Glazes Cone 6: 1240 C / 2264 F (Ceramics Handbooks) [Paperback]

Michael Bailey (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0812217829 | ISBN-13: 978-0812217827 | Publication Date: June 5, 2001

Traditionally potters fired their work either at low temperatures, as for earthenware, or at the high temperature that stoneware requires. However, a growing number of potters, particularly those who use electric kilns, are firing to a middle-range temperature, of which cone 6 is typical. Using middle range temperatures saves fuel and expense, reduces wear on electric elements, and yet allows the potter to achieve features shared by earthenware and stoneware. Because of the popularity of this technique, pottery suppliers have recently begun developing clay bodies and glazes suitable for the temperature range.

In Glazes Cone 6 Mike Bailey surveys the growing trend in middle-temperature firing and guides the reader by practical knowledge. He discusses a range of different glazes, including special effects, glaze stains, and underglaze colors, giving both recipes and tips for ensuring success.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An extremely helpful book."—Fusion Magazine

"Glazes Cone 6 adds valuable information to the repository of general knowledge on glazes for this temperature range, while at the same time offering us a gamut of glazes to try out and experiment with."—Ceramics Today

About the Author

Mike Bailey is a partner in Bath Potters' Supplies. Both a scientist and a studio potter, he is a frequent contributor to pottery journals such as Ceramic Review.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (June 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812217829
• ISBN-13: 978-0812217827
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

132 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cone six glaze theory made simple., January 2, 2002

By 

FlyingSnail - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glazes Cone 6: 1240 C / 2264 F (Ceramics Handbooks) (Paperback)

This is not a recipe book or a catalog of glazes, nor is it a chemistry textbook. It focuses specifically on cone six oxidation (electrically-fired) glazes, with easy-to-understand charts of glaze properties, and simple explanations of the materials that create the different properties of glazes. This presentation allows the glaze creator to predict where any glaze they make may fall in terms of its firing properties, with particular emphasis on coefficient of expansion. This is an important factor in glaze design since it determines 'glaze fit': whether a particular glaze will craze or even cause cracking in the clay beneath it. This topic has seldom been explained with such clarity and simplicity.

Each broad type of cone six glaze (matte, glossy, low-expansion, porcelain, etc.) is discussed, and charted for comparison with other cone six glaze types. 'Special' glaze types are also mentioned, including Chun glazes, Bristol glazes, crystalline glazes and single-firing glazes for greenware.

Methods of calculating glaze formulas are reviewed in this book also, covering the conversion of a recipe to its unity formula and percentage analysis. Not an in-depth course in calculation, but a basic introduction for the novice, or a handy review for the more experienced (but not yet expert) glaze developer.

Recipes are given for each glaze type, but they serve less as suggestions for glazes to use than as typical examples for comparison. Colorants are discussed in a basic way, but are not the focus of this book.

Photos are given for each example discussed, featuring test tiles of each glaze arranged for easy comparison. Not many pictures of pretty pots here, just consistent, representative photos of glaze samples of the sort shown on the cover, and pictures of a few actual ceramic objects to demonstrate the appropriateness of various glazes in practice.

The appendix contains a useful chart of the chemical compositions of many common ceramic materials used in the US and UK (where the author resides).

This book is an excellent aid to making cone six glazes from scratch. It's not quite a 'start from zero' book, but a useful supplement to the standard studio-ceramics textbooks. Easy to understand, not scary, and does not presume an extensive chemistry or mathematics education, though a high-school-level background will be helpful. This is a book for the ceramist who has been using existing glaze recipes, but is now ready to find out how they work and to develop their own.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative, but probably more useful for the UK, June 9, 2006

By 

Ivy G. (Eastern Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glazes Cone 6: 1240 C / 2264 F (Ceramics Handbooks) (Paperback)

While this book does a great job of explaining certain aspects of glaze theory, the way in which it is approached did not leave me, an American potter, with a lot of useful information.
The first half of the book goes into great detail about glaze theory, with many clear charts and graphs to illustrate the author's points. I found it to be easy to understand and very thorough. Proportions of silica, alumina, and fluxes are discussed, explained, and diagrammed. Also, there are many glaze tests illustrated.
The second half of the book deals with specialty glazes and provides recipes from potters. These are also well documented and illustrated.
This book was written in the UK and seems to be geared almost exclusively to the UK potter. This is not a bad thing for a UK potter, but does make it less useful in the US in terms of the way that we usually formulate glazes here. In my experience, most Cone 6 glazes in the US are formulated with boron. So learning about boron's effect on glaze analysis is essential. The author declares at the outset that he will not be explaining boron in terms of glaze theory, and it is discussed only in terms of its use in a specialty Chun-type glaze. Also in the US, we tend to avoid the use of zinc in glazes, since it has a negative effect on many colors. Almost every glaze analyzed in this book has a significant portion of zinc.
Although the theory is clearly explained and this book may be a useful reference for that part, I found much of it to be useless for my work because of the exclusion of boron and the use of zinc.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Slightly disappointed, October 9, 2007

By 

Timothy J. Joko-Veltman "Tim" (Brasilia, Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glazes Cone 6: 1240 C / 2264 F (Ceramics Handbooks) (Paperback)

After Snail Scott's review, there's not much to say, as she gives an excellent and in my opinion, accurate overview of the book.

I myself was disappointed, however. A few factual errors are indicative: zinc is NOT an alkaline earth, but a transition metal; and while magnesite is ideally magnesium carbonate, not all magnesium carbonate is magnesite, that is, the two are NOT synonymous. Also, I was perplexed by the insistence on using zinc oxide in nearly all the bases; not only is it expensive, but it also has a powerful (and usually undesirable) effect on most colourants.

Maybe I just got used to superb glaze references, and was expecting more. Even so ... a decent buy, and it gave me a few good ideas, but I'm slightly regretting having bought it. (I would, however, recommend Clay and Glazes for the Potter and The Ceramic Spectrum: A Simplified Approach to Glaze and Color Development.)