Great job!! Very smart adaptations Wes. It's always good to your approaches and successes. You are a very speaker. I can easily see how you help folks out and add to my RUclips value!!
Petroglyph archaeologists theorize that the hump on Kokopelli's back is a large canning pot full of tin cans. Don't stop posting your videos, I love them and get a lot of good tips from them. Even Don was grooving to this one. (Next time maybe use an earthenware tile under the pot, we keep a pile from a thrift store outside. Not good for more than one use but won't burn).
Hi Wes, great video! I use this method all the time except with an even smaller tin bucket. Uses less charcoal that way and routinely still fires to about 1300F. I also just set my bowls on the coals directly rather than on bricks and have had no issues. They fire clean.
From the burn/scorch pattern on the plywood, it’s possible that you had lighter fluid leaking out the bottom of your pot kiln. Beautiful mug. I may have to give this a go for some of my smaller things. ❤😊
Yes, it is certainly possible that there was a little lighter fluid. Others have suggested a ceramic tile for protection. I think that would be a good idea.
Great kiln, great results, and a great lesson! I will be firing this way a lot in the future! Nice work on the art and on the ingenuity! This is the kind of certainty that we are all needing!!! Thanks again, Sir!
New subscriber here from Australia,I have only just found your channel today and already I’m addicted. Love your charcoal kilns and can I say what a great teacher you are! Am yet to watch your pottery making skills but know I won’t be disappointed. Your pottery is absolutely beautiful is all I can say! I am also following Andy Ward and Tony Soares channels and just love their work too.. What an amazing skill you have and I look forward to learning more from your excellent videos. Thank you for sharing your great knowledge 😊
G'day mate, I'm glad you found me and I hope the videos are useful. I know that there are other potters in Australia and plenty of clay. Andy and Tony are great and Andy has a potter's club on Wednesdays (Thurs. to you?) I know there is an Australian in that group. Thanks for the comment.
Wonderful. I have built small kilns in the past few years- fire brick and kaowool, but my first wood firing was last fall. It was incredibly hard work for me and took longer that I expected. I am going to try this method next. I really love that mug you fired. Beautiful. thanks. Alivia
Howdy again Wes ! I’m still here to watch every single one of yur videos , some of them twice , I’ve just finished watching this one for the 5th time ! I’m in the middle finding & firing clays to get the “right one” , this kettle-kiln shood eliminate a lot of my errors ( improper wood quality & quantity ) & possibly get my small pot ( 6” wide x 8” tall ) to ring like yurs ! Thx for all of yur videos !!
Thanks, I hope it works for you. I think you want to have a couple of inches of charcoal around your pot and plenty of holes for ventilation. If I were to do it again I think I would have holes primarily in the lower 1/3 and bottom of the kettle to create more of a draft. Sometime the holes can clog up a bit with ash so somewhat larger holes may work better. Putting sherds around the pot can take up a lot of your space and limit the size pot that you can fire. Charcoal is a bit expensive but for me the consistency makes it worth it. Good luck.
@@airstreamwanderings3683 Howdy again & thx for yur reply , encouragement & expertise ! The jar I plan to fire is 6 inches across & 8 inches tall , I’m guessing at th size or diameter of the air-draft holes , shood be about 1/2 inch to 5/8ths ?! My parents left behind a heavier than normal metal canister ( 15 inches across & 21 inches deep ) this canister shood last me awhile & might be the answers to my prayer ! As always,, mucho ThankYu for yur tutelages & videos !!
Great, I hope it works well for you - certainly less risky and more controlled than a wood fire. The key is to have enough room for the charcoal and plenty of ventilation.
I use a Behrens 20 gallon composting / trash burning bin. It is perfect for charcoal firing pottery as is. Also has a lid. Check it out. You will love it!
I have used it a few time. The kettle is kind of light weight. I don't know how long it will last but it is much better than most of the buckets at the big box stores. Thanks for the support.
