17. How to Pitfire Pottery in an Oil Drum (Barrel)
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- Опубліковано 17 лип 2024
- This is my second video about how to Pitfire pottery in a home made Oil Drum (Barrel) Pitfire Kiln.
In this video I will take you all the way, from chopping the wood, preparing the pots with sulfates and ferric chloride, loading the pit with the different layers of saw dust, wood and combustibles, firering the kiln, unloading it - to cleaning the final pots and how to polish them.
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INDEX:
00:00 Cutting up the wood for Pitfire
03:01 Prepare the Oil Drum for Pitfire
04:28 Adding the first layer of sawdust
05:15 Adding Christmas leaves tree to the pot
05:40 Preparing the pots with Sulfates
09:08 Using Steel Wool on the pots
10:13 Loading the first pots to the pitfire kiln
11:00 Using Cobolt Carbonate in the kiln
13:20 Using salt to increase the fumes
13:40 Using other combustibles in the pit to create great colors
14:52 Preparing the second layer of pots in the oil drum
17:16 Using Ferric Chloride too create red and yellow colors
22:10 loading the second layer of pots into the kiln
24:30 Building a layer of wood on the top
28:25 Light up the pit - now we have fire! :-)
30:26 Night time - last words before I go to bed
31:45 The next morning
32:55 Unloading the kiln - very exciting!
40:17 Cleaning up the Pitfired pots
56:53 Polishing the Pitfired Pots
1:06:30 Images of all the final Pitfired pots
Probably the best pottery video on youtube! Thank you so much!
Wow, thank you! :-)
Omg love how they turned out!
Thanks :-)
Thank you for the video, I am pleased your firing turned out ok and no breakage so amazing.
Thanks. I was happy too 😁
Absolutely wonderful, thank-you!
You're very welcome!
Thank you so much!! This was incredibly helpful!!
Thank you :-)
Thank you for sharing your process! Hoping to put fire soon.
Thanks. You should - its so much fun :-)
That sulphur yellow combined with the plum purple and orange, just beautiful. It's always a random result! Good job mate.
Thank you! Cheers! :-)
What's the Yellow is?
epic video...subscribed
Thanks :-)
Thank you for the interesting Video from Switzerland.
Thanks. I am happy you liked it :-)
Amazing!
Thanks! :-)
@@deMibPottery You are quite welcome! I love watching you make your beautiful creations. You have taught me many tricks. You are an excellent teacher as well.
Beautiful...
Thank you, Im learning a lot from you....
New Subscriber 😊
Thanks and welcome :-)
Thanks real good, i ll do one pitt soon, super energy. Hi From france.
Thanks. You should. It's great fun :-)
Fantastisk :)
Thanks :-)
Thanks for sharing your work. I'm really enjoying it. The perfect lockdown activity. I'm wondering what kind of nuts you are throwing in to the kiln?
Thanks :-)
I am not sure what the name of the nuts are. It was just what was in my garden. Basically, any kind of organic materials can be used. The colors will be different from each type how its fired and what else is in the pit. Even the same materials from two different gardens will be different. So its best just to do some experiments with your own material. Go crazy. Its fun and often surprising :-)
Thank you for sharing, this is truly educate me.
do you have any other suggestion for polishing material?
Thanks :-)
Many kinds of wax can be used. Some use acrylic spray. Some use car wax
Hi Mike, Could you please let me know what is the dutch white solution you are using for finally polishing your pieces - Your art work is extraordinarily beautiful - thank you so much for sharing this video
It is this one: en.rakuvaria.com/diversen/dichtingsmiddel1-ltr
Thank you so much for sharing this! I am getting ready to do my first barrel fire and this helped a lot!! Im curious to know what kind of clay you use?
Good to hear ❤️
Thank you very much for sharing the knowledge, I just have a serious with firing the green ware pottery at home. I mean how can I adjust the sub boiling temperature at home?
I have been losing good pieces :(
Thanks in advance
Thanks :-)
I only pitfire bisque fired pots. I never pitfired greenware
you have to take a looong time to pre heat the pieces, like 3 hours i would say. i am only studying have little experience
Hi, thanks for this! Am I right in thinking that you have prepared the barrel by drilling 12 holes in it, maybe 1/4 way up from the bottom?
Thanks - yes exactly + 4 holes in the bottom
Thank you very much for your thorough explanations. Your work is beautiful. What is the name of the white liquid medium you used? You can tell me in Dutch and I'll have a friend translate it. It looks like acrylic medium but I don't think it is.
Thanks :-)
This is what I use for sealing: en.rakuvaria.com/diversen/dichtingsmiddel1-ltr
Great video, thanks for sharing. I am wondering if it makes a difference with what kind of sawdust you use. I know for raku it is recommended to use only hardwood. is that that same for pit firing?
