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Orton Product Catalog

The Orton Ceramic Foundation was started in 1932 as a charitable trust for the
benefit of the ceramic arts and industry. The roots of the Orton Foundation
actually date back to 1896 with the establishment of the Standard Pyrometric
Cone Company by Dr. Edward Orton Jr. who was a pioneer in developing and
applying scientific principles to ceramic manufacturing. In 1894, just two years
prior to the establishment of the Standard Pyrometric Cone Company, Dr. Edward
Orton Jr. was appointed the first Chairman of the Ceramic Engineering Department
at The Ohio State University and later would be named Dean of the College of
Engineering at The Ohio State University.
It is this long history of scientific study and education that continues with
the Orton Ceramic Foundation. Today the Orton Foundation provides critical
products to assist high temperature processing of ceramic materials which in
turn allows the Orton Foundation to support additional scientific research in
the areas of heat processing of ceramic and other high temperature materials.
Orton Products
• Pyrometric Products (Orton Firing Cones and Orton
Witness Cones)
• Industrial Products
• Kiln Vents & Accessories
• Digital Kiln Controllers (in joint partnership with Paragon Kilns since 2001)
• Educational Products, including videos, books and technical literature
Dogwood Ceramic Supply supplies Orton products to schools and universities as
well as professional and hobby ceramic, pottery and glass artists.
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Orton Witness Cones

The Standard Pyrometric Cone Company, founded by Dr. Edward Orton Jr. in 1896,
was started to manufacture Standard Pyrometric Cones to verify and document the
proper firing of industrial ceramics. The products were cone shaped and used to
witness the firing, hence the name ... Witness Cones or Orton Witness Cones.
Today, with digital controlled kilns, the purpose of the Orton Witness Cone
remains the same as it was 1896 ... witnessing the firing of the kiln. As with
advances in kiln technology, the Orton Witness Cone of yesterday has also
improved. No longer is there the need to properly balance and align the Witness
Cone, as today's Self Supporting Witness Cones allow for easy placement in the
kiln.
Orton Self Supporting Witness Cones