I'll have to use this when I fire a native clay project I'm slowly working on. I'm refining green marl clay, so in order to keep some of that beautiful color, it would need to be fired lower than average anyway. And I already have a big scrappy enamel steel pot with holes in it! Found it discarded with some holes rusted out, so I use it as a decorative recycling can inside.
Fantastic! Some of your other videos inspired me to create a firebrick barbe-kiln, with good success. It reached temps of 2200F! I love the portability of this technique though! Perfect for a few quick firings, or taking it out camping. I know you're focused on primitive pieces, but I'm curious if you have ever tried raku style pottery with these firing methods?
Wow, 2200 is hot! You must have very good draft. I've thought about raku but haven't tried it. I'm particularly interested in some of the low fired glazes they use. Thanks for the comment and for watching. I used this same kettle this week as a saggar to protect my painting. It worked well.
Hey Wes.. Great info for everyone.. I've been doing this to save charcoal.. You can adapt to any size pot with the bucket to suit.. I've forwarded this to my daughter as grand kids want to start getting grubby with clay.. But live in suburbia.. Happy daze to you
It would be great if you could make this a family hobby. Then you could have many hundreds of pots around the house instead of just a few hundred. :') Totally agree about the adaptability with this system. Not exactly authentic but reasonably close.
So would you then glaze the inside of the cup and refire it in the pot kiln? So that you can put liquids in it. I'd like to try doing something like that. Thank you for making the video it's given me ideas.😊
I'm not aware of a low fire glaze that would work with charcoal but you could talk to a ceramics shop. Pottery that is fired in this way is ceramic but it is sintered not vitrified. As such it is still porous. Water won't hurt it but it will tend to seep through the pores. You can use it the way it is although some will argue that it isn't food safe. There is a clear product, I think it is called liquid granite, made in Australia that will waterproof your pots. Check out Andy Ward's channel for some videos on how to seal pottery. Another option would be to use a commercial glaze on the inside and take to a place that has a kiln that reaches a high enough temperature. It is possible to build a wood fired kiln that gets hot enough (Romans) but I don't believe Native Americans developed that technology. Good luck, have fun.
Very good, thanks for the video. But I still havent managed to find a pot like that for sale (that was affordable). I'll keep my eyes open because I like the idea of having multiple firing options.
Good luck. Sometimes they go on sale during canning season or you might find one at a 2nd hand store. Mine is cheaply made and probably won't last long.
hello, i loved this video. i just found your channel and looked through the videos. I wanted to know about the temperature range for making earthenware mugs and such for food safety? What are your thoughts on this? thank you so much for providing these wonderful learning videos for people. I homeschool and my autisic son is interested in making mugs.. but he wants to be able to use it..
Thanks for watching. Your question isn't completely easy. Pottery like this is ceramic but it isn't vitrified. Water won't hurt it but it is porous so water will seep through it a little. Some would say that because it is porous it isn't food safe. Cleaning it well will help and people used this kind of pottery for hundreds of years. There are a couple of options. There is a material, I think it is called liquid granite, that is colorless and seals the pottery. It is made in Australia and it is kind of expensive but a little goes a long way. Another option would be to make the pottery and fire it at a studio with a kiln that gets it hot enough to vitrify. Personally I've eaten out of mine without a problem. I suggest making the pottery and see how it goes. Also check out Andy Ward's channel. He has really good information. Good luck. Let me know if you have questions.
Worked fabulously in my back garden! Any recommendations for firing larger pieces in a kiln like this? Say a pot the size of your metal pot? I'm particularly worried about getting that much charcoal up to temp.
I'm glad it worked. Here's a video of the way I fire bigger pots. You don't need a bucket to cover the pot, just the bricks to act as a surround to hold all of the charcoal. 2-3" of charcoal around your pots is about the right amount. Good luck.
Hi Wes - love your channel! I’m wondering if you’ve tried firing using a sawdust or wood shaving environment. I use a brick “pit” with wood, but am considering paring it down and using wood shavings packed pretty tight then covering the structure while it smolders. Seems a safer fire environment than the open fire. Ideas?
