Raku Firing with Kids
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The Raku kiln is that box that Mr. Post is opening. It is made of insulated fire brick with a thin steel cover. The kiln reaches a temperature of 1800 degrees Fahrenheit in about 15 minutes. You can see some the animals the kids made for this firing here. |
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Mr. Post reaches into the kiln with tongs to pull out the hot sculptures. In this picture a small turtle is in the tongs, it is glowing orange from the heat. We had around 10-12 small animals in each load that day. You can see many in the background to the left of the kiln. |
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The turtle is placed into a metal garbage can full of newspaper. The hot turtle immediately starts the paper on fire. A student then puts a lid on the can. The fire uses up all of the oxygen in the can. The lack of oxygen causes the metals in the glaze to react differently than they do in our electric kiln. They turn coppery and metallic looking because there is no oxygen for them to react with. To see how a lack of oxygen can effect a glaze, look at the hippo and the bear on our raku animal page. They are two very different colors, but were both glazed with the same glaze. |
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We quenched the animals in water to help them cool off from the firing. You can see the water turn to steam immediately as it comes off of the turtles back. Even after quenching them in water several times, the animals are still way too hot to touch. |
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Mr. Post talks to each class about how to operate safely around the Raku Kiln. The kids did a great job of following directions and staying safe. |
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We fired load after load this day. The kiln is so hot, that Mr. Post does not have to relight it each time. When he turns on the gas at the tank, the propane ignites right when it hits the hot kiln atmosphere. |
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This is a close up shot of the burner. You can see just how hot the kiln looks inside. |
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A student peers in through one of the openings on the top of the kiln to see the glazes melting on the sculptures. When we fire things in our electric kiln, the kids never get to see this. With a Raku kiln, every kid gets to see the glazes melt onto the sculptures. |
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