Mel Jacobson on mon 11 aug 97
back in the stone age of kilns people thought
that arches were really keen.
get a bunch of steel, weld up stuff, scew backs,
or hire a welder, 300 bucks for steel, but hell
we like arches.
buy bricks, wedges, arches, lots of stuff...real
expensive, but we love arches.
arches look good, we like arches.
call some people and get a plan for
your size, how many arches, how many
straights, how many wedges...? that is
kinda complex. but we love arches.
oh, then build a really nice frame to hold
the arch when building...lots of 1x2 s, framing,
maybe cover with metal. say how do you get this
thing out of here? it got stuck.
then one day this guy in minnesota...nordic guy..
nils somth n...said flat is good.
just build your kiln, put some plywood inside the
opening. prop it up...and line up some straights...
bind it all together. tight.
take out the plywood...and holy cow...it works..
and you do not have to fill in the ends
with all of those funny bricks. and you
do not have a funny door with little pieces
stuck all over.
and they work the same, the very same.
a flat top is easy to build, cheaper by far.
and of course you do not have to have metal
or brick scew backs and complex framing of
metal.
but hell, if you want all that cool arching, and
can afford it...and like the hassle...build one.
but I can build a flat-top in about six hours...
finished. ready to fire....and the bricks do not fall
in. course you gotta follow some simple rules.
but some can t even do that.
http://www.pclink.com/melpots
David Hendley on tue 12 aug 97
Hi Mel
Go ahead and build all the flat top kilns you like, but I must comment on
your anti-arch tirade:
Angle iron is common as rain at the junk yard. 10 cents a pound around
these parts. The steel for my kiln cost about 15 bucks. How much do you
spend for threaded rod? Also, the corner iron serves the secondary purpose
of protecting the corners of the kiln from abrasion damage.
Sure I can weld my own. Welding is part of a potter's basic education. I
use my welder or torch several times a year for various jobs around the shop.
I built my arch form out of the free wood I get from the saw mill that I
burn in my kiln. I saved it, but it could have been dismantled and burned
in the kiln. How much do you spend for plywood to hold up your flat top?
Arch tables are not really complex, but I don't even bother. I simply get
all straight bricks and cut them to fit on my table saw. Just work out the
first row, set the angle, and them run them through the saw as fast as I
can push 'em through. Use a worn out blade, installed backwards (wear mask
& eye protection). This does take some time, but what's a couple of hours
for a kiln that will last 10 years? I would also take the extra time to cut
the rafters for my house rather than have a flat roof. It's really no big
deal, and I would rather have a head start in the lifetime battle against
gravity that's being waged against all structures.
I can't even build a kiln foundation and the first few courses in six hours
(not as young as I used to be), but I can put an arched top on completed
kiln walls in a matter of a few hours. I can, but I don't, because building
the arch is so cool I sit back and admire it every little while.
Best wishes,
David
08:11 AM 8/11/97 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>back in the stone age of kilns people thought
>that arches were really keen.
>get a bunch of steel, weld up stuff, scew backs,
>or hire a welder, 300 bucks for steel, but hell
>we like arches.
>buy bricks, wedges, arches, lots of stuff...real
>expensive, but we love arches.
>arches look good, we like arches.
>call some people and get a plan for
>your size, how many arches, how many
>straights, how many wedges...? that is
>kinda complex. but we love arches.
>oh, then build a really nice frame to hold
>the arch when building...lots of 1x2 s, framing,
>maybe cover with metal. say how do you get this
>thing out of here? it got stuck.
>
>then one day this guy in minnesota...nordic guy..
>nils somth n...said flat is good.
>just build your kiln, put some plywood inside the
>opening. prop it up...and line up some straights...
>bind it all together. tight.
>take out the plywood...and holy cow...it works..
>and you do not have to fill in the ends
> with all of those funny bricks. and you
>do not have a funny door with little pieces
>stuck all over.
>
>and they work the same, the very same.
>a flat top is easy to build, cheaper by far.
>and of course you do not have to have metal
>or brick scew backs and complex framing of
>metal.
>
>but hell, if you want all that cool arching, and
>can afford it...and like the hassle...build one.
>but I can build a flat-top in about six hours...