Thanks for watching. I've wondered the same thing but haven't tried it. I'm sure that you have seen different TY videos on the subject. I've always wondered how hot it would burn since it would be hard for sawdust to get enough air. Good luck, I hope it works.
I'm not sure if it would work or not. The bigger the kettle the better. I suspect the wood would have to be pretty small and there wouldn't be room for cover sherds. I have had briquettes delivered from Target and Walmart at no cost. Usually about $.60/lb is a cheap as I can find it. I hope it works. Maybe a layer of charcoal on the bottom with very dry wood on top?
Sorry for the slow reply. It might work to use wood but I don't think there is enough room. Like you suggest, then it wouldn't get hot enough. I haven't tried it so it might work especially if you have a really small pot.
Здравствуйте! Скажите пожалуйста, какая глина подходит для такого обжига ? В ней наверно много кварцевого песка чтоб не потрескалась ? Я копаю сам глину и обжигаю на дровах очень медленно но всё равно бывают трещины. У вас красивые работы, рад что нашёл ваш канал.
Thank you. Every clay is different and some work and other don't. You can't tell until you have tested them. A few things are really important in being successful. Using quartz sand should be fine. You should have at least 20% temper. If it is cracking try 30% and see if it helps. Let it dry slowly depending on the environment. Bowls are usually dried rim side down with a towel over the top. Try to have even thickness in the pot. Once it feels dry, put it in your oven at 100C or 200f for a couple of hours to make sure it is totally dry. Hopefully this helps. Good luck and let me know how you do. If you look through my channel you will find some tutorials that might help. Also check out Andy Wards Ancient Potter, it is a very good channel.
Actually he is crazy I think for not having it on the yard there... Concrete will explode if you build a fire over top of it. I haven't watched the whole video but so far this seems completely backwards from any other video I've ever seen on firing pottery. It probably works to some degree but it's not safe by any means.
Howdy Wes ! Great little video , which has inspired me to keep going onward with my pottery ! I appreciate what @angeladaz said, “Don’t stop posting your videos” ! I’m with them & this little kiln job just might be my answer to successful firings with less carbon issues & unhappy neighbors with my “bonfires” !
Thanks for the support. I like that you don't have to wait for perfect conditions or have a supply of dry wood to fire. There is a limit on how big the pot can be. Best of success.
Great job!! Very smart adaptations Wes. It's always good to your approaches and successes. You are a very speaker. I can easily see how you help folks out and add to my RUclips value!!
Thanks for your kind words.
Petroglyph archaeologists theorize that the hump on Kokopelli's back is a large canning pot full of tin cans. Don't stop posting your videos, I love them and get a lot of good tips from them. Even Don was grooving to this one. (Next time maybe use an earthenware tile under the pot, we keep a pile from a thrift store outside. Not good for more than one use but won't burn).
Thanks. Good idea, I have some left over floor tiles and they would be fine. I'm honored that I got Don grooving.
Hi Wes, great video! I use this method all the time except with an even smaller tin bucket. Uses less charcoal that way and routinely still fires to about 1300F. I also just set my bowls on the coals directly rather than on bricks and have had no issues. They fire clean.
Even more simple, thanks. I really like to hit 800C if I can.
Great demo and I think showing the fire starting under on the wood was the best warning to those of us who will be trying this method.
I'm glad it was helpful. It was a bit of a surprise to me.
From the burn/scorch pattern on the plywood, it’s possible that you had lighter fluid leaking out the bottom of your pot kiln.
Beautiful mug. I may have to give this a go for some of my smaller things. ❤😊
Yes, it is certainly possible that there was a little lighter fluid. Others have suggested a ceramic tile for protection. I think that would be a good idea.
Perhaps a ceramic pizza stone would work.
I think you are right but I'm keeping our pizza stone in the kitchen. I have a piece of sheet metal that I will use in the future. @@judithwinner12
Great kiln, great results, and a great lesson! I will be firing this way a lot in the future! Nice work on the art and on the ingenuity! This is the kind of certainty that we are all needing!!! Thanks again, Sir!
That is good to hear. It is nice to make all of this more simply without really compromising authenticity.
