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Mr. Fix-it
Jun. 4th, 2018 02:51 pm
Firing a gas kiln is an experience of prolonged, but intermittent attention. You need to be there at certain critical moments: starting it, of course, throwing it into body reduction and out again, spot checks of the cones, the pyrometer, the atmosphere every hour or so. There's a long gap in mid-afternoon between cone 4 and 8, after which it's time to pay attention again, particularly if the top and bottom temperatures are uneven. And then the (subjective) eternity between cone 9 and 10, when it's time to shut down the burners, close the damper and ports, and go home for a much needed rest.
Different potters deal with the intermittent part differently. Jon throws dozens of pots, moving them in and out of the kiln room to take advantage of the heat to speed drying. Sookjae and Michiyo share their firing, so they get to take turns leaving or staying, mostly reading while here. Tea is notorious for going to the movies during the long afternoon stretch.
Me, I fix things.
I fidget too much to throw, or even sculpt down here, I'm always getting up to check the cones. I also don't like to actually leave the studio for more than an hour or so at a time, so a double-feature is out. I can only read for so long, do so many sudoku or cryptoquotes, or blog posts before I get bored.
So I've rewired potter's wheels. Installed new shop lights. Fiddled with the pyrometer and thermocouple, got them working properly again.
Today, I fixed the ware cart.
It's a very basic design, probably goes back to the 60's, two 2-by-4 uprights supporting 2-by-2 shelf brackets. Easy to put work on and take it off by the shelf-load. Only problem?
The brackets wiggle. They move like a teeter-totter. Put a shelf of work down on one side and the shelf on the other side goes up. You needed to be very conscious of the relative weights when loading it up. So today, I brought in my drill and driver bits, a bunch of self-tap screws, some pre-cut 2-by-2 support blocks. A small level, a bar clamp.
In a little over half and hour, the job was done. Shelves are now all firm and level, no give, no bounce. A community of potters is gonna be so grateful.
Now what do I do with the rest of my afternoon?
Different potters deal with the intermittent part differently. Jon throws dozens of pots, moving them in and out of the kiln room to take advantage of the heat to speed drying. Sookjae and Michiyo share their firing, so they get to take turns leaving or staying, mostly reading while here. Tea is notorious for going to the movies during the long afternoon stretch.
Me, I fix things.
I fidget too much to throw, or even sculpt down here, I'm always getting up to check the cones. I also don't like to actually leave the studio for more than an hour or so at a time, so a double-feature is out. I can only read for so long, do so many sudoku or cryptoquotes, or blog posts before I get bored.
So I've rewired potter's wheels. Installed new shop lights. Fiddled with the pyrometer and thermocouple, got them working properly again.
Today, I fixed the ware cart.
It's a very basic design, probably goes back to the 60's, two 2-by-4 uprights supporting 2-by-2 shelf brackets. Easy to put work on and take it off by the shelf-load. Only problem?
The brackets wiggle. They move like a teeter-totter. Put a shelf of work down on one side and the shelf on the other side goes up. You needed to be very conscious of the relative weights when loading it up. So today, I brought in my drill and driver bits, a bunch of self-tap screws, some pre-cut 2-by-2 support blocks. A small level, a bar clamp.
In a little over half and hour, the job was done. Shelves are now all firm and level, no give, no bounce. A community of potters is gonna be so grateful.
Now what do I do with the rest of my afternoon?