Post #761782 by MauiTiki on Thu, Mar 31, 2016 12:18 PM

I wouldn't let the sculpt dry completely. We like to call it "Leather hard". They will be hard enough to cast but not bone dry and brittle.

Yes, you are correct, you could pour a bunch of mugs and clean them up. Let them dry and keep them in a safe place until you are ready to fire. After they are bisque fired, you'll need to keep them in a dust free environment to avoid any glazing issues.

Good luck! Shared kilns can be scary because you never know what others are firing along with yours. Glazes can put off all sorts of fumes that can discolor or fog up your glazes. Just hope your neighbors art doesn't explode and ruin your mugs.

Good luck!

-TikiRob

On 2016-03-31 09:41, tiki dan wrote:
I want to make a few mugs before I decide whether or not to dive into kiln ownership.

If I were to buy some of the low fire clay and make some prototypes, would letting them dry be good enough to cast? Right now access to a kiln costs a bunch of $$$ so if possible, I want to do as much as I can before having to fire anything.

So theoretically, could I make prototypes, make molds, and then make a bunch of slip casts and clean them up. And then at some time in the future have them bisque fired. Bring them home and glaze, then take them back for the final firing. Is that correct?

Are there any issues with waiting a while to fire the cast mugs? Anything I need to keep in mind?