Kiln

Kiln — connector documentation

• MCP endpoint: https://kiln.connectorbay.com/mcp
• REST API: POST https://kiln.connectorbay.com/v1/tools/{tool_name}, described by the OpenAPI 3.1 spec at https://kiln.connectorbay.com/openapi.json
• Transport: Streamable HTTP, stateless, MCP specification 2025-06-18 or later
• Authentication: none required. An optional Authorization: Bearer <key> raises rate limits.
• Health: https://kiln.connectorbay.com/health · Tool schemas: https://kiln.connectorbay.com/tools.json
• Publisher: Unify Dynamics LLC · connectorbay.com/kiln · agent@connectorbay.com

What Kiln is for

The pottery and ceramics reference every studio session needs close at hand — what temperature cone 6 actually is, how much a stoneware bowl will shrink in the fire, whether to hand-build or throw as a beginner, why a piece cracked, what "leather-hard" means, whether a glaze is food-safe — answered instantly, from one hand-curated, cross-checked toolbox.

What it does

Typical firing cone range, workability, common use, and typical total shrinkage percentage for 4 clay bodies — earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, raku (clay_body_guide); conversion of an Orton pyrometric cone number to its approximate Fahrenheit/Celsius equivalent, taken directly from the Orton Ceramic Foundation's own published chart (cone_temperature_converter); glaze fundamentals — glaze vs. slip, general food-safety awareness, and 4 common glaze types: clear, matte, celadon, shino (glaze_basics_guide); typical bisque-fire and glaze-fire cone range and approach for a given clay type (firing_schedule_guide); a guide to 5 forming techniques — wheel-throwing, hand-building, coil, slab, pinch — with a description and beginner-friendliness note (technique_guide); a glossary of 14 common studio terms — bisque, greenware, leather-hard, wedging, kiln wash, cone pack, grog, sgraffito, and more (tool_glossary); a real fired-size estimate from a piece's wet size and clay type, computed from that body's typical total shrinkage percentage, with a min/max range (shrinkage_calculator); likely cause and a prevention tip for 5 common defects — cracking, warping, glaze crawling, pinholing, S-cracks (troubleshooting_guide); and general studio safety basics — kiln ventilation, silica dust awareness, and glaze ingredient safety (safety_guide).

What it is not

Not a substitute for your own clay body's or glaze's datasheet. Orton cone temperatures are taken straight from Orton's own published chart, and clay shrinkage percentages are cross-checked typical ranges, but real clay bodies and glazes vary by manufacturer, moisture content, and specific formulation — always confirm exact cone ratings and shrinkage against your own materials and test tiles before relying on precise numbers, especially for close-fitting lidded work. shrinkage_calculator is a planning estimate, not an exact prediction. glaze_basics_guide's food-safety notes are general awareness, not a substitute for professional food-safety testing on commercial ware, and safety_guide is general studio-safety awareness, not exhaustive industrial-hygiene or regulatory advice — always follow your studio's specific ventilation and material-safety guidance. Kiln does not sell clay, glaze, or kiln equipment and has no affiliation with any clay manufacturer, glaze brand, or kiln maker named in its guides.

Tools

Materials

clay_body_guide — Typical firing cone range, workability, common use, and typical total shrinkage percentage for a clay body (earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, raku clay covered). Use for "what's stoneware good for", "how workable is porcelain", "what temperature does earthenware fire to". Args: name.

Firing

cone_temperature_converter — Converts an Orton pyrometric cone number to its approximate Fahrenheit and Celsius equivalent at the standard medium heating rate (108F/hr, 60C/hr), straight from the Orton Ceramic Foundation's own published cone chart. Use for "what temperature is cone 6", "how hot is cone 04 in celsius". Args: cone_number.

firing_schedule_guide — The typical bisque-fire and glaze-fire cone range and general approach for a given clay type. Use for "what cone do I bisque fire stoneware to", "how is raku fired differently from stoneware". Args: clay_type.

Glazing

glaze_basics_guide — Explains glaze fundamentals: glaze vs. slip, general food-safety awareness for glazed foodware (avoiding raw/unfired or unfritted heavy-metal glaze materials on food-contact surfaces), and 4 common glaze types (clear, matte, celadon, shino). Use for "what's the difference between glaze and slip", "is my glaze food safe", "what's a celadon glaze".

Technique

technique_guide — A general description and beginner-friendliness note for a pottery forming technique (5 techniques covered: wheel-throwing, hand-building, coil, slab, pinch). Use for "should I hand-build or throw first as a beginner", "what's coil building". Args: name.

Calculators

shrinkage_calculator — Estimates a piece's fired size from its wet size and clay type, using that body's typical total (drying + firing combined) shrinkage percentage. Genuinely computed, not a lookup; includes a min/max range since real shrinkage varies by specific clay formulation. Use for "how big will a 10 inch wide stoneware bowl be after firing", "how much should I throw a piece to end up 8 inches wide in porcelain". Args: wet_size_inches, clay_type.

Troubleshooting

troubleshooting_guide — Likely cause and a prevention tip for a common pottery defect (5 defects covered: cracking, warping, glaze crawling, pinholing, S-cracks). Use for "why did my pot crack", "what causes glaze crawling", "how do I prevent S-cracks". Args: defect.

Reference

tool_glossary — Definitions of common pottery studio terms (bisque, greenware, leather-hard, wedging, kiln wash, cone pack, grog, sgraffito, ...). Use for "what does leather-hard mean", "what's a cone pack". Args: term.

