Huge thank you for sharing the knowledge and wisdom you have acquired over all the years of experimentation. Thank you for that generosity of spirit. I guess it’s the love of it which motivates you. Bless you 🙏🏽
@@AncientPottery Just keep working with the clay...for going on 3 years...have the wood...have a bucket....need some tin to place on the ground to protect fire from ground moisture (is very wet with rain every 2 to 3 days)...also have paint...slip is questionable but not really needed...so the answer is soon...need to finish your firing class...
I'm SO happy to have found you! I've been firing greenware in sawdust, but only small items survive my open firings. Info about these methods is scarce - a lot of post-bisque pit- and smoke firing is called primitive firing
I just realize why my coil pottery exploded multiple times in the firepit on the other day. I quite didn't follow the heat transfer process. I skip the Convection which explains how I fire my pottery on the pit right away then exploded. I just learned this video that I need to place the pottery next to the firepit to vaporizers remaining moist in a bone dry clay.
Awesome video Andy, while I'm watching this I'm actually pit firing a few prices today, hoping they come out well. I do know that at least one of them did break as I heard it, but thats part of the process, at least my favorite piece hopefully held. We shall see in a few hours...one of my fist attempts at a real pit fire.
Nice video. Love that guitar rift! I'm sure you are sick of hearing this, but zinc gives of a very poisonous gas when heated. Can't get enough of your vids!
Yep, I have heard it many times. Still, firing out in the open like this it would be hard to get exposure to those fumes. I have also had more than a few complaints about the music volume in this video so I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it.
Love your channel! I'm experimenting with pitfiring in my backyard and would love to know how long you fired these pots and what was your target temperature (even though you couldn't measure it this time). I'm still looking through all your videos so if this info is in another one, apologies in advance! Thanks :)
Well, you need to be careful not to breathe the fumes when it is cooking. But in a big open fire like this there is nothing but good ventilation. Just don't stand downwind, like you would want to anyway.
great video, thank you, maybe music volume a little lower, loudness distracts.. & I wanted to see alot more of the big pot with your great explaining. Great how you make do with what you got adjusting as you go, that's real efficiency & gives valuable insights
I didn't see whether there was a vent on the bucket. Would you consider the firing a true oxidation firing, or neutral? Seems once the wood goes to ash, it could block oxygen intake creating a reduced environment.
Chris Kurtz I drilled holes around the top of the bucket for ventilation. The tub was sitting up on rocks to allow plenty of oxygen to get under the bottom. It was definitely oxidation my reds came out great, in a neutral atmosphere they would have been more yellow.
I've been a little wary of using galvanized containers in fires because of the zinc vapors. Maybe it doesn't get that hot though, or maybe outdoors is ok.
The pit house was used as living quarters by the ancient Hohokam culture who lived in this area from about 700 to 1450 AD. I wasn't in on the construction of it so I don't know much about how it was made. I could probably get up to maybe 1000 C if I fired with more wood over a longer duration but I think it might be hard to get much hotter than that because you are losing so much heat to the environment in this type of firing.
I love watching the browns brighten into reds, thanks for this! What cone / temp do you want to get up to and how long? Assuming you use Fahrenheit because you said the day was glorious at 77 degrees, you’d be screaming and falling down if that was Celsius.
Temperature was probably around 820 C. Time was fairly short, maybe 45 minutes from start to finish. The funny thing is that I think of ambient temperature in Fahrenheit but pottery temperature in Celsius because that is what all the archaeology books I read use.
@@marioncodner Yes, I could probably reach higher temps if I added more fuel kept the fire going longer but over 4 hours you could use a lot of fuel this way, it would be more efficient to reach higher temps if you had some sort of a kiln, even a simple updraft wood kiln is much more efficient.
It depends on your goals. If you are trying to make an authentic replica then the cover sherds are the way to go, but a metal bucket is less authentic but a better alternative to keep your pottery clean.
Sorry I should have explained better. It is a sherd (piece of broken pottery) that protects the pot from coming into contact with the fuel and from the intense radiant heat of the fire.
Tryed my first firing today in a big trench and everything blew apart or cracked n fell nothing made it out of 12 pieces .... 😣😭but its a learning process try try again
I took a ceramics class and i really enjoyed making water jugs, i want to get back into it but paying for kiln space isnt in my budget, as far as i'm aware pit firing isn't good for water storage pieces, is there a way around that? How did ancient people store their water? Any insight anyone could provide?
There are several different ways to seal earthenware pottery. Here is a video I made about some sealing methods. ruclips.net/video/SXxH9eQP8i8/видео.html Some seepage is just expected and it keeps the water inside cool.
Thank you for making your videos! I have a general question about unglazed cooking pots. I’ve been told these may not be safe for use due to potential leaching of harmful stuff into the food. I’d love to hear your thoughts as I’m keen to make some for personal use.
