Ceramic Clay Firing Temperatures

The goal of bisque firing is to convert greenware to a durable semi vitrified porous stage where it can be safely handled during the glazing and decorating process.

Ceramic clay firing temperatures.

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. By cone 08 the ware is sintered and has become a ceramic material. For success a potter must know the correct temperature range at which their glaze becomes mature. Firing clay from mud to ceramic.

If fired at too low a temperature the glaze will not mature. Ceramic work is typically fired twice. People want to know if they can fire a certain clay to a certain cone. The average firing temperature for high fire stoneware is 2381 1305.

The temperature needed to transform soft clay into hard ceramic is extremely high and is usually provided by a kiln. The three most commonly used clay bodies are earthenware clay bodies mid fire stoneware clay bodies and high fire stoneware clay bodies. Cone temperature conversion chart. The clay goes from this soft totally fragile substance to one which is rock hard impervious to water wind and time.

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. Generally bisque firing is done between cone 08 and cone 04 no matter what the maturation temperature of the clay and of the glazes that will be used later. As a kiln is firing up and cooling down the changes in temperature make some profound changes in the clay.

However anywhere from 2305 to 2336 1263 to 1326 may be appropriate depending on the specific clay used and desired effect. It is bisque fired and then glaze fired. We get many questions about clay firing temperatures. Firing converts ceramic work from weak clay into a strong durable crystalline glasslike form.

First it is important to know that the maximum cone rating of a stoneware or porcelain clay is the temperature at which it vitrifies. Stoneware glaze some decals fire to cone 10. Between the range of cone 8 and cone 12 high fire stoneware will mature.