Sunday Pic of the Day

I went whole hog & picked up a Brent EX wheel. It's a beast. I am currently set up in the garage, which is nice & heated for the winter but will be building a studio in the pole barn this winter. Our barn has 2 stalls and a tack room which are just being used for storage at the moment, so I'm going to finish those off and have a good sized space and reclaim the garage for other uses. Have enough firebrick to build a small gas-wood hybrid kiln, so that's likely going to be the spring project so I can move back up to cone 10 firing and get away from cone 6. Glaze chemicals for mid-fire have negated any cost savings in terms of firing so I'm going back to reduction with ash, shinos, temmokus & chuns.

Great! Those Brent's are nice. Is your "hybrid kiln" going to use gas to start the wood, or is the gas to get the kiln to a certain cone where you take over with wood? Yeah, ash glazes and reduction firing is my favorite way to go, but I've never done salt glazes and those have always intrigued me. Course, that opens a whole toxic bag of worms, as well as requiring a dedicated kiln.

What sort of kiln are you going to build - updraft, down draft, catenary, etc?
 
Great! Those Brent's are nice. Is your "hybrid kiln" going to use gas to start the wood, or is the gas to get the kiln to a certain cone where you take over with wood? Yeah, ash glazes and reduction firing is my favorite way to go, but I've never done salt glazes and those have always intrigued me. Course, that opens a whole toxic bag of worms, as well as requiring a dedicated kiln.

What sort of kiln are you going to build - updraft, down draft, catenary, etc?

Mostly as a gas assist for the wood, but I also wanted to be able to just fire to cone 10 w/gas if wanted. I'd love a dedicated salt kiln, but there's a potter near me that has a couple of soda kilns set up and I've yet to make his acquaintance to get in on his firings, so I think I'll stick with the hybrid gas/wood in a downdraft set up. Likely a sprung arch kiln with a steel frame and sliding door, or I may just go old school and do a catenary arch since it'll be easier and not much welding - I'm still debating that. I took apart a catenary arch kiln last spring and most of the brick was salvageable as were the 4 venturi burners (which just need new bells). Local hardware store is primed to help with the propane set up too. I will need some more brick, and some steel pipe for the burner stack, but the gravel is in for the pad & I should be able to stand up a decent shed quickly.

The old kiln:
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One of the better pots from the last few firings:

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My Instagram is pretty much just pots: https://www.instagram.com/benjamindlamb/
 
Mostly as a gas assist for the wood, but I also wanted to be able to just fire to cone 10 w/gas if wanted. I'd love a dedicated salt kiln, but there's a potter near me that has a couple of soda kilns set up and I've yet to make his acquaintance to get in on his firings, so I think I'll stick with the hybrid gas/wood in a downdraft set up. Likely a sprung arch kiln with a steel frame and sliding door, or I may just go old school and do a catenary arch since it'll be easier and not much welding - I'm still debating that. I took apart a catenary arch kiln last spring and most of the brick was salvageable as were the 4 venturi burners (which just need new bells). Local hardware store is primed to help with the propane set up too. I will need some more brick, and some steel pipe for the burner stack, but the gravel is in for the pad & I should be able to stand up a decent shed quickly.

The old kiln:
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One of the better pots from the last few firings:

View attachment 291235


My Instagram is pretty much just pots: https://www.instagram.com/benjamindlamb/
Do you sell your stuff?
 
The first day in the field for us.

Gus's 15th hunting season. He was 14 yr, 2 mo, and 2 days old in this photo (Tuesday).
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We got one chance, and we made the most of it, taking two birds from the flock.
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Gus is never in a hurry. He enjoys it too much.
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My Cashmore Hammer gun. 12b, 2.5" chambers. Kinda plain, but it suits me well, and I shoot it well too. Load was a bit on the heavy side using black and bismuth, but it's what I had on hand.
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And Gus is ready to tell the world, he is still in the game. Best of all, he passed his annual cardio check-up the next day, and we have a clean bill of health for hunting anything this fall.
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She likes to hunt with me, loves watching the dogs work and figured out how to best take advantage of hunting season approaching. Island hopping thru the San Juans for 10 days. I'll go Antelope hunting when we're home.
We hope all y'all have a fantastic season with cherished memories.
Sun rise over Mt.Baker, Washington
 

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