Not according to the FDA. But our ancestors ate and drank off of such ceramics for millennia and I know many people today who do too. But the material is earthenware and as such is porous to some degree.
My wife, my mom and my daughter-in-law are in this video 👀
They were the rabbit stick people
NGL, you got me with that chicken wire popsicle stick bit. Lmao
This is quickly becoming my favorite channel.
Glad to hear it, thanks.
Wow AWESOME pot. I wish you would show close ups more at the end , but hey this was epic.
Huge thank you for sharing the knowledge and wisdom you have acquired over all the years of experimentation. Thank you for that generosity of spirit. I guess it’s the love of it which motivates you. Bless you 🙏🏽
My pleasure!
Beautiful pot.....great video....preheat..convection....stack the wood so it falls into the pots....Thanks!
Have you done a firing yet? Can’t wait to hear about your results.
@@AncientPottery Just keep working with the clay...for going on 3 years...have the wood...have a bucket....need some tin to place on the ground to protect fire from ground moisture (is very wet with rain every 2 to 3 days)...also have paint...slip is questionable but not really needed...so the answer is soon...need to finish your firing class...
How do you not have more subs?! This channel is fun!
Thanks. I am all for more subs, feel free to share my content.
I'm SO happy to have found you! I've been firing greenware in sawdust, but only small items survive my open firings. Info about these methods is scarce - a lot of post-bisque pit- and smoke firing is called primitive firing
Thanks. It seems to me that post-bisque pit firings are not true firings since the results are merely decorative.
Beautiful pot and great firing results! Wow!
Thank you
Great tips, great video. Thanks Andy! 👏🏻
My pleasure!
I just realize why my coil pottery exploded multiple times in the firepit on the other day. I quite didn't follow the heat transfer process. I skip the Convection which explains how I fire my pottery on the pit right away then exploded. I just learned this video that I need to place the pottery next to the firepit to vaporizers remaining moist in a bone dry clay.
Yes, warm your pottery before firing to dry it out. You can even put it in the oven in your kitchen on low to do this.
Thank you
You're welcome
Beautiful pot! Thanks for shownieuws thé technic!
You are welcome.
Really enjoying your videos. Do you have to worry about the pots cooling off too quickly and cracking when you take them out of the fire?
Yes, I always am careful to let them cool as slowly as I can.
Awesome video Andy, while I'm watching this I'm actually pit firing a few prices today, hoping they come out well. I do know that at least one of them did break as I heard it, but thats part of the process, at least my favorite piece hopefully held. We shall see in a few hours...one of my fist attempts at a real pit fire.
Good luck with the pit fire, they are a lot of fun.
Nice video. Love that guitar rift! I'm sure you are sick of hearing this, but zinc gives of a very poisonous gas when heated. Can't get enough of your vids!
Yep, I have heard it many times. Still, firing out in the open like this it would be hard to get exposure to those fumes. I have also had more than a few complaints about the music volume in this video so I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it.
Beautiful!
Thank you!
Love your channel! I'm experimenting with pitfiring in my backyard and would love to know how long you fired these pots and what was your target temperature (even though you couldn't measure it this time). I'm still looking through all your videos so if this info is in another one, apologies in advance! Thanks :)
My target temp was around 800 C, the firing took less than an hour, maybe 45 minutes.
Very useful information. Thanks.
Do. Not. Use. Galvanized. Steel. In. Fires.
Well, you need to be careful not to breathe the fumes when it is cooking. But in a big open fire like this there is nothing but good ventilation. Just don't stand downwind, like you would want to anyway.
greate work on that one
Thanks
great video, thank you, maybe music volume a little lower, loudness distracts.. & I wanted to see alot more of the big pot with your great explaining. Great how you make do with what you got adjusting as you go, that's real efficiency & gives valuable insights
Sorry about that. I am relatively new to video editing and learning as I go.
I didn't see whether there was a vent on the bucket. Would you consider the firing a true oxidation firing, or neutral? Seems once the wood goes to ash, it could block oxygen intake creating a reduced environment.
Chris Kurtz I drilled holes around the top of the bucket for ventilation. The tub was sitting up on rocks to allow plenty of oxygen to get under the bottom. It was definitely oxidation my reds came out great, in a neutral atmosphere they would have been more yellow.
Electric chainsaws and polesaws work quite well. It's much easier to carry around a spare battery than a spare engine.
there are many ways to skin that cat.
@@AncientPottery indeed.
I've been a little wary of using galvanized containers in fires because of the zinc vapors. Maybe it doesn't get that hot though, or maybe outdoors is ok.
