The kiln is where all of the magic of pottery is made. When you fire clay, it turns into ceramics, and your unfinished work of art turns into a beautiful piece of art. Ceramic kilns had come a long way since the days when they were just a fire set over a hole in the ground; how a ceramic look is greatly affected by how it turns out when it is fired. There is an art to firing a gun; to get good at it, you need to keep an open mind and practice.
Kilns can be as big as a stove or as big as a whole room, but they always stand alone. Shelves are a common part of kilns, where the pottery is kept before it is fired. Glazed things shouldn’t touch each other because they might stick together. Tumble stacking is a way to fire large, unglazed pieces successfully. Before firing, the pieces are stacked neatly on top of each other. Someone who knows how to make pots should try a kiln for sale. Kilns can be powered by electricity, gas, or wood, but the last three are used much more often.
Electric kilns
Electric kilns are probably the most common type used in pottery. They are cheap enough that even a small pottery business can buy one, and the ones that run on 120 Volts can be plugged into a standard wall outlet. Glazes always turn out the same way because these kilns always fire in oxidation, which means oxygen is present in a completely controlled atmosphere. Any potter who wants to make exact copies of their work needs to be able to keep this level of accuracy.
Gas kilns
Natural gas is used as fuel in gas kilns, which burn in a way that keeps oxygen from getting into the chamber. Even though the final color of a piece that has been reduced-fired can never be predicted, it is almost always a dark, earthy color. Gas kilns are best for one-of-a-kind pieces because making them, all the same, is hard.
Wood kilns
Wood kilns, which get their heat from burning logs, have been used by potters for thousands of years. So that the wood stays at a steady temperature, the fire needs to be constantly stoked and fed, which makes them very labor-intensive. A wood kiln can take up to three times as long as an electric or gas kiln to fire, and it needs to be watched all the time. When wood ash falls on ceramics in the kiln, it acts as a natural glaze. For many potters, the work it takes to make something unique is well worth it.
Salt kilns
Some kilns, called “specialty kilns,” can be used to make the surface look a certain way. When stoneware is put in a salt kiln, also called a soda kiln, it gets a rough, uneven glaze. This happens when salt is added during the last part of the firing process. At high temperatures, the salt goes through a chemical change that leaves behind a coating that looks like orange peel. Also, this glaze gets all over the kiln, which could make it break down faster.
Raku kilns
The raku kiln is another specialty kiln that makes a unique surface. Raku pottery is heated until it glows, then taken out of the kiln with tongs. After the object has cooled, it is put into cold water to make it sound crackling. Carbon from the burning fuel turns the unglazed clay black, and when the black layer is scraped off, the metallic sheen underneath is revealed.