A metal washing mashine tub from a broken washer would work well for this for bigger projects!
Great idea! I'll have to think about where to get one.
would a shallower one still work?
@@panicqueen4295 it should work as long as there is enough charcoal to cover the piece of pottery.
That’s awesome Wes ! I am definitely going to make one, I have some leftover 16” floor tiles will use one for the bottom.
Sounds great Jeff! I would think they would be perfect.
New subscriber here from Australia,I have only just found your channel today and already I’m addicted. Love your charcoal kilns and can I say what a great teacher you are! Am yet to watch your pottery making skills but know I won’t be disappointed. Your pottery is absolutely beautiful is all I can say! I am also following Andy Ward and Tony Soares channels and just love their work too.. What an amazing skill you have and I look forward to learning more from your excellent videos. Thank you for sharing your great knowledge 😊
G'day mate, I'm glad you found me and I hope the videos are useful. I know that there are other potters in Australia and plenty of clay. Andy and Tony are great and Andy has a potter's club on Wednesdays (Thurs. to you?) I know there is an Australian in that group. Thanks for the comment.
Wonderful. I have built small kilns in the past few years- fire brick and kaowool, but my first wood firing was last fall. It was incredibly hard work for me and took longer that I expected. I am going to try this method next. I really love that mug you fired. Beautiful. thanks. Alivia
Thank you, I hope it works for you. I think the biggest drawback is that you can't fire larger pots unless you have a large kettle.
Howdy again Wes ! I’m still here to watch every single one of yur videos , some of them twice , I’ve just finished watching this one for the 5th time ! I’m in the middle finding & firing clays to get the “right one” , this kettle-kiln shood eliminate a lot of my errors ( improper wood quality & quantity ) & possibly get my small pot ( 6” wide x 8” tall ) to ring like yurs ! Thx for all of yur videos !!
Thanks, I hope it works for you. I think you want to have a couple of inches of charcoal around your pot and plenty of holes for ventilation. If I were to do it again I think I would have holes primarily in the lower 1/3 and bottom of the kettle to create more of a draft. Sometime the holes can clog up a bit with ash so somewhat larger holes may work better. Putting sherds around the pot can take up a lot of your space and limit the size pot that you can fire. Charcoal is a bit expensive but for me the consistency makes it worth it. Good luck.
@@airstreamwanderings3683
Howdy again & thx for yur reply , encouragement & expertise !
The jar I plan to fire is 6 inches across & 8 inches tall , I’m guessing at th size or diameter of the air-draft holes , shood be about 1/2 inch to 5/8ths ?! My parents left behind a heavier than normal metal canister ( 15 inches across & 21 inches deep ) this canister shood last me awhile & might be the answers to my prayer !
As always,, mucho ThankYu for yur tutelages & videos !!
Great video. Thanks.
Glad you liked it!
Fantastic lesson!! I have old canning pots - so I’m definitely going to try this!!
Great, I hope it works well for you - certainly less risky and more controlled than a wood fire. The key is to have enough room for the charcoal and plenty of ventilation.
I use a Behrens 20 gallon composting / trash burning bin. It is perfect for charcoal firing pottery as is. Also has a lid. Check it out. You will love it!
Good idea, thanks. I have used a smaller Behren pail before to cover pots and they have worked well but didn't last very long. Cheers.
Excelente video. Muchas gracias.
Thank you, always appreciated.
Thank you Wes, such a great video, and love that little pot, turned out great didn’t it.
Glad you enjoyed it. Yes I'm happy with the outcome. That isn't always the case.
Nice! Looks like it's sure seen a lot of use too!
I have used it a few time. The kettle is kind of light weight. I don't know how long it will last but it is much better than most of the buckets at the big box stores. Thanks for the support.
Excellent reportage merci pour toutes vos astuces
De rien, merci d'avoir regardé.
I'll have to use this when I fire a native clay project I'm slowly working on. I'm refining green marl clay, so in order to keep some of that beautiful color, it would need to be fired lower than average anyway. And I already have a big scrappy enamel steel pot with holes in it! Found it discarded with some holes rusted out, so I use it as a decorative recycling can inside.
