262 
ftERAMIC STUDIO 
cap off the top of the oil can when firing to permit a free cir- 
culation of air or this also may stop the oil. 
Get five cents worth of whiting at the grocery, mix 
with water to smooth paste and with a large coarse brush 
paint it all over the iron shelves and shelf supports and 
place these in oven to dry, then in the kiln, with the stilts, 
asbestos cord, and sheets of platten if you have them. Fire 
these all, this first time, when you are drying and burning' 
out the fire-pot. 
Choose a clear day, for the first firing particularly. Re- 
member that the kiln works on the principle of a kerosene 
oil lamp in respect to draft. If the wind blows down the 
chimney or in gusts, or the air is muggy, soot will gather in 
the burner and on bottom of muflfle. On a clear day this will 
burn off and be carried up the chimney. 
Use pinch of asbestos cotton for wick. Do not replace 
each time. It will last indefinitely. Saturate wick by 
turning on oil, then let oil drop slowly. Apply match to 
wick. After one hour drop faster and after four or five 
hours, a tiny stream. Never at any time let oil extend be- 
yond the wick more than two or three inches. Get the kiln 
to red, then white heat. Turn the faucet off. Let kiln 
cool gradually and the dampness and vapors will have 
gone off and out the chimney and can not settle back on 
the china and destroy the glaze. 
Remember after each firing to immediately refill the 
tank. Protect the top of the funnel leading to the flow 
pipe with a bit of wire sieve (the newest kilns have some) 
and also with a small square of cheese cloth over that to 
prevent any foreign substance from getting into the pipe 
to clog them and retard firing. This will doubtless save a 
plumber's bill later. ' ' An ounce of prevention, etc. ' ' Fir- 
ing all day or so slowly the first time takes more oil than 
ordinarily, but it ' ' seasons ' ' the muffle or fire-pot and 
keeps it from cracking seriously, and insures a safe, sure 
firing of china next time. 
STACKING. 
Look over the china and see if you need to use the 
shelves. With many small pieces they are indispensable. 
Saturate the asbestos wick as before, light, and let oil drop 
very slowly. It may take an hour to stack the kiln at first, 
until you become familiar with the colors and know just 
what colors should occupy certain places in the kiln. It 
saves time to allow the kiln to be heating slowly while you 
stack it. The hottest part of the kiln is in the back, on the 
bottom, and on the side next to the oil tank, and here should 
be fired carmines, rose pink, ruby, lustre and the purest 
Roman gold, particularly if for first firing. 
For medium heat, place Roman Purple, Marsching's 
Peach, most of the golds of commerce and any other colors 
except violets and reds,which require the lightest fire. With 
too much firing, violet shades turn "milky", Yellow 
Brown, Yellow Red, Capucine Red, Orange Red, fade per- 
ceptibly. Deep Red Brown and Blood Red turn brownish, 
so does Ruby, although too much oil in case of Ruby will 
have same effect. Apple Green turns yellowish; Moss and 
Royal Green get ugly, although Apple Green added to them 
will keep them from turning brown; Pink turns purple. 
Some reds rub off if under-fired and fade if over-fired; Pink 
under-fired looks ' 'bricky;" Yellow becomes more brilliant 
with hard firing. 
The colors which need the lightest fire should be put 
high up in the kiln and near the door. Do not fire gold 
within five inches of the door, unless it be liquid bright 
gold which takes lightest fire. Dusted color must be fired 
harder than an ordinary tint. A tint heavily fluxed will 
take a lighter fire. Pinks must not be put on too thick or 
they will chip in firing. If there seems to be a doubt as to 
whether a color is going to chip, give it an extra slow firing, 
particularly at first; this ^vill often prevent trouble. Also 
place the china high up in the kiln for same reason. 
Hard French china will take hardest firing, also Bel- 
leek, which has a thin, brittle, hard glaze; but Belleek which 
has a ' ' palette ' ' as trade mark on the bottom must be fired 
very lightly and near the door, nothing will ever blister or 
chip on Belleek but on a palette Belleek colors wih fade 
out dreadfully. 
The soft tiles which are used for framing must also be 
fired very lightly. They are thick and must be supported 
at the back by a plate, laying the back of tile directly on to 
edge of plate to prevent cracking. Tiles may also be fired 
on the shelf at front, though not always as successfully. 
Never allow anything, even a stilt, to touch Belleek or a 
dusted tint if you can avoid it. Don't stack on top of Bel- 
leek. It is not really safe to set a flat bottomed piece of 
china directly on bottom of kiln unless there is free circula- 
tion of air at bottom. Turn cider or lemonade pitchers 
upside down in firing to prevent cracking in bottom unless 
Belleek, then fire high up on a piece of platten or on shelf. 
It is better to fire plates, trays and saucers on edge, 
they take heat more evenly. Examine lower rim of plates 
or trays. If it be glazed, put tiny stilts between, hanging 
from top edge of plate to prevent sticking together; but if 
the edge is rough or unglazed it can be stacked next to a 
glazed and painted surface, unless it should come next to 
paste or enamel. 
Never allow a piece of china to fit tightly or wedge into 
any place in the kiln, as it will crack or break. Never stack 
more than six plates in the same row continuously, as the 
middle one will be apt to break from the weight. Crackles 
or a craze in the glaze of BeUeek will fire together perfectly. 
A wash of enamel will almost always save a cracked piece 
from cracking more. A little enamel mixed with paint 
and used to paint flower or leaf will prevent also a crack 
from spreading. Enamel should have hard firing. The 
less" flux is used, the harder the firing. 
It is better to dry everything, gold and all, well before 
putting in the kiln; there are not so many gases to settle 
and vapors to spoil glaze. Leave front door or spy hole 
open at first to assist in carrying off gases. Transfers 
should be dried slowly before firing and then be fired always 
as high up as possible in the kiln. Do not put middle of 
a tray or plaque on a stilt or piece of platten and then stack 
cups or any small articles at either end which being unsup- 
ported will warp. 
In firing punch bowls, pile stilts up high enough to 
support base and let bowl rest lightly on edge. The base 
to a punch bowd if unsupported has been known to slip off 
entirely. Do not fire punch bowl flat in the kiln, the weight 
of the sides when hot and soft may make them drop down and 
fire out of shape. Cups with a standard or legs should have 
piece of platten to separate them. Stilts are too wobbly. Tall 
vases or pieces found to be fired more at one end or side 
than the other, should be marked and reversed next time. 
Do not put fresh tint or gold right on the sand which may 
be in bottom of kiln. It roughens it. Dry first. Use 
sheets of platten for firing buttons. It saves room in the 
kiln. 
If you have a No. 4 kiln with one-piece mulfle, do not 
increase the flow until the oil has been dropping and burn- 
ing at least half an hour. If you light kiln when stacking, 
