How to Fire Art Clay Silver on a Gas Hob

Posted by Ruth Spreadborough on 4th Jul 2014

IMPORTANT! For proper and safe firing, please read this sheet thoroughly before starting.

1. Dry

Before firing, your piece must be completely dry. Dry it naturally, in a warm space, for more than a day, or with a hairdryer for at least 20 minutes.

If the piece isn’t dry, it may break or explode during firing, resulting in injury or burns.

If you use a hair dryer, keep it close to the piece, until thoroughly dry.

To check if the piece is completely dry, place the piece on stainless steel, glass or a plastic plate. After about 10 to 20 seconds remove the piece. If there is no water condensation on the plate you are using, the piece should be dry.

2. Trace outline

To check if your piece has been successfully fired, trace the outline of the unfired piece on a sheet of paper. Compare the fired piece with the traced size - Art Clay Silver contracts 8-10% in volume after firing so you should see a slight shrinkage.

3. Prepare bowl

To cool off the fired piece, prepare a bowl of water. The bowl should be made of stainless steel or glass.

4. Check glow

Place the stainless steel net over the burner. Make sure the stainless steel net is balanced and secure. Turn on the burner and find the hottest area of the net by its red glow. Turn it off.

5. Place on net

Immediately place the piece on the hottest part of the net using a pair of tweezers. If you have a protective net, place this over your piece.

6. Fire

Turn the burner back on. The piece will flame for a few seconds as the binder in the clay burns off. Soon the piece will begin to glow. It is easer to see this if you dim the lights. Fire for 5 minutes. For safety, don’t move, or touch, your piece or the net.

7. Cool

After firing for 5 minutes, turn off the burner and let the piece cool on the net for about 15 minutes. If you try to remove the piece before it is cool it may stick to the net. When the piece is cool it will easily detach from the net.

8. Quench

After cooling for 15 minutes, pick up the piece with tweezers and dip it into water to cool it completely.

9. Dry

Dry the piece with a clean towel.

10. Check size

Check the size of the fired piece against the outline of the unfired piece. If it hasn’t contracted, the piece has not been successfully fired. Repeat steps 5 – 8.

10. Polish

Brush your piece with a stainless steel brush to bring out the silver shine. You can also tumble it with some stainless steel shot, or polish with fine grit abrasive paper.

For a high polish, start with 600 grit, move up to 1000 and finish with 1200 or 2000 grit. Finish with metal polish.

FAQ

Q. Comparing a gas hob to an electric kiln or butane gas torch firing, is there any difference on contraction?

A. There shouldn’t be much difference among the firing methods done correctly. The contraction may vary with the volume of Art Clay Silver you use.

Q. Will a proper temperature be attained for firing Art Clay Silver with a gas hob?

A. Yes, if your cooking gas hob is able to generate a capacity of 2.9kW (2900 calories) and you use the recommended stainless steel net.

IMPORTANT

Size limitations: Under 25gm of clay, 5cm x 3cm. Max height 2cm.

Don’t use any supporting material such as fibre blanket or vermiculite.

Don’t fire hollow pieces with burnable cores, like cork clay, on the gas hob.

You can’t fire Art Clay Gold with this method.

Make sure the piece is completely dry before firing. It is best to dry it overnight in a warm place.

If firing Art Clay containing fireable gemstones, it is safer to let the piece cool slowly between two pieces of fibre blanket.

Please keep children and pets away whilst firing.

Remember your piece will be glowing hot – don’t try to move it once you started firing.

Don’t lean over the flame. Don’t wear dangly clothes or jewellery which may catch on the net.

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