Excellent, I'm glad you found a more economical option. Good luck.
Excellent video!
Thank you.
That's so cool of you to share, I'm unable to get a kiln ans this is totally doable😊
I'm glad to hear it. Best of success.
Fantastic! Some of your other videos inspired me to create a firebrick barbe-kiln, with good success. It reached temps of 2200F! I love the portability of this technique though! Perfect for a few quick firings, or taking it out camping. I know you're focused on primitive pieces, but I'm curious if you have ever tried raku style pottery with these firing methods?
Wow, 2200 is hot! You must have very good draft. I've thought about raku but haven't tried it. I'm particularly interested in some of the low fired glazes they use. Thanks for the comment and for watching. I used this same kettle this week as a saggar to protect my painting. It worked well.
How do you look up a non stainless steal pot? I can't find anything that isn't stainless steel
Hey Wes.. Great info for everyone.. I've been doing this to save charcoal.. You can adapt to any size pot with the bucket to suit.. I've forwarded this to my daughter as grand kids want to start getting grubby with clay.. But live in suburbia.. Happy daze to you
It would be great if you could make this a family hobby. Then you could have many hundreds of pots around the house instead of just a few hundred. :') Totally agree about the adaptability with this system. Not exactly authentic but reasonably close.
love your work wes!
I appreciate that! Thank you.
That was helpful indeed!
Glad you think so!
So would you then glaze the inside of the cup and refire it in the pot kiln? So that you can put liquids in it. I'd like to try doing something like that. Thank you for making the video it's given me ideas.😊
I'm not aware of a low fire glaze that would work with charcoal but you could talk to a ceramics shop. Pottery that is fired in this way is ceramic but it is sintered not vitrified. As such it is still porous. Water won't hurt it but it will tend to seep through the pores. You can use it the way it is although some will argue that it isn't food safe. There is a clear product, I think it is called liquid granite, made in Australia that will waterproof your pots. Check out Andy Ward's channel for some videos on how to seal pottery. Another option would be to use a commercial glaze on the inside and take to a place that has a kiln that reaches a high enough temperature. It is possible to build a wood fired kiln that gets hot enough (Romans) but I don't believe Native Americans developed that technology. Good luck, have fun.
@@airstreamwanderings3683 I've also seen videos of Asians and South Americans seasoning unglazed pots to use for cooking. YT is a massive library.
Very good, thanks for the video. But I still havent managed to find a pot like that for sale (that was affordable). I'll keep my eyes open because I like the idea of having multiple firing options.
Good luck. Sometimes they go on sale during canning season or you might find one at a 2nd hand store. Mine is cheaply made and probably won't last long.
hello, i loved this video. i just found your channel and looked through the videos. I wanted to know about the temperature range for making earthenware mugs and such for food safety? What are your thoughts on this? thank you so much for providing these wonderful learning videos for people. I homeschool and my autisic son is interested in making mugs.. but he wants to be able to use it..
Thanks for watching. Your question isn't completely easy. Pottery like this is ceramic but it isn't vitrified. Water won't hurt it but it is porous so water will seep through it a little. Some would say that because it is porous it isn't food safe. Cleaning it well will help and people used this kind of pottery for hundreds of years. There are a couple of options. There is a material, I think it is called liquid granite, that is colorless and seals the pottery. It is made in Australia and it is kind of expensive but a little goes a long way. Another option would be to make the pottery and fire it at a studio with a kiln that gets it hot enough to vitrify. Personally I've eaten out of mine without a problem. I suggest making the pottery and see how it goes. Also check out Andy Ward's channel. He has really good information. Good luck. Let me know if you have questions.
Thanks for the great advice. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my question.
Worked fabulously in my back garden! Any recommendations for firing larger pieces in a kiln like this? Say a pot the size of your metal pot? I'm particularly worried about getting that much charcoal up to temp.
I'm glad it worked. Here's a video of the way I fire bigger pots. You don't need a bucket to cover the pot, just the bricks to act as a surround to hold all of the charcoal. 2-3" of charcoal around your pots is about the right amount. Good luck.
