Ceramic Firing Temperature

If fired at too low a temperature the glaze will not mature.

Ceramic firing temperature.

When potters talk about ceramic firing ranges they are usually referring to the three most common. Each ceramic glaze should be fired to a specific temperature range. Mostly yellow with a hint of orange. The temperature needed to transform soft clay into hard ceramic is extremely high and is usually provided by a kiln.

Cone temperature conversion chart. Very high fire porcelain. Stoneware glaze some decals fire to cone 10. This is the most common temperature range for industrial ceramics.

As the temper ature in a kiln rises many changes take place at different temperatures and understanding what happens during the firng can help you avoid problems with a variety of clay and glaze faults related to firing. And a body clay with underglaze yellow orange to light yellow from this point up low fire clays will start to melt damaging shelves and other pots low fire clays mature. People want to know if they can fire a certain clay to a certain cone. Firing converts ceramic work from weak greenware into a strong durable permanent form.

Mid fire earthenware should be fired between cone 2 and cone 7. Average is cone 10 2381 f 1305 c cone 8 12 range 2305 22419 f 1263 1326 c a hard vitrified non absorbent clay body. A common temperature range for industrial ceramics. Cone 10 13 range 2381 2455 f 1305 1346 c.

You cannot fire pottery in a home oven because ovens do not get up to the high temperatures of more than 1 500 degrees fahrenheit that you need for firing clay. The fancy name for this is vitrification or the ceramic chemistry that transforms a clay body into a hard non crystalline glass. If the temperature goes too high the glaze will become too melted and run off the surface of the pottery. This is the hardening tightening and finally the partial glassification of the clay.

For success a potter must know their glazes temperature ranges at which they become mature. A body glaze layer that forms between the clay body and glaze. First it is important to know that the maximum cone rating of a stoneware or porcelain clay is the temperature at which it vitrifies. If the temperature goes too high the glaze will become too melted and run off the surface of the pottery.

Ware and glaze types. The ware is returned to the kiln for a very low temperature firing in order to fuse the overglazes. Firing temperatures cone equivalents showing various clays and glazes mid range stoneware porcelain clays mature vashon clays crystal white dove alpine white etc. For mid range material a kiln should be firing at a temperature between 2124 and 2264 1162 1240.

The glass phase that forms during the firing of a ceramic material can be thought of as the glue that holds the finished work together.