Safety

safety_guide — General studio safety basics: kiln ventilation, silica dust awareness, and glaze ingredient safety. General awareness only, not exhaustive industrial-hygiene advice. Use for "do I need to vent my kiln", "is clay dust dangerous", "are raw glaze materials safe to handle".

Conventions

• Read-only. Every tool reads public data or computes; nothing is written anywhere and nothing about the user is stored.
• Result envelope. ok: true with data, or ok: false with a structured error (bad_input, not_found, upstream_error). degraded lists optional sources that were unreachable.
• Rate limits. Free tier 60 tool calls/minute and 300/day per user (keyed on the user identifier supplied by the host agent, else client IP); Pro keys raise this. Over-limit calls return HTTP 429 with Retry-After. initialize and tools/list are never counted.

Support

agent@connectorbay.com · connectorbay.com/kiln/support

Kiln — Privacy Policy

Effective 24 September 2026. Unify Dynamics LLC ("we", "us"), Menlo Park, California.

What Kiln is. Kiln is a connector (an MCP server and REST API) that AI assistants and personal agents call on your behalf for a fully local pottery and ceramics reference toolkit: clay body profiles, an Orton pyrometric cone temperature chart, glaze basics, firing schedule guidance, technique guides, a studio glossary, a shrinkage calculator, a defect troubleshooting guide, and studio safety basics. You interact with your assistant; the assistant sends us only the arguments needed for that one lookup or calculation.

What we receive. The arguments of each tool call — a clay body name, a cone number, a technique or glossary term, a wet size and clay type for the shrinkage calculator, or a defect name — the technical headers needed to serve the request (an IP address or a client identifier supplied by the assistant, and a Pro API key if you have one), and standard server logs.

Everything is answered from bundled reference data or computed on the spot, and nothing is stored. No request is forwarded to any third party — there is no upstream call at all, live or otherwise — and no query is logged in request bodies, recorded, or used to train anything.

What we do not receive or store. We do not receive your conversation with the assistant or your name, and we do not build a profile from your queries: each request is answered independently and nothing carries over between requests. Rate-limit counters (a client identifier and timestamps) are held in memory for at most 24 hours. Hosting-provider access logs, which contain IP addresses and request paths but not request bodies, are retained for up to 30 days for security and abuse prevention.

Sub-processors. None — the entire dataset is bundled with the server and every calculation runs locally. Hosting: Vercel (United States regions).

Legal bases and your rights. Our processing is necessary to provide the service you request through your assistant. Because we store no personal data beyond short-lived logs, requests to access, correct or delete personal data are usually satisfied automatically; you can still contact agent@connectorbay.com and we will respond within 30 days. We do not sell or share personal information and do not use your data to train models.

Children. Kiln is a general-audience service operated by the adult using the assistant.

Changes. We will post changes here with a new effective date.

Kiln — Terms of Service

Effective 24 September 2026. These terms govern use of the Kiln connector ("the Service") operated by Unify Dynamics LLC ("we", "us").

1. The Service. Kiln returns a fully local pottery and ceramics reference and calculator toolkit — clay body profiles, an Orton pyrometric cone temperature chart, glaze basics, firing schedule guidance, technique guides, a studio glossary, a shrinkage estimate, a defect troubleshooting guide, and studio safety basics — from bundled reference data and on-the-spot computation. It is accessed through an AI assistant or directly over MCP or HTTP.
2. Reference and estimate, not a guarantee. Kiln is an independent reference and calculator tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Edward Orton Jr. Ceramic Foundation, any clay manufacturer, glaze brand, or kiln maker. Its shrinkage math is real arithmetic on a stored typical percentage; its cone temperatures, shrinkage ranges, and other reference figures are general figures and approximations, not a substitute for your own clay body's or glaze's datasheet, a kiln manufacturer's firing instructions, or your own test tiles.
3. Not food-safety or industrial-hygiene advice. The food-safety notes in glaze_basics_guide and the studio-safety notes in safety_guide are general awareness only. Nothing in the Service should be relied on as a substitute for professional food-safety testing on commercial ware, a qualified industrial hygienist, or your local health and safety regulations.
4. Acceptable use. Automated use within the published rate limits is welcome.
5. Availability. The Service is provided "as is" without warranty. We may change, limit or discontinue it at any time.
6. Data. Our Privacy Policy describes what we process. In short: your query is answered from bundled reference data or computed on the spot, and nothing is stored.
7. Pro keys. Optional Pro API keys are issued at our discretion, are personal to the holder and may be revoked for abuse.
8. Liability. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Unify Dynamics LLC is not liable for any loss arising from use of or reliance on the Service, including any loss from a firing, glazing, sizing, or safety decision made using its reference figures or estimates. Our total liability is limited to US $100.
9. Governing law. California law; venue in San Mateo County, California.
10. Contact. Unify Dynamics LLC · agent@connectorbay.com · https://connectorbay.com/kiln

Kiln support

Email agent@connectorbay.com. We answer within two business days.

• MCP endpoint: https://kiln.connectorbay.com/mcp
• REST API: https://kiln.connectorbay.com/openapi.json
• Live status: https://kiln.connectorbay.com/health

When you report a problem, include the question you asked your agent, roughly when, and which agent you used (for example Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini). Never send us passwords, account numbers or ID numbers. Kiln never asks for them.