Awesome thanks
Welcome 😊
Hi Wes - love your channel! I’m wondering if you’ve tried firing using a sawdust or wood shaving environment. I use a brick “pit” with wood, but am considering paring it down and using wood shavings packed pretty tight then covering the structure while it smolders. Seems a safer fire environment than the open fire. Ideas?
Thanks for watching. I've wondered the same thing but haven't tried it. I'm sure that you have seen different TY videos on the subject. I've always wondered how hot it would burn since it would be hard for sawdust to get enough air. Good luck, I hope it works.
For responding. I’ve seen one video and she didn’t use a thermocouple but the pots rang well. @@airstreamwanderings3683 thanks for
Where I live charcoal is really expensive to buy . I’m wondering if a wood fire would be hot enough .
I'm not sure if it would work or not. The bigger the kettle the better. I suspect the wood would have to be pretty small and there wouldn't be room for cover sherds. I have had briquettes delivered from Target and Walmart at no cost. Usually about $.60/lb is a cheap as I can find it. I hope it works. Maybe a layer of charcoal on the bottom with very dry wood on top?
Thanks for the video. It was great. Could you use wood to fire or only charcoal? Is it that wood would not get hot enough?
Thanks again
Sorry for the slow reply. It might work to use wood but I don't think there is enough room. Like you suggest, then it wouldn't get hot enough. I haven't tried it so it might work especially if you have a really small pot.
@@airstreamwanderings3683 Thanks. Much appreciated. Not a slow reply at all. Keep up the great work.
Здравствуйте! Скажите пожалуйста, какая глина подходит для такого обжига ? В ней наверно много кварцевого песка чтоб не потрескалась ? Я копаю сам глину и обжигаю на дровах очень медленно но всё равно бывают трещины. У вас красивые работы, рад что нашёл ваш канал.
Thank you. Every clay is different and some work and other don't. You can't tell until you have tested them. A few things are really important in being successful. Using quartz sand should be fine. You should have at least 20% temper. If it is cracking try 30% and see if it helps. Let it dry slowly depending on the environment. Bowls are usually dried rim side down with a towel over the top. Try to have even thickness in the pot. Once it feels dry, put it in your oven at 100C or 200f for a couple of hours to make sure it is totally dry. Hopefully this helps. Good luck and let me know how you do. If you look through my channel you will find some tutorials that might help. Also check out Andy Wards Ancient Potter, it is a very good channel.
Спасибо большое за развернутый ответ! Обязательно посмотрю ваши фильмы. Энди Уорда смотрел и подписан, очень интересный канал. Удачи вам.
Love it all.
Thanks so much.
Why would we have to protect the asfalt from fire? Isn't it fire proof?
Actually he is crazy I think for not having it on the yard there... Concrete will explode if you build a fire over top of it. I haven't watched the whole video but so far this seems completely backwards from any other video I've ever seen on firing pottery. It probably works to some degree but it's not safe by any means.
Awesome!!!
Thank you! Cheers!
I think the drum of an old washing machine might work well too.
Good idea, it might be perfect.
health, happiness, peace and love❤
Thank you, much appreciated.
Howdy Wes ! Great little video , which has inspired me to keep going onward with my pottery !
I appreciate what @angeladaz said, “Don’t stop posting your videos” ! I’m with them & this little kiln job just might be my answer to successful firings with less carbon issues & unhappy neighbors with my “bonfires” !
Thanks for the support. I like that you don't have to wait for perfect conditions or have a supply of dry wood to fire. There is a limit on how big the pot can be. Best of success.
A stainless steel drum from a dryer would probably be great for this.
Good idea, I bet your are right.
❤
Thanks, much appreciated.
👍
You may have been the 1st viewer today. Thanks!
@@airstreamwanderings3683
It happened that the last few times I was the first. 😀👍
Wow… that’s an expensive way to fire a piece! Out of my league.
True enough, it does add up.
❤
Thank you for the encouragement.