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The Clay Hole University · Other Ways to Find, Fire, and Form

Raku Firing: Techniques and Why It WorksPrintable pottery guide

The whole raku firing on paper: the clay that survives it, the build, the glaze, the pull, the sealed can, the water, the safety part, and a log for every pot you take to a raku night.

$10.005 guides, 1 free
  • Skill level: Intermediate
  • 32 printable pages
  • 10 video picks
  • 8-question quiz + answer key

Flip through the free sample
  • Instant download
  • Prints on any printer
  • The lesson stays free
The printable, at a glance

What is the Raku Firing: Techniques and Why It Works printable guide?

It is the free “Raku Firing: Techniques and Why It Works” lesson rebuilt for paper: what raku actually is, the firing chart, clay that takes the shock, building the pot, glazes, the firing, the pull and the can, water or no water, five other ways to raku, the safety rules, and a troubleshooting list, with videos and notes. Built to be printed, kept open the night before a firing and written in.

Prefer to read it online first? The “Raku Firing: Techniques and Why It Works” lesson is free, and always will be.

  • 32printable pages, US Letter
  • 8quiz questions, with a full answer key
  • 10hand-picked videos, each with a QR code
  • 11glossary terms in plain language
  • 2workbook pages you fill in yourself
For anyone who has a raku night coming up

The fire is the show. The reasons are the skill.

A raku firing moves fast and nobody pauses a kiln. A pot comes out glowing, goes into a can of burning paper, and twenty minutes later you find out what you made. Most of what decides how that goes was settled weeks earlier, at the wheel or the table, and a lot of it is not obvious.

The guide puts the safety rules where you can see them, then walks the night in order: the clay that survives the shock, the eight decisions in the build, the glaze, the firing, the pull, the sealed can and the water. Every step comes with its reason, so you know a rule from a habit. It also sets five other ways to raku beside the classic one.

And it gives you a page to write on. Which pot, which clay, which surface you wanted and what came out. After a few raku nights the losses stop looking like bad luck.

Look inside

Real pages, for the night before

These are actual pages from the guide, shown here with the sample watermark.

  • Page 3 of the “Raku Firing: Techniques and Why It Works” printable guide: before you begin, shown with the sample watermark
    Before you beginThe learning dashboard: what you will learn, what you need, what to watch for and what success looks like.
  • Page 20 of the “Raku Firing: Techniques and Why It Works” printable guide: read this part first, shown with the sample watermark
    Read this part firstThe safety rules: what to wear, how to move, smoke and fumes, and why the can and its lid stay dangerous long after the show.
  • Page 21 of the “Raku Firing: Techniques and Why It Works” printable guide: when it goes wrong, shown with the sample watermark
    When it goes wrongThe troubleshooting list: a ring crack above the foot, a pot that bursts, dull colors and a glaze that looks dry, each with its cause.
  • Page 25 of the “Raku Firing: Techniques and Why It Works” printable guide: every pot you take to a raku night, shown with the sample watermark
    Every pot you take to a raku nightA log to write in: the pot and its clay, the surface you wanted, what happened in the can and what came out.
Flip through the free sampleTen pages, free, no email required.
Why this one belongs on paper

A raku night is loud, hot and fast. Paper keeps up.

You will be in gloves and goggles, and nobody has a free hand for a phone.

  • The night in order

    Rehearse the pull, gear up, climb, hold, pull, nest, seal. The one page reference keeps the whole night in front of you before anyone lights anything.

  • The rules where you can see them

    What to wear, how to move, what not to breathe, and what stays hot. Read the safety page the night before and again on the way to the firing.

  • A reason for every step

    Why grog, why even walls, why the hold, why the can is sealed. When you know the reason you can tell a rule from a habit, and you stop losing pots to the wrong thing.

  • A log for the losses

    Most raku losses were built into the pot weeks earlier. Write down the clay, the glaze and what came out, and the pattern shows itself.

How this one is built

Rebuilt for paper, not printed from a web page

Every guide in the series is set from scratch for print. Here is what that meant for this one.

  • Safety said the same way everywhere

    Natural fibers and closed toe shoes, goggles and heat gloves, a respirator for smoke and metal fume, and an instructor or trained helper running the kiln. The same rules appear in the safety page, the steps and the one page reference.

  • Raku is for looking at

    The guide says plainly that raku is porous, leaks, is not weatherproof and is not for food or drink, and points anyone who wants a pot for the table to the glaze lookup and a normal glaze firing.

  • Video notes that say only what the video shows

    Every video has a short note, a link and a code. Each note says only what the video’s description and chapter list show.

