mmmmm....... Soda
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zach
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- Austin, Texas
- United States
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zach's Discussions
Bagwall design
4 Replies
Started this discussion. Last reply by zach Feb 12.
Virgin Firing
2 Replies
Started this discussion. Last reply by zach Oct. 14, 2008.
zach's Page
Latest Activity
Going great. Looking forward the The Big Crafty this weekend and then will start on a new load of pots. However after that last firing, I would love to wait till the weather cools to fire again... it was freaking hot for the last one.
Thanks Cory for your post. It always feels good to have someone through encouragement your way. I did post some more photos so check those out and thanks again!
Thanks Keith. Trying to progress. How is everything going?
Love these flasks, this looks like an excellent load of pots!
sweet !
looks good !
please post some closeup images !
wonderful ! CHEERS !
thanks for sharing. everything looks real nice. looks like a great firing for only the 2nd. peace, york
Comment Wall (11 comments)
- At 9:21am on June 8, 2009,
Keith Phillips said…
- Hey Zach, checking in to see how things are. Just fired yesterday, can't wait to see the results. Hope you are well!
- At 12:15pm on January 7, 2009,
Keith Phillips said…
- Hey Zach, yes, my little brother is crazy... crazy talented! BTW (I have to brag on him) if you've seen the guitar hero world tour for the wii game, he did the opening animation with the dude getting tattooed.
Oooooh... waiting on the gas man, that's the worst! I'm excited for your first firing, looks like a great kiln. Be prepared for the after firing blues...I never had them till I started firing the soda kiln. My blues last a few days... cleaning the studio usually helps me kick it. I'm curious if other potters on the list get them.
I used to have my own website, had it for about 3 years. Then started selling well on etsy and it became difficult to maintain two sites (I'd rather be throwing than updating websites), so I switched everything to etsy about a year ago. It's nice cause I don't have to think about the technology. The other reason I like it is because it forces me to put the exact item for sale, which is good because my stuff is inconsistent at best. So the customers see exactly what they are getting. I'm coming up on two years on there and feel I am just now starting to hit a groove.
I did wholesale through www.wholesalecrafts.com for a year as well, and it was good too, but I didn't enjoy shipping large boxes of pots across the US (wreaked havoc on my nerves), plus retail sales were strong enough. But if wholesale is something you plan on doing check that site out too, they can move some pots... I wouldn't mind getting picked up by a local gallery, but they haven't warmed to my stuff yet, so I'm sitting tight and being patient.
- At 5:36pm on December 18, 2008,
Keith Phillips said…
- It's new, I had my first firing in it a few weeks ago and made me think of checking in with ya. Yeah, it's a huge undertaking, but man... when you start unbricking that door it's a pretty cool feeling! Good luck and keep us posted.
I basically bought the bricks and steel of another kiln but instead of gas, I went with a fast fire wood design. You can check out the shed, building, and firing results, plus autopsy report of the old soda kiln on my blog: http://blog.mudstuffing.com/
- At 5:29pm on October 3, 2008,
Charles said… - No such luck for me, I'm right in the thick of north central Austin near Highland, so a backyard kiln isn't in my future. I'm firing over at Laguna-Gloria at the moment, but their soda kiln is in crying sad shape. There is another soda kiln nestled in off of Cesar Chavez on the east side, but its shared between a few artists, so there is only so much shelf space for each firing. I'm hoping to build a soda kiln as well as a wood kiln in 2009 but I'm planning on sitting in on a workshop by Donovan and get some more firings in before I buys the brick :-)
- At 2:59pm on September 4, 2008,
Jason said… - good luck! It's been slow but steady progress, and I'm anxious to fire....hoping to have first firing in a couple weeks. I got #1 arch bricks from Larkin in TN - decent price for new brick, but shipping was almost as much as brick!! Sucks
- At 2:39pm on September 4, 2008,
Richard Burkett said… - HI Zach,
#1 arch bricks should be available from major ceramic suppliers, and also from refractories dealers and some industrial supply companies in larger cities. Check around. Prices vary.
- At 7:15am on August 30, 2008,
John Dorsey said… - Thanks for posting the photos - really helpful to have the time-lapse photography!
