Cone 05½ temperature
Orton cone 05½ bends at 1859 °F (1015 °C) at 108 °F/hr and 1877 °F (1025 °C) at 270 °F/hr. It sits in the bisque & earthenware range — cone 18 of 38 on the chart, counting up from 022.
108 °F/hr · 60 °C/hr
1859 °F1015 °C
Medium — the rate most charts quote
270 °F/hr · 150 °C/hr
1877 °F1025 °C
Fast — typical of a quick electric firing
Orton self-supporting regular cones; rate measured over the last 200 °F of the firing. Source: Orton °F chart; °C converted. Cones measure heat-work, so a controller set to 1859 °F is not the same as firing to cone 05½ — put a witness cone on the shelf.
Cone 05½ is not cone 5½
The leading zero means cone 05½ counts down from cone 1 — it's a bisque & earthenware temperature (1859 °F). Cone 5½ is 338 °F hotter (2197 °F), in the mid fire range.
What cone 05½ is used for
Bisque & earthenware — The workhorse range for the first firing. Cone 06 and 04 are the two standard bisque targets, and most earthenware and low-fire glazes mature here too.
Convention per Bartlett factory bisque profiles (cone 08/06/04); Orton.
Cone 05½ compared
| Comparison | At 108 °F/hr | Difference (medium) | Difference (fast) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cone 05½ vs cone 5½ | 1859 → 2197 °F | 338 °F (188 °C) | 360 °F (200 °C) | cone 5½ is hotter |
| cone 05½ vs cone 06 | 1828 → 1859 °F | 31 °F (17 °C) | 22 °F (12 °C) | cone 05½ is hotter |
| cone 05½ vs cone 05 | 1859 → 1888 °F | 29 °F (16 °C) | 34 °F (19 °C) | cone 05 is hotter |
| cone 05½ vs cone 04 | 1859 → 1945 °F | 86 °F (48 °C) | 94 °F (52 °C) | cone 04 is hotter |
| cone 05½ vs cone 5 | 1859 → 2167 °F | 308 °F (171 °C) | 328 °F (182 °C) | cone 5 is hotter |
| cone 05½ vs cone 6 | 1859 → 2232 °F | 373 °F (207 °C) | 392 °F (218 °C) | cone 6 is hotter |
| cone 05½ vs cone 10 | 1859 → 2345 °F | 486 °F (270 °C) | 504 °F (280 °C) | cone 10 is hotter |
Convert
cone 05½ bends at
1859 °F(1015 °C)
At 108 °F/hr (60 °C/hr) — medium. Faster firing → the same cone bends hotter. Everything about cone 05½ →
Questions
- What temperature is cone 05½?
- Orton cone 05½ bends at about 1859 °F (1015 °C) when the kiln climbs at 108 °F per hour, and about 1877 °F (1025 °C) at 270 °F per hour. Cones measure heat-work — temperature over time — so the faster you fire, the hotter the kiln has to get for the same cone to bend.
- What is cone 05½ in Celsius?
- 1015 °C at 108 °F/hr (60 °C/hr) and 1025 °C at 270 °F/hr (150 °C/hr), converted from Orton's Fahrenheit chart for self-supporting regular cones.
- Is cone 05½ the same as cone 5½?
- No — and this is the most common cone mix-up. Cones with a leading zero count down toward cone 1, so cone 05½ is cooler than cone 5½: about 1859 °F versus 2197 °F at 108 °F/hr, a difference of 338 °F. Read the zero as "oh", not as nothing.
- What is cone 05½ used for?
- cone 05½ sits in the bisque & earthenware range. The workhorse range for the first firing. Cone 06 and 04 are the two standard bisque targets, and most earthenware and low-fire glazes mature here too.
- How far is cone 05½ from cone 06 and cone 05?
- At 108 °F/hr, cone 06 bends 31 °F cooler (1828 °F) and cone 05 bends 29 °F hotter (1888 °F). One cone step is not a fixed number of degrees — the spacing varies across the chart.
Firing to cone 05½? Claybench schedules the kiln around it.
Clay body, glazes, and firing schedule are matched by cone before a plan is saved.