>finished. ready to fire....and the bricks do not fall
>in. course you gotta follow some simple rules.
>but some can t even do that.
>
>http://www.pclink.com/melpots
>
>
kinoko@junction.net on tue 12 aug 97
Mel, Flattops ain't pretty so,I say t'hell with em.. Flattops require very
little skill....'a hell wit em. Don M.>----------------------------Original
message----------------------------
>back in the stone age of kilns people thought
>that arches were really keen.
>get a bunch of steel, weld up stuff, scew backs,
>or hire a welder, 300 bucks for steel, but hell
>we like arches.
>buy bricks, wedges, arches, lots of stuff...real
>expensive, but we love arches.
>arches look good, we like arches.
>call some people and get a plan for
>your size, how many arches, how many
>straights, how many wedges...? that is
>kinda complex. but we love arches.
>oh, then build a really nice frame to hold
>the arch when building...lots of 1x2 s, framing,
>maybe cover with metal. say how do you get this
>thing out of here? it got stuck.
>
>then one day this guy in minnesota...nordic guy..
>nils somth n...said flat is good.
>just build your kiln, put some plywood inside the
>opening. prop it up...and line up some straights...
>bind it all together. tight.
>take out the plywood...and holy cow...it works..
>and you do not have to fill in the ends
> with all of those funny bricks. and you
>do not have a funny door with little pieces
>stuck all over.
>
>and they work the same, the very same.
>a flat top is easy to build, cheaper by far.
>and of course you do not have to have metal
>or brick scew backs and complex framing of
>metal.
>
>but hell, if you want all that cool arching, and
>can afford it...and like the hassle...build one.
>but I can build a flat-top in about six hours...
>finished. ready to fire....and the bricks do not fall
>in. course you gotta follow some simple rules.
>but some can t even do that.
>
>http://www.pclink.com/melpots
>
*****************************************
*****************************************
** Don and Isao Morrill **
** Falkland, B.C. **
** kinoko@junction.net **
*****************************************
*****************************************
Ron Roy on tue 12 aug 97
I find myself agreeing here with Mel - there is another good reason for flat.
As a kiln heats and cools it expands and contracts. This action flexes the
arch and leads to eventual deterioration and a shorter life for the kiln.
The flat top moves up and down without the flexing - seems to me to be a
better technical solution. I have a flat roof - bricks strung on rods and
my own roof suspension system. I have done some replacement of the roof (5
rows out of 11) lately because of spalling but my next firing is # 729.
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>back in the stone age of kilns people thought
>that arches were really keen.
>get a bunch of steel, weld up stuff, scew backs,
>or hire a welder, 300 bucks for steel, but hell
>we like arches.
>buy bricks, wedges, arches, lots of stuff...real
>expensive, but we love arches.
>arches look good, we like arches.
>call some people and get a plan for
>your size, how many arches, how many
>straights, how many wedges...? that is
>kinda complex. but we love arches.
>oh, then build a really nice frame to hold
>the arch when building...lots of 1x2 s, framing,
>maybe cover with metal. say how do you get this
>thing out of here? it got stuck.
snip -
Ron Roy
Toronto, Canada
Evenings, call 416 439 2621
Fax, 416 438 7849
Studio: 416-752-7862.
Email ronroy@astral.magic.ca
Home page http://digitalfire.com/education/people/ronroy.htm
stevemills on thu 14 aug 97
When my wife and I were in Brittany, France, this spring we saw the
neatest solution to all that guff about arch bricks: In the village of
La Potrie there is a working reproduction of the traditional Kiln the
villagers used up to the mid 40s to fire their wares in. The shape is
somewhat like an anagama except that it is built horizontally, but the
roof is the best bit. It is composed entirely of round bottomed pots- if
you put 6 or so round bottomed pots in a stack and then bend it to one
side, it forms an arch!!! that's how they built it. The whole was then
covered with daub (here I go again), pointed on the inside, and hey
presto. The Kiln at La Potrie is fired on average once a year during the
festival at the end of May. I only goes to about ^06/05 but that was the
temperature they fired to.
Steve
--
Steve Mills
@Bath Potters Supplies
Dorset Close
Bath
BA2 3RF
UK
Tel:(44) (0)1225 337046
Fax:(44) (0)1225 462712
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