Kiln building - beginner's questions

i first held off your question thinking others would respond better or more briefly then me. but coming back a few days later you're still asking.

1. i think mortar between the bricks helps keep heat from leaking out, and adds to the integrity of the kiln. it also helps even out sloppy bricks that you may be using. MEANWHILE i have seen people do wonderful construction using dry bricks & no mortar.

1. you'll certainly reach a good bisque temp, pieces will still leach thru the claybodies. using low fire glazes you'll likely get pieces to hold water. i have used raku coffee mugs ~ they work fine. drink fast!

2. you can fire the kiln several times. it'll take a few just to learn how to fire it well anyway.

you're building a modern day "low budget" kiln. you should reach temps equal or better then what the old timers did. placement of pieces in the kiln and your ability to build a good camp fire ~ or smoke fire mess ~ will determin the pot quality.

have fun with it! maybe in time you can convert it over to a single or double burner propane fired kiln and get higher temps?

see ya!

steve

steve graber

I'm glad you did answer. I just need that little bit of encouragement to go through with what those around me call my crazy schemes!

OK - thanks for this.

I'll look into these Raku glazes after a few successful bisques.

These temps were good enough for the ancients - they'll be good enough for me. There's a whole bunch of whacky early bronze age shapes I intend to mimic, so the end result won't be too far off my prototypes.

I think the next step will probably be to buy a kiln - unless I get really hooked on the whole wood firing thing. I don't want to think about running before walking though.

Thanks for your info, Steve.

Cheers, Stelios

Hi Steve,

I started with a kiln plan just like that 30 years ago - all I had was that kiln and an old kick wheel. These two things I used for 7 years, and I learned a lot from all the firings.

I even got that kiln to stoneware firing !!! I must say I was using ordinary house bricks - what I did was to put a old steel pipe in the fire box and an old vacuum cleaner as the blower, and with lots of timber, I got to 1200 + deg C, but the most interesting thing that happened was that I self glazed the bricks - you see they were low fired, and by taking them to that temp they started to melt and developed a glazed finish!!

All very interesting ... so keep learning, I still love it all, even after

Yours in Art

Elaine.

I've been waiting to see responses on this thread in anticipation. I have a stack of low fired patio type or house bricks and have been toying with building a small wood fire kiln but thought the bricks probably not usable. I will now jump in and give it a try. Thanks!

Using house bricks in that kiln design is fine for lower temperatures, but they are not efficient insulators and you will need lots of fuel - however, it's a great learning tool.

You will need to use some "mortar" to seal the brick joints so that cold air doesn't get in after the firing is finished and crack all your pots. Old clay slurry is quite suitable and cheap.

Dave

once you build a kiln i doubt you'll want to buy one. you can get very much of what you want with a home built kiln where one purchased has you conforming to what you simply have to use for fire.

i bought one to start with years back - an electric. later i acquired an old gas kiln about as big as a coke machine & refurbished it. it fired very well, but was small in size for what i tend to throw. i designed and built a big thing in my new backyard. then i built a portable cloth raku kiln.

that link you had with a brick kiln might be a fun starting point for another kiln. even one slightly larger, and dig around it to dump natural dirt on top for better insulation. use it for a salt kiln.

steve

steve graber