Do it outdoors and don't put your head in the smoke.
i'd cut an oil drum in half and get two containers for nearly nothing, but not put my head in the smoke as at first it would be burning paint. ;)
another question :) that pit firehouse... can you share how its build and used? can you reach high temps firing that way?
The pit house was used as living quarters by the ancient Hohokam culture who lived in this area from about 700 to 1450 AD. I wasn't in on the construction of it so I don't know much about how it was made. I could probably get up to maybe 1000 C if I fired with more wood over a longer duration but I think it might be hard to get much hotter than that because you are losing so much heat to the environment in this type of firing.
Great video! I love the knives, are they available for sale?
Thanks. I have no idea about the blades, they were made by Allen Denoyer www.archaeologysouthwest.org/team/allen-denoyer/
@@AncientPottery thanks, I'll check it out!
I love watching the browns brighten into reds, thanks for this!
What cone / temp do you want to get up to and how long? Assuming you use Fahrenheit because you said the day was glorious at 77 degrees, you’d be screaming and falling down if that was Celsius.
Temperature was probably around 820 C. Time was fairly short, maybe 45 minutes from start to finish. The funny thing is that I think of ambient temperature in Fahrenheit but pottery temperature in Celsius because that is what all the archaeology books I read use.
do you think that if the firing was longer...like 4 hours or so, could you reach higher temp?
@@marioncodner Yes, I could probably reach higher temps if I added more fuel kept the fire going longer but over 4 hours you could use a lot of fuel this way, it would be more efficient to reach higher temps if you had some sort of a kiln, even a simple updraft wood kiln is much more efficient.
Do you recommend the bucket or pot shards more that was over the pots when fired
It depends on your goals. If you are trying to make an authentic replica then the cover sherds are the way to go, but a metal bucket is less authentic but a better alternative to keep your pottery clean.
What’s a cover shirt ? Cover sheert? Cover sheart? Cover shear? What is it
Sorry I should have explained better. It is a sherd (piece of broken pottery) that protects the pot from coming into contact with the fuel and from the intense radiant heat of the fire.
You mention that you used that deep pan to cover the pot because you didn’t have big enough somethingorothers.
What was it?
Cover sherds, see this video ruclips.net/video/tXyyLFApD4U/видео.html
What is the best clay for pit firing?
I am only just discovering ancient pottery styles. Am I correct in thinking that it is fired only once? That is, sintered but not vitrified?
Yes on both counts.
@@AncientPottery Thank you, very much :)
nice vid just started looking into pottery making as a hobby, What is a cover shirt?
Sorry for not being clear, it is a cover sherd. Your question is answered in this video ruclips.net/video/tXyyLFApD4U/видео.html
Tryed my first firing today in a big trench and everything blew apart or cracked n fell nothing made it out of 12 pieces .... 😣😭but its a learning process try try again
Oh my! Add more temper to your clay body.
@@AncientPottery will do thank you much
I took a ceramics class and i really enjoyed making water jugs, i want to get back into it but paying for kiln space isnt in my budget, as far as i'm aware pit firing isn't good for water storage pieces, is there a way around that? How did ancient people store their water? Any insight anyone could provide?
There are several different ways to seal earthenware pottery. Here is a video I made about some sealing methods. ruclips.net/video/SXxH9eQP8i8/видео.html Some seepage is just expected and it keeps the water inside cool.
Hope everyone was far enough away from that galvanized bin lol
Nobody complained
Don’t heat galvanized steel the fumes are toxic. Besides that great video thank you!
Only the first time it is fired and only if you breath the fumes. Don’t stand down wind and you will be fine.
Question: Do you make black Pottery and can you show us how to make black pottery? Thanks!
No I do not make black pottery. Check out this video ruclips.net/video/nyAZYXrlL3w/видео.html
Thank you for making your videos! I have a general question about unglazed cooking pots. I’ve been told these may not be safe for use due to potential leaching of harmful stuff into the food. I’d love to hear your thoughts as I’m keen to make some for personal use.
Hi, I answered this question on your comment to my “how to make primitive pottery” video. Thanks for asking.
Thank you and apologies for the repetition of question. I didn’t think my first try went through! :)
Would a Dutch oven work for small pots and mugs?
Maybe, I have never used one but give it a try.
Stay out of the smoke when you are heating galvanized metal. Metal fume fever is no fun.
True, fortunately we had plenty of ventilation.
dont rocks sometimes explode in a fire?
Yes, some times. Try to collect dry rocks of a porous texture, dense rocks more often explode as the water vapor tries too escape the hot rocks.
Are these food safe?
Not according to the FDA. But our ancestors ate and drank off of such ceramics for millennia and I know many people today who do too. But the material is earthenware and as such is porous to some degree.
Im just going to go ahead and pretend you said steampunk ranch.
That would be a better name