the 60’s! I decided to delve in and fire it up. I stayed up all night trying to bend that cone, and it never did. I even let it go as I went to work for a few hours, and when I got back, it was off…off off….like not working off, and it had dropped temp fast. This was befuddling. The cone was not bent but they probably soaked at above 2000 for over 12 hours…they seemed developed or even over developed.

#3 Springfield Pottery came through and let me throw in some tiles with one of their loads…they came out amazing.

#4 The big electric at school. I ran this at the end of last semester, and it over-fired. I got mixed results. I ran it again at the begging of this semester, and whoa Nelly, it went hot…I stuck some cones in there and found that I was bending cone 9!

#5 <— forgot about this one, I ran the other large electric at school with another student and had great results but the kiln fired unevenly. My stuff, being at the bottom though, was fine!

PORCELAIN CONE 6 OX

Notes: None

Notes: Waterfall Brown does not look right. See my most recent tile, it looks much closer the mastering Cone 6 Glazes Example there….thus making anything other than that one test tile that uses Waterfall Brown, unpredictable.