Can I fire small ceramic sculptures with a torch? If it's possible, can you give me details on how to do it? Best answer to whoever gives me thorough details. Thanks!
No way man. To get to a fired state, clay has to go through several different stages that can only happen at very high temperatures. All that will happen from a torch is that maybe some of the water will evaporate and it'll dry out. At 575C, the clay goes through 'Quartz Inversion' and this is the point at which it will never return to an unfired state - before this, if the clay gets wet again it can slake down into slip. There are lots of other changes that happen after that (the creation and re-organizing of crystals, etc) but it's all moot because there's no way a torch is going to get that hot. *Maybe*, *Maybe* if you had it in a very well insulated box and it was a really big flame and you could sustain it for 2 days but even then, if the piece was right next to the flame it would probably crack anyway I'd say you should find your local potter's guild and ask if someone could fire it for you.
no. The heat will rise to quickly if you heat them directly. That usually results in your clay piece exploding into pieces. Particularly if it turns out to be not completely dry. It might theoretically work if you build a small space out of firebricks and heat that with your torch, but then the size of your torch will limit the space you can actually heat. I don't think a small propane torch could heat anything but a really small space enough for firing ceramics. It also depends on your clay. I you would have used raku clay, it would be less sensitive than other clay to temperature variation so you could fire it in a few hours instead over a day or two. I would suggest to check out your yellow pages if there are any ceramic studio in your area which will fire your pieces in exchange for a fee. You might also check schools and art centers.
No , I agree with Tigris that it is not a wise thing to attempt. If you haven't done you piece yet, there are several clays on the market. Choose a clay based on what you want to do and what tools are available to you. I sculpt in high fire clay - it needs to be fired in a ceramic kiln to get its greatest strength. I pay to take classes and I joined a pottery guild that has kilns and firing. A lot of people use polymer clay. This needs to be baked to cure. This can be baked in a home oven. I have used an electric roaster that I can put outside so the fumes are outside of my living area. There are other clays that have an additive that melts when baked. I haven't used those There are modeling clays that never harden like plasticine - an oil based clay There are air dried clay - they are not as strong as the other clays and have a tendency to break There are some modeling pastes that are epoxy. They set up by a chemical reaction