Thanks - I don't know but different types may produce a little bit of different results
@@deMibPottery can you give me the name of the white polishing product you used at the end? the one from holland. thanks.
en.rakuvaria.com/diversen/dichtingsmiddel1-ltr
What kind of clay did you use please?
What did you bisque fire your pots to?
THANK YOU! Very cool pit firing!!!!
Thanks :-)
For this fire I used a stoneware with 25% grog but in previous fires I have used stonewere with more grog, less grog and porcelain with no grog. With the way I fire it all survives. The trick is to fire slow and cool naturally
Thank you for sharing is really helpful, I am a beginner, I think making ceramics is really interesting ,also I have a lot of questions can you write down the product you use for polishing . Thanks you.
Thanks :-)
I use Mink Oil and a sealant I get from Rakuvaria i Holland but you can also use an acrylic spray or car or floor wax
@@deMibPottery 🙏
Amazing work. Have you put any liquids on the vases apart from the ones shown in the video berlfore firing?
Thanks :-)
Some of the chemicals I frequently use is dissolved in water - Ferric Chloride, Iron, Cobalt and Copper Sulfates
@@deMibPottery thanks, but I mean have put any glaze apart from the chemicals?
No glaze. The pitfire is not warm enough for glazes. Also, they would (if they melted) stick to the other materials in the pit
TAK...det ser så spændende ud. Hvordan har du lavet væskerne (blandingsforhold)? Og er Ferric Chloride lig jernklorid. 40%?
Tak :-)
Ja, Ferric Chloride er jernklorid. Jeg bruger både 40% og en lidt fortyndet version. Begge dele bliver flot.
Sulfaterne er blandet med vand - nogle få skefulde i en flaske.
Can Ferric Chloride work as a glaze for unfired clay mugs and pots when used in a pitfire?
It is not really a glaze but more a colorant. It does not create the glass like surface you get in an electric, gass or wood fired pot using more traditional glazes
Meget fin video, lidt lang men god og informativ. Det virker bare overkommeligt at selv begynde med pitfire😊
Det fremgår ikke så tydeligt, hvad du har gjort ved krukkerne før pitfire? De er self. forglødet, men er de behandlet med andet før du kommer væskerne på?
Tak - og ja, ved godt den blev lidt lang. Der er endda klippet lidt ned. Det tager jo nogle timer, men synes trods alt det meste skulle med :-)
Jeg er ved at planlægge en ny video, hvor jeg går mere i detaljer med hvordan jeg drejer og behandler krukkerne inden de skal pitfires.
Men helt grundlæggende så drejer jeg dem, glatter dem, påfører Terra Sigillata og polerer dem så de er helt blanke.
Hi Mikkel I really enjoy your videos. I did my first barrel fire this past weekend. Tried it with six pots and they all turned out nicely. I wanted to ask if you use terra sigillata on your pitfire pots? If so do you apply to bisque or before bisque firing?
Thanks-I am so happy it turned out well for you :-)
On some pots I do use Terra Sigilate and if not then I burnish the pots.As there is no glaze it often looks best with a smooth and shiny surface.
I always apply the terra sigilata on bone dry pots
Tak for endnu en fed film! Hvad er det du drysser ned i pitten som du kalder miracle grow? Jeg går ud fra noget gødning, men hvad og hvorfor? :) Ville hønsemøj give det samme?
Tak. Jeg bruger ikke miracle grow. Det aktive stof i det er kobbersulfat, men det drysser jeg ikke i ovnen. Derimod drysser jeg ofte kobberkarbonat i, salt og nogle gange soda
Thank´s for sharing, it´s a class. Some videos like this don´t have legend (That i use it to translate: My english is too bad, and vocabulary short like a bikini rsrs). So, what is the wax you use? And it´s components, to find something equal here, in Brazil.
Glad you enjoyed it! :-)
The wax I use is called Mink Oil but you can use most kinds of wax. I just like this because it is soft, easy to use and smell good.
Tnx for this magic video , I have e question , did you use biscuits pots ?
I found my answer in other comments 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Yes I did
Hello, I saw your video and would like to ask if a clay bowl can be used as an alternative to the iron bucket? Is the ferric chloride mentioned in the video fused with sulfate and then poured onto the vessel? And are your works already sintered and then burnt? thank you

Yes, you can make many types of saggars. I just use tin foil because its easy. Some use tin cans or clay.
I use a raw 40% Ferric Chloride solution.
All the pots I pitfire is bisque fired but not fully vitrified
@@deMibPottery 謝謝你的分享!thanks!
Adorei , que cera usa nas
Thanks. Not sure what you mean. The translation say “wax” but I am not using any wax :-)
Do you ever pitfire greenware? Is there a reason not to skip the bisque firing?
