Back when I started, I thought those digital kiln controllers were just a gimmick

I learned on an old manual kiln where you had to watch the pyrometer and turn knobs yourself. When a friend in Portland got a Bartlett controller about five years ago, I figured it was just a pricey toy. What changed my mind was seeing his color runs come out perfectly even, batch after batch, while I was still babysitting my own. He could set a complex schedule for striking a certain red and go to sleep, something I would never risk. Now I run one myself and it's hard to imagine going back. Anyone else have a tool they were wrong about at first?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_robin1mo ago

Woah, okay here's something I haven't seen anyone mention yet. Those digital controllers saved my back more than they saved my glazes. I used to sleep in my studio during overnight firings on a camping cot, waking up every hour to check on things. That constant interrupted sleep wrecked me for days after a firing. Now I set it and actually get a full night's rest, which means I'm way more focused and careful during the actual loading and glazing parts. Just something nobody talks about when they argue old school versus new school.

the_richard2mo ago

Nah, I gotta push back on this one. All that tech just puts another layer between you and the clay. My old manual kiln taught me to read the heat, to feel the firing. Now I see people who can't even load a kiln right because they just hit a button. Those perfect color runs? Sometimes a little variation is what gives a piece its soul. You lose the craft when you automate the feel out of it.

coleman.jamie2mo ago

Felt the same way about pug mills. Thought they were for big studios, not my little home setup. Borrowed one during a busy season and it saved my wrists so much pain.