raku clay mold

[slats]

Just made my first mold -raku clay....After a week it is 'leatherhard'...Now what do I do. I need a schedule for firing it o bisque then what schwdule do I use for slumping into it? Would it be different than BE molds?

[Ron Coleman]

When I bisque fire I set the kiln to heat over a period of about 5 hours to bisque temp ~1700 f and then shut the kiln off. Just let your clay dry to bone dry before firing. Drill some air vent holes before firing too.

Here is a link to a cone chart that gives a list of cone firing temperatures and heating rates. With cone firing the slower you fire the lower the temperature you have to fire to.

http://www.miniworlddolls.com/evenheat/ConeInfo.htm

You can fire raku clay to any of a bunch of different temperatures and they will all work. A cone range of 08 to 06 will work fine. The higher temps will give you a slightly tougher mold..

Fire like any other mold with your glass. Kiln wash before firing the glass.

[charlie]

Just made my first mold -raku clay....After a week it is 'leatherhard'...Now what do I do. I need a schedule for firing it o bisque then what schwdule do I use for slumping into it? Would it be different than BE molds?

feel it with your cheek. if it's cold, it's not dry enough.

i bisque at

400 850 0
100 1050 0
400 1650 30
off
don't open until cool