No, I do not - for two reasons:
1) As you can't 100 control the heat in a pitfire you can't be absolutely sure your greenware get fired high and long enough to become solid ceramics.
2) Greenware pots are so fragile and I like to stack mine in the pit. I think I would loose more if not bisqued
Are the pots bisqued already before this firing?
Yes :-)
Could you mix copper carbonate with water and paint it on?
Yes, but that would create a different effect - more like a wash than fuming
May I ask a question?
Why we apply trra sigilata on ceramic bodies?
And we use it on bisque bodies or raw bodies??🌹🌹
Questions are always welcome here on my channel. Any questions! :-)
We apply Terra Sigillata to get a very smooth and shiny surface. This is good if you do low fire pottery with no glazes - such as horse hair raku, naked raku or pitfire. The result is a smooth, shiny surface that feels good, are easier to clean and somehow compensate a bit for not having a real glaze.
I always apply Terra Sigillata on bone dry green ware (raw bodies)
@@deMibPottery I start learning about ceramic 8-9 month ago , and one of the best things that happened to me is knowing friends and professors like you who give their knowledge and experience to others without any expectations. This is very beautiful 😍 ❤
Thank you so much :-)
Shout out to the other subscribers! You know you're cool...
👍
Hi, do you have holes drilled at the bottom of the bin ?
I'm guessing you do as it sets off so well! I sooo want to do this!
Looks so much fun!
Oh yes, I see later on the holes - I'll have to use one of the metal bins I am planning to use for Raku reducing - I was planning to use a gas Raku kiln but this looks way more fun!
Me again! one more thought! - I'm going to use a paper clay mixed with local salty seaside clay (30% paper pulp to 70% clay), I'm going to try green firing without bisque firing first... I've read that it can take a green firing due to the strength of the paper pulp but I have not tried it yet!
Do you have any experience with paper clay ?- or does anyone else reading this have any advice ?...
I'm new to firing with it and am using paper pulp as part of a 'recycle-re-use project at college
Many thanks for your great videos
Thanks :-)
I have no experience with fireclay or one-fires in pit. I always do my first fire in an electric kiln and only pitfire after.
Your swirlware only needs a clear glaze. In the Kiln.
No, thats just one way
Great video but was not able to understand what kind of treatment you used before firing.
Thanks.
I wrapped the pots in tin foil with organic materials, salts, ferric chloride etc. I have more videos about this on my UA-cam channel too :-)
@@deMibPottery Thank you . I fond your other videos and follow them. Great advise and very informative. Your work is beautiful.
max temp 800c kind of no?
The way I fire the flames probable don't get much warmer than that. Embers may be a bit more
Please can you tell me the name off the polish in dutch, thank you 😉
I am sorry, I don't speak dutch :-)
@@deMibPottery can you post a picture off the bottle ….thank you
I can't post images here :-)
But here is a link to it: www.rakuvaria.com/en/miscellaneous/miscellaneous/sealant-1-litre
It is written on the newspaper
Steigen zu schnell
Ich lerne deutsch und ich cann verstehen.
I have discovered a secret sorry but i have super powers lol.
.
Just kidding, I just want to thank you for your helpful video.
did you make other holes on the bottom of the drum ?
Thanks :-)
Sharpen that saw blade! It should have cut through that like butter. You are definately not Paul Bunion, great potter. Why not cheat with soap and water? Even a pumice gel? That BLUE! In that first pot that you used at the finale. The short squat pot. The first when you sat down. Can you please, PLEASE, please respond with everything you did to achieve that blue, I am craving it.
It's a very ling time since I did this fire, so all I have to share is in the video :-)
greenware?
No, bisque fired first
Flotte ting du laver.
Tusind tak :-)
Ash spray your pots
There are plenty of ashes in the fire :-)
waste of time
How? :)
Thank you for making this video. I would like to ask if you could trun on Closed Caption. I am hard of hearing and would love to understand better your work. Thank you again.
Thanks, but unfortunately I do not have the resources to write captions for my videos
@@deMibPottery oh, I thought maybe it was a UA-cam selection in the settings that the video maker could do. It should be automated by UA-cam. No need the write. Oh dear no, I wouldn't want anyone to have to do this.
But thank you, again, your video was very instructive.
@@deMibPottery i found this. If it will help. If not, ok. Thank you.
Captioning UA-cam Videos
Go to the Video Manager and click the Edit button for the video you want to caption.
Click the Subtitles/CC tab at the top of the page.
UA-cam may have already auto-captioned your video. If so, Published: English (Automatic) (or the language of your video) will appear to the right of your video
Unfortunately automatic captions are not available on my videos