Metal Clay : Firing Pt.I

I doubted I'll be able to finish all I wanted to say about firing today due to my sleep early campaign. :P I'll manage with what I can till bedtime and continue with the rest on another post.

So, as I was saying.......

Firing is where the magic happens, i.e. where the clay is 'sintered' and transformed into metal. Errr.... like transformer? LOL...... :P

But, before that, a very important rule prior to firing. The clay MUST be completely and thoroughly dry before you can fire it. Otherwise, it won't survive the firing process and all your effort goes down the drain!

Also, as much as you can carved onto the clay when it is bone dry, it is also just as fragile at this point. Like what my instructor said, "This is where everything can go wrong and just break!"

I remembered how everyone starts tip toeing in class and handled the bone dry clay so delicately like they were cradling a baby or something after hearing that! LOL.... XD

Well, no mishap happened. :P

There are many ways in which you can fire metal clay. The one you would hear most often is firing it in a kiln.

You can fire a couple of other things in a kiln, really. Depending on how high the temperature can go, you can use a kiln for pottery, glass fusing, metal clay, enameling and annealing glass bead. Well, that's the least I know of that you can make do with a kiln.

But the drawback???

$$ !!




The picture above is the famous paragon kilns which is going to set you back at least around RM3000+ for the smaller ones. o_O

Even the smaller hobbyist mini kiln will set you back around RM1000+!




This is roughly how the firing chamber looks like.




For the small ones, I think they are really small. You can probably fit only about 2 to 3 pieces, depending on the size. These kilns may look relatively big on the exterior but the firing chamber can be very small only.

It's probably very hard for you to imagine with just the word small. Emmm.... I can't think of a better analogy other than a toaster! LOL.... not exact that narrow but maybe about 2 times wider than the width of the toasting chamber.


This is so effin cool, ok! My favourite breakfast! Eggs and cheese on English muffin! XD


Basically the wall of the kiln would take up most of the space already since it is one of the most important feature of a kiln. What is left is the firing chamber. So, if you want a bigger firing chamber where you can fire more pieces at once, you need a bigger kiln. And the reason you would want to fire more pieces at once?? Electricity bill!! Since the firing process is going to take hours.

The cheapest kiln is the beehive kiln which will cost less than RM1000. A couple of hundreds I think. But it is so small that you can only fire 1 decent piece in it!


Don't be deceived by the picture. It is actually very very small only lah.


Well, if a kiln can only be used to fire the clay, then surely not many people would be able to pick up this craft, would they? Luckily, there are cheaper alternatives.

One such way is on the hob.





Basically, what is done is to place a stainless steel mesh on top of your gas stove to fire the clay! Unbelievable? Well, believe it! (man.....that sounds awfully familiar.... o_O Ripley's believe it or not! LOL..... :P)

I've never tried the above method though. What I did try is using a torch. Yes, just your ordinary handheld butane torch which is going to cost you around RM50 I think. It is also very much faster to fire with a torch as compared to a kiln.



Thanks to improvisation, the newer metal clay formulation now has lower firing temperature which is why you can use these two methods to fire the clay.

But the problem with firing with a torch.......
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*Sigh*.......

These two pieces; on the left and right, come from the same mould. The one on the left are two of the same flower motifs as the one on the right which were joined together. The left one was fired in the kiln with controlled temperature. The one on the right with a torch. My very first attempt with a torch.

Well, fine silver will melt at certain temperature. So, unlike a kiln where the temperature is digitally controlled, you have a tendency to over fire with a torch and when this happens, the silver melt and you basically loose the form and shape of your piece. Another ruined piece and wasted effort! :(

There is also the thing on firing schedule. You need to fire them long enough for the metal particles to sinter. How long would depend on the size of the piece and if you are firing using a torch, you are limited only to pieces no larger than 1 1/2" and no thicker than 2mm. (Now you see why kiln is the preferred choice!)

Well, not to say that the torch is a lousy alternative. Actually, it is the most common cheaper alternative and many people have successfully use this method to fire their pieces but I do think you need to work on it a couple of times before getting a hang of it, although there are definitely going to be some limitation in size.