Ceramic Clay Firing Temperatures

The temperature needed to transform soft clay into hard ceramic is extremely high and is usually provided by a kiln.

Ceramic clay firing temperatures.

As a kiln is firing up and cooling down the changes in temperature make some profound changes in the clay. Generally bisque firing is done between cone 08 and cone 04 no matter what the maturation temperature of the clay and of the glazes that will be used later. Firing clay from mud to ceramic. If fired at too low a temperature the glaze will not mature.

Ware and glaze types. We get many questions about clay firing temperatures. For success a potter must know the correct temperature range at which their glaze becomes mature. Cone temperature conversion chart.

The three most commonly used clay bodies are earthenware clay bodies mid fire stoneware clay bodies and high fire stoneware clay bodies. It is bisque fired and then glaze fired. The goal of bisque firing is to convert greenware to a durable semi vitrified porous stage where it can be safely handled during the glazing and decorating process. If the temperature goes too high the glaze will become too melted and run off the surface of the pottery.

You cannot fire pottery in a home oven because ovens do not get up to the high temperatures of more than 1 500 degrees fahrenheit that you need for firing clay. By cone 08 the ware is sintered and has become a ceramic material. Firing converts ceramic work from weak clay into a strong durable crystalline glasslike form. This is the hardening tightening and finally the partial glassification of the clay.

The average firing temperature for high fire stoneware is 2381 1305. First it is important to know that the maximum cone rating of a stoneware or porcelain clay is the temperature at which it vitrifies. Clay can be divided into several classes based on its characteristics and at what temperature the clay must be fired in order for it to become mature or reach its optimum hardness and durability. Each ceramic glaze should be fired to a specific temperature range.

The clay goes from this soft totally fragile substance to one which is rock hard impervious to water wind and time. Stoneware glaze some decals fire to cone 10. However anywhere from 2305 to 2336 1263 to 1326 may be appropriate depending on the specific clay used and desired effect.