  • A chart you can read

    The firing chart is set full width with its five marks and a key beneath it, and the caption says what it is: drawn for the shape, not to scale.

  • A quiz that explains itself

    An answer key that gives the reason behind every answer rather than only the letter, and a glossary of the raku vocabulary.

  • Codes that keep working

    Every link is a short Clay Hole address. If a page moves, we repoint the address and your printed copy still goes to the right place.

Why the University is free

The lesson is free. It always will be.

All of the teaching in this guide comes from the free “Raku Firing: Techniques and Why It Works” lesson, and that lesson is not going anywhere.

Raku is the night people talk about for years. A glowing pot comes out of the kiln, goes into a can of burning paper, and twenty minutes later you find out what you made.

Behind the fire there is real reasoning. The clay, the build, the glaze and the pull each have a reason, and once you know them the night makes sense instead of just being loud.

Dan Pearce, founder of The Clay Hole
The series

Build a little pottery library

Every printable guide in The Clay Hole University series takes one free lesson and rebuilds it for paper, with workbook pages, a glossary and a quiz with a worked answer key. Each one keeps its number for good, so a guide you buy today is the same guide in the same place next year.

Put any five printable guides in your cart and the cheapest one is on us. Put in nine and the two cheapest are on us. It happens automatically at checkout, no code to remember.

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Sits next to

Three lessons that pick up where this one leaves off

Each one is free to read online, and the codes in the guide take you straight there.

Questions

Good to know

How is this different from the free lesson?
The teaching is the same, and the free lesson is not going anywhere. The guide is that teaching rebuilt for paper: a learning dashboard at the front, a pot log to write in, a one page reference for the night, a glossary and a quiz with an answer key that explains every answer.
Does this happen at The Clay Hole?
We run raku workshops through the year, and at ours an instructor or a trained helper runs the kiln. The guide teaches the reasons behind the firing so the night makes sense, and it does not replace the studio’s own raku rules or certification. If you are firing with us, read those too.
Is raku safe?
It is the firing in ceramics where a mistake is most likely to burn somebody, which is why the guide puts the safety rules in their own section and repeats them in the steps and the one page reference. Read them before you stand near a kiln, and follow the person running it.
Can I fire this at home from the guide?
The guide explains how raku works and why, and it is written for people who will fire with an experienced group. Raku uses propane, open flame, glowing pots and burning combustibles, so we would not treat a guide as a substitute for being taught in person.
Can I drink out of a raku pot?
No. The guide is plain about it: raku stays porous, it leaks, it is not weatherproof and it is not for food or drink. It is for looking at. If you want a pot for the table, the guide points you to a glaze rated for food and a normal glaze firing.
Is this too early for me?
It is marked Intermediate. If you have never fired anything, read the free lessons on kiln firing and on studio safety first, then come back. If you are signed up for a raku night, this is the right time.
Do I need a fancy printer?
No. It is set for an ordinary home or office printer on regular US Letter paper, with nothing important near the edges, so normal printer margins cut nothing off. It also prints in black and white: the text, the tick boxes and the tables are black on white, and color is used for headings and small labels.
Can I use it on a tablet or phone?
Yes. It is a PDF, so it opens on any screen. Each video has a short note, a link and a code. Tap the link, or scan the code from a printed page, and the video opens. For the night itself, though, we would print the safety page and the one page reference.
Can I print just part of it?
Yes, and many people do. The safety rules and the one page reference are the two worth carrying. The pages are numbered like any other, so you can print those and leave the rest on a screen.
How does delivery work?
It is a digital download. The link arrives by email and on the order confirmation page right after checkout, so you can read it tonight.
What happens if the guide is updated?
Every edition carries its version number on the last page. When we correct or improve one, the new edition replaces the old one in the shop, and we can send the updated link to anybody who already bought it.
Can I share it?
It is licensed for your own use. Print as many copies for yourself as you like, on as many of your own devices as you like. Please do not pass the file on, upload it or use it with a class or a group without asking us first.

Know the reasons. Then light the kiln.

Pick your clay, build for the shock, learn the order of the night and keep the safety page close. The guide keeps the whole firing in front of you.

Get the guide · $10.00

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We work hard to make The Clay Hole University accurate, useful, practical, and ridiculously thorough. But pottery is a hands-on craft involving countless variables that no written guide can completely control or anticipate.

Depending on what you are doing, ceramics may involve extreme heat, kilns, electricity, gas, flame, sharp tools, spinning machinery, heavy equipment, pressurized equipment, silica-containing dust, fumes, chemicals, raw materials, stains, oxides, glazes, combustible materials, hot surfaces, breakable objects, and other hazards capable of causing serious injury, illness, property damage, fire, or worse.

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