Slow Cool Firing Schedule for Potters

Audrey Lynn Burm
Dec 19, 2023
2 min read

Updated: Mar 11

Three clay pots being fired. — Pottery Firing

WELCOME!

You are here because you are wondering which firing I usually use!

I have had many people asking me on my Youtube channel:

Audrey Lynn Studios

where they can get the Slow Cool Firing Schedule that I use when I glaze fire my stoneware creations.

THIS IS THE SCHEDULE I use most often! I like it because it gets me to a REAL or HOT Cone 6

SOMETIMES, I will lower the 5th Segment depending on the result I want. I have lowered it to 2195 F and 2185 F.

It depends weather I think the clay will bloat in the firing. Grog clays, dark and toasted clay, tend to bloat if put into a straight cone 6. So, I use the SlowCool to avoid bloating and pinholing.

Pinholing in pottery refers to a glaze defect characterized by small, unglazed dots or pinprick-sized holes on the surface of a fired ceramic piece. This issue arises when air bubbles become trapped in the glaze during application or firing, preventing the glaze from fully covering the clay body. Pinholing can result from various factors, such as improper glaze consistency, inadequate cleaning of the bisque-fired piece, or firing at an incorrect temperature. Since I bisque my pieces to cone 04, clean the pieces thoroughly and am careful to apply my glazes properly, I knew the problem was probably in the firing!

THIS IS THE SCHEDULE when I am using a straight Cone 6 Fire I will use this schedule when I am firing pieces with Copper Float and other Crystal Glazes. I only use white stoneware in this firing since and any grogged clay stands a pretty good chance of bloating.