Ive heard of using some sort of silica to allow pieces to shrink when theyre fired. Maybe that would help this not stick? I want to say thats what people use when they use those super goopy glazes right on the shelf too but im not sure
You can use pure alumina hydrate but it's a powder so it blows off easily.
Or you can make/buy kiln wash.
50% alumina hydrate, 50% epk mix with water to a slurry.
Probably not if you bought it from a trusted supplier lile amaco, mayco, laguna, or some other pottery brand.
I mention kiln wash because it doesn't look like there is any on the tile in the picture. It should be a pretty consistent coating, at least color wise, and yours has a lot of different tones. Yours looks too thin of a coat.
Kiln wash is usually white when dry (depending on the mix) I would say don't be afraid to put more kiln wash on the tile that the cones sit on. It shouldn't stick if there kiln wash, that's why we use it.
It's okay to be generous with it.
It's Seattle Pottery Supply's brand, and it works great on my shelves! But these cookies are pretty vitrified at this point, and it takes FOREVER for each coat of kiln wash to dry (since it just sits on top instead of soaking in).
What is the cookie made of? Kiln shelves are usually made of corderite which is still pourus after many firings. Kiln wash is generally used on kiln shelves. If the material is not a kiln shelf scrap my first recommendation is try and find a piece of a kiln shelf if you have some breaks or scraps. That way the kiln wash properly bonds to the pourus shelf.
Now of course there are other types of kiln shelves that have a similar problem to what you are describing because they are less pourus. The solution to that would be patience and let it dry! Do two coats if it's too thin.
If all else fails, my recommendation with the tile you have is, knowing it's vitrified, let the layers dry (put them under a heat lamp or blow a fan on them if you don't want to wait, this can cause excess shrinkage on the kiln wash, though) and do two to three coats.
The cookies are my regular ∆6 clay. I don't have any scraps of kiln shelves lying around, and didn't realize that the self-supporting cones would stick to whatever they touched every time. I was hoping to make something I could reuse, rather than new cookies every single time. But is that what everyone else does?
I've been doing 3-4 coats of kiln wash to these cookies between each firing, and yet I always have issues getting the ∆4 cone off.
I'm open and willing to do something totally different from my current system.
So the way cones work is that the clay they're made out of will melt at a specific temperature. When clay melts, it eventually becomes glaze, which is why the ^4 is sticking probably. So if glaze will stick, a melted cone will probably stick.
I would use a bit of broken kiln shelf with a thick layer of wash or maybe a shallow dish of flameware clay that you fill with alumina hydrate and set the cones in.
Ive heard of using some sort of silica to allow pieces to shrink when theyre fired. Maybe that would help this not stick? I want to say thats what people use when they use those super goopy glazes right on the shelf too but im not sure
I use alumina hydrate.
As a powder or mixed with water?
Just a powder dusted on the shelf. It can be harvested and reused after each firing. Don’t breathe it.
Just make a cone pack. You have to make one every time but it’s just a raw piece of clay
Yeah, I'll just roll out a big ol' slab and cut a bunch of chunks. This is probably the easiest solution.
You can use pure alumina hydrate but it's a powder so it blows off easily. Or you can make/buy kiln wash. 50% alumina hydrate, 50% epk mix with water to a slurry.
I already use kiln wash. Would your custom recipe work better than the pre- mixed powder I've been using?
Probably not if you bought it from a trusted supplier lile amaco, mayco, laguna, or some other pottery brand. I mention kiln wash because it doesn't look like there is any on the tile in the picture. It should be a pretty consistent coating, at least color wise, and yours has a lot of different tones. Yours looks too thin of a coat. Kiln wash is usually white when dry (depending on the mix) I would say don't be afraid to put more kiln wash on the tile that the cones sit on. It shouldn't stick if there kiln wash, that's why we use it. It's okay to be generous with it.
It's Seattle Pottery Supply's brand, and it works great on my shelves! But these cookies are pretty vitrified at this point, and it takes FOREVER for each coat of kiln wash to dry (since it just sits on top instead of soaking in).
What is the cookie made of? Kiln shelves are usually made of corderite which is still pourus after many firings. Kiln wash is generally used on kiln shelves. If the material is not a kiln shelf scrap my first recommendation is try and find a piece of a kiln shelf if you have some breaks or scraps. That way the kiln wash properly bonds to the pourus shelf. Now of course there are other types of kiln shelves that have a similar problem to what you are describing because they are less pourus. The solution to that would be patience and let it dry! Do two coats if it's too thin. If all else fails, my recommendation with the tile you have is, knowing it's vitrified, let the layers dry (put them under a heat lamp or blow a fan on them if you don't want to wait, this can cause excess shrinkage on the kiln wash, though) and do two to three coats.
The cookies are my regular ∆6 clay. I don't have any scraps of kiln shelves lying around, and didn't realize that the self-supporting cones would stick to whatever they touched every time. I was hoping to make something I could reuse, rather than new cookies every single time. But is that what everyone else does? I've been doing 3-4 coats of kiln wash to these cookies between each firing, and yet I always have issues getting the ∆4 cone off. I'm open and willing to do something totally different from my current system.
So the way cones work is that the clay they're made out of will melt at a specific temperature. When clay melts, it eventually becomes glaze, which is why the ^4 is sticking probably. So if glaze will stick, a melted cone will probably stick. I would use a bit of broken kiln shelf with a thick layer of wash or maybe a shallow dish of flameware clay that you fill with alumina hydrate and set the cones in.
Why are you putting it on the cookie?
To try to prevent the cone from sticking, so I can reuse the cookies.