- At 1:44am on August 29, 2008,
Richard Burkett said…
- I'm glad you've found the plans useful. We're still using the original kiln at SDSU after about ten years of firings, and it still fires really well. Let me know if you have questions. I'd love to see a photo of your kiln as it nears completion. I've probably built seven or eight salt or soda kilns over the years of all different types, and a bunch of other gas and wood kilns. Keeping the shape as close to a cube, as that kiln is, still seems to be one of the best choices for even firings. David Cuzick added a few variations to his from the one we have at SDSU, including more soda ports and three burners per side instead of two like we have. Cuzick's kiln fires really well, too.
- At 12:55am on August 29, 2008,
Bill Buckner said… - Howdy, Zach. Keep me posted to your soda progress. I am happy to contribute. Just ask. BTW, where are you located? -Bill (Atlanta)
- At 8:34am on August 28, 2008,
zach said…
- Currently building a soda kiln and have two more layers of brick before the arch goes on. Building a 50 cu.ft. with app. 22 cu. ft. of stackable. Using plans I found at cuzickpottery.com and they seem to be the most straight forward, and detailed I have found anywhere. Never fired a soda kiln before, so, any tips and pointers would be most appreciated. ie. firing schedules, slips, good glazes etc.....(i know i am asking a lot). i look forward to meeting some of you soon. Going to stack brick, will check back later and post some photos of my progress. Thanks!
Profile Information
- Location:
- Austin, Tejas
- What kind of work do you do?
- functional/patio/garden/anything-soda
- Interests:
- art,music,food,life,honesty, nature, geology
zach's Photos
Zach's Blog
Second firing notes.....
Howdy y'all.......I have been completely stacked with work lately and I can assure you that is the chief cause to my delay in posting new photos, blogs etc.. I really have been running full steam for a couple months now and I am very happy to say that I finally fired my second load of pots. I will be posting photos this weekend and I feel that I learned a great deal from my "virgin firing", for those that know, and I am as optimistic for the future as ever. My kiln owes all of its credit to Rich… Continue
Posted on June 19, 2009 at 8:47pm —
First firing notes
My very first solo firing went better than I could have expected. A very serious learning was surely going to be involved and it was. I reached temperature and dumped my soda in (Emily Murphy's recipe) after about 20 hours of firing!! My firing went way longer than I would have wanted due to my propane tank freezing up. This was highly unexpected but I think if I would have read every page of The Kiln Book I would have avoided the time delay in reaching temp. I got online and read somewhere that… Continue
Posted on March 29, 2009 at 1:33pm — 2 Comments
Dude, where are your pots?
Well, you have to be kidding me right? Do you even know how to throw a pot Zach? I sure am getting skeptical about whether or not you really are a potter or not?!?!? Seriously, the plumbers finally came to my studio yesterday January the 22nd of 2009 and connected my propane to my burners! It took them over a month to decide that they would come by, but when they finally showed up yesterday, you will never believe this, they said did not want to be responsible for hooking up my kiln and tried to… Continue
Posted on January 23, 2009 at 10:44am — 1 Comment
December progress (or lack their of?)
Been throwing pots, making ware-carts for my studio, getting recipes together and hounding the propane guys to come hook up the kiln. Ordered twelve silicon carbide shelves from Axner and I am broke as a joke now. Getting very close to being up and running full force and I am happy for that. Been a long journey. Really cannot wait to post some photos of first firing (as long as it is a good one!!) and get back into creating vessels and working out my vapor firings glazes etc.. Looks as though my… Continue
Posted on December 18, 2008 at 11:31pm — 2 Comments
Soda neophyte cont..
Well, I guess I am writing in this blob so that maybe someday I can help someone who is faced with all the questions and uncertainties that come with building a kiln, welding, where to get bricks etc.. There is even a very big part of me that wants to produce some sort of 1 page document that has all the info you need to build a kiln, get the right bricks, how many cubic feet of gas you will need an hour to fire your 50 cu.ft kiln, 1.0625 x the width of your kiln= arch radius, use 7 lbs. pressur… Continue
Posted on November 6, 2008 at 11:00pm —
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