Set of Orton Witness Cones, before and after the firing of a kiln.
Witness Cones measure the heat-work
performed in the kiln firing. Heat-work is a time versus temperature equation
based upon the rate per hour of temperature increase to a specific final
temperature. Witness Cone values are based upon the melting temperatures, as
defined by heat-work, of common ceramic and industrial materials. The average
temperature difference between Witness Cone values is typically between 20 and
30˚C.
Witness Cones are commonly used in sets of Witness Cones. As illustrated in the
drawing above, 3 Orton Witness Cones of adjoining values, such as 03, 04 and 05,
are placed on the kiln shelves a minimum of 6" from the wall bricks. Just prior
to the final firing temperature the coolest Cone (05 in the illustration) will
over-melt. At the final firing temperature the middle value Cone (04 in the
illustration) will melt into a perfect 90˚ arch such that the tip of the cone
has slumped to a point about the same height off the shelf as the top of the
self supporting base. The hottest Cone (03 in the illustration) will not bend.
Any deviation from the anticipated Witness Cone results will indicate a probable
firing problem. Larger kilns will use multiple sets of Cones to verify the
firing results throughout the firing chamber.
Witness Cones should be used in the modern digital controlled kiln to verify the
accuracy of the controller and thermocouple calibrations as well as to indicate
loading or element fatigue problems in the kiln.
The Orton Ceramic Foundation has produced an interesting
video to
demonstrate Witness Cone behavior during the firing process.
Orton Self Supporting Witness Cones are packaged in boxes of 25 Witness Cones per box.
Dogwood Ceramic Supply stocks the following Self Supporting Cones:
| SSB | 020 | SSB | 07 | SSB | 3 | ||
| SSB | 019 | SSB | 06 | SSB | 4 | ||
| SSB | 018 | SSB | 05 | SSB | 5 | ||
| SSB | 017 | SSB | 04 | SSB | 6 | ||
| SSB | 016 | SSB | 03 | SSB | 7 | ||
| SSB | 015 | SSB | 8 | ||||
| SSB | 10 |
Pricing:
| Quantity (Boxes) |
Price (per box) |
|
| 1 | 7.50 | |
| 20 | 5.52 | |
| 100 | 4.05 |
Boxes of Orton Witness and Firing Cones may be combined for the quantity price.
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Ordering Information:
All Orton Cones use an alpha prefix and 1 to 3 digit number to signify the
correct item number. SSB is Orton's alpha prefix for Self Supporting-Box. When
ordering Orton Witness Cones always reference the SSB prefix. The number values
can be confusing. 04 is not the same as 4. And the "0" in 019 is required as
Cone 19 exists for industrial customers.
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Orton Firing Cones
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The classic firing cone is used in the mechanical shut-off device that is
commonly called a "Kiln Sitter" or "Dawson Kiln Sitter". When the kiln reaches
the proper degree of heat-work (time and temperature) the firing cone melts and
allows the kiln shut-off device to turn off the kiln. While
digital controlled
kilns, such as the Paragon TnF 82-3, has eliminated the need for firing cones
for the operation of the kiln, Orton Witness Cones should still be used to
document the proper firing of the kiln. Dogwood Ceramic Supply continues to
stock firing cones for customers that are using older kilns equipped with a
Dawson Kiln Sitter.
Firing Cones are available in two styles:
•
BRB Firing Bars, also known as Mini Bars
•
SRB Junior Cones, also known as Firing Cones
Both styles of cones are packaged in boxes of 50 Cones per box.
Dogwood Ceramic Supply stocks the following Firing Cones & Firing Bars:
| SRB | 020 | SRB | 06 | SRB | 4 | ||
| SRB | 019 | SRB | 05 | SRB | 5 | ||
| SRB | 018 | SRB | 04 | SRB | 6 | ||
| SRB | 017 | SRB | 03 | SRB | 7 | ||
| SRB | 8 | ||||||
| SRB | 10 |
Pricing:
| Quantity (Boxes) |
Price (per box) |
|
| 1 | 7.50 | |
| 20 | 5.78 | |
| 100 | 4.24 |
Boxes of Orton Witness and Firing Cones may be combined for the quantity price.
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Ordering Information:
All Orton Cones use an alpha prefix and 1 to 3 digit number to signify the
correct item number. SRB is Orton's alpha prefix for Junior Cones, also known as
Firing Cones, and BRB is Orton's alpha prefix for Firing Bars. When ordering
firing cones or firing bars always use the proper BRB or SRB prefix. The number
values can be confusing. 04 is not the same as 4. And the "0" in 019 is required
as Cone 19 exists for industrial ceramic customers. SRB Firing Cones are more
common and desirable than BRB Firing Bars as the SRB Firing Cone can be shifted
slightly in the Dawson Kiln Sitter such that a slightly thicker or thinner part
of the cone is exposed, thus slightly increasing or decreasing the amount of
heat-work. Because SRB Firing Cones are more popular than BRB Firing Bars,
Dogwood Ceramic Supply will assume SRB Firing Cones whenever SRB or BRB are not
specified.
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Orton Announcements
Orton's annual price adjustment for 2010 is effective March 1, 2010.
SRB and BRB Firing Cones will increase 10% in price while the SSB Self
Supporting Witness Cones will increase approximately 5%.
Dogwood Ceramic Supply Comment:
20 years ago the wholesale cost of Firing Cones was substantially less than the wholesale cost of Witness Cones. But for the past 20+ years, the cost of Firing Cones have steadily increased at a rate greater than the price increases for SSB Self Supporting Witness Cones such that in 2009 the wholesale prices of the two different product groups exactly matched in price. For 2010 the wholesale cost of Firing Cones will far exceed the wholesale cost of Witness Cones.
The fundamental force driving Firing Cone prices over the
past 20+ years has been the sharp decline in demand for the product as
digital controlled
kilns have consistently outsold the old-style mechanically operated
(Kiln-Sitter) kilns.
Dogwood Ceramic Supply has been in the forefront of the
movement to promote digitally controlled kilns. We stopped stocking kilns
equipped with the Kiln-Sitter in 1996. We sold our last catalog standard kiln
equipped with a Kiln Sitter to a new customer in 1999. Maybe,
just maybe, Dogwood Ceramic Supply might have been the
Big Dog driving the
market as Paragon didn't
make their announcement to cease designing kilns equipped with a Kiln Sitter
until 2001.
Because there are still a few legacy kilns (pre-1999 units) sold by Dogwood Ceramic Supply on the market, Orton Firing Cones will continue to exist in Dogwood Ceramic Supply's inventory of showroom products for the foreseeable future. However, as the legacy kilns are replaced with a modern kiln, the breath and depth of our Orton Firing Cone inventory will be trimmed to meet real world demand for the product. Customers needing Firing Cones for unusual Cone values are strongly advised to evaluate their needs in advance. Dogwood Ceramic Supply places bulk orders with Orton every 60 days and we will accept orders even for a single box of Firing Cones.
For 2010, for the convenience of Dogwood Ceramic Supply and our customers, Dogwood Ceramic Supply has convenienced priced open stock quantities (single boxes) of Orton Witness and Firing Cones. Bulk prices are based upon appropriate discounts from the proper retail prices.
September 17, 2008
As you may have heard, W. P. Dawson, the manufacturer of the Kiln Sitter, is out
of business. This has caused a lot of worry in the industry. Attached is a
message from Orton regarding the Kiln Sitter:
NOTICE TO THE CERAMIC INDUSTRY FROM The Edward Orton Jr. Ceramic Foundation.
Orton knows that many of you are concerned that you will not be able to get
replacement parts for your Dawson Kiln Sitter .... There has been much
speculation and rumors about the status of the Dawson Kiln Sitter and
replacement parts. Orton is taking positive action to work with the owners of
Dawson to acquire the necessary assets to continue the production of the Kiln
Sitter and provide the industry a long term, reliable source of parts for the
Kiln Sitter.
Note: edited by Dogwood Ceramic Supply for clarity.
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12590 Dedeaux Road,
Gulfport Mississippi, 39503 Telephone (228) 831-4848 Fax (228) 831-3111 Showroom Business Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday 10AM to 5PM Thursday 1PM to 7PM Closed Wednesday and Sunday |
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Complete selection of Orton firing products including Orton Self Supporting Witness Cones and Orton Firing Cones for the classroom, potter and clay artist. |