Giddings, Maxine on fri 18 jul 97
Does anyone have pointers on building a gas fired, catenary arch kiln?
Or would you propose to build one with a less sloping arch than a
catenary as we heard a catenary is less easy to repair. We need a kiln
large enough for four class room firings per firing. That is large
enough to accommodate pots of various sizes made up of at least 10
persons firings per time fired. We have a large basement area where we
now have a kiln that needs replacing. We would use our original burners
and perhaps some of our old kiln brick. We fire up to cone 10 and one
half, often. We have a vent to the outdoors; want a safety cut off,
have four burners; want a door that we don't have to brick up. However,
a tracked door is not an option as we don't have enough kiln to wall
space to accommodate a track. This same room contains our building's
heating furnace and two electric kilns. Thanks for any suggestions on
how to go about building. OH, We hired a guy to draw up some plans for
us, but it seems that his planned structure is too small - and we have
some other questions about his work.
Thanks, Maxine Giddings for Clayworks' Potters'
Cooperative.
Ric Swenson on sat 19 jul 97
Hi guys. I took the liberty of re-posting a previous message from this
listserv which you might have missed...re: Books available about KILNS.
BTW........ THE KILN BOOK, by Frederick Olsen is a good place to start
understanding the CONCEPT of firing and basics of kilnbuilding.
So....
First suggestion: get a book on kiln building..... I believe most books
will have a sketch and description of a catanary arch (a.k.a. "Chain Arch")
kiln. The shape that a chain makes...suspended from two horizontal points
(hey, rope works too...)....the distance between the points defines the
size of the kiln...scribe that shape on a couple pieces of plywood...cut
and use some wide strips of masonite, or formica and some cross braces of 1
x 2...or even 2 X 4 to create a frame on which to lay the bricks... cover
the frame with a layer or two or plastic sheeting to ease removal of the
frame later...save the frame and build two kilns???
Be sure to raise the frame up a few inches, on small blocks of wood that
can be knocked out later. Stablize it, but make it so you can remove it
when the final row of key bricks is pounded down...and the arch is
"born"...ie. springs up and holds up all its own weight..and distributes
the weight back down to where you have SECURELY ANCHORED and REINFORCED the
foot of the arch...so there is NO WAY it can kick outward! This is
important ! (author grits teeth and grimaces at thought of watching all
that force pushing down and out and finding a weak footing and backup
structure...boom.)
The one I built , as a salt kiln, was built from all left over hardbrick
and then sheathed with a layer of ceramic fibre blanket and then a layer of
softbrick. It was located outside, but the kiln itself...not the chimney,
was covered by a high metal roof to keep the rain and snow off the
structure and burners.
As I recall, I had the help of several advanced students and it took about
a week of partime effort . We used four old natural gas venturi burners
which fired from about a foot off the floor level at a slight down angle
through the kiln wall and fired against a bag wall on the inside of the
cat. arch. This high alumina hardbrick bag wall also allowed us to build
up to a more rectangular shaped opening...the doorway...which we bricked
up...for each firing.....(but I always wanted to make a fibre door on a
metal frame work for that opening which was a rectangle at the bottom and
the arch shape at the top.) Is that clear?
The flue was at the back of the chamber near the floor level...so the flame
path came in from the sides into the fireboxes on either side of the
kiln...over the bag wall...through the wares/shelves...up to the
arch...then down and back to the exit flue. The chimney...in order to get
it to draw well...was T A L L and by then we were about out of our salvaged
pile of bricks...and it was pretty funky lookin'.
Fun experience.
Read, study, ask around, talk among yourselves, read more, then build
it..they will come.
If I can help further let me know. I have some pictures of the
structure...somewhere..let me know if that would help....
Happy potting!
Ric
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Does anyone have pointers on building a gas fired, catenary arch kiln?
>Or would you propose to build one with a less sloping arch than a
>catenary as we heard a catenary is less easy to repair. We need a kiln
>large enough for four class room firings per firing. That is large
>enough to accommodate pots of various sizes made up of at least 10
>persons firings per time fired. We have a large basement area where we
>now have a kiln that needs replacing. We would use our original burners
>and perhaps some of our old kiln brick. We fire up to cone 10 and one
>half, often. We have a vent to the outdoors; want a safety cut off,
>have four burners; want a door that we don't have to brick up. However,
>a tracked door is not an option as we don't have enough kiln to wall
>space to accommodate a track. This same room contains our building's
>heating furnace and two electric kilns. Thanks for any suggestions on
>how to go about building. OH, We hired a guy to draw up some plans for
>us, but it seems that his planned structure is too small - and we have
>some other questions about his work.
> Thanks, Maxine Giddings for Clayworks' Potters'
>Cooperative.
----------------------
repeat of an....
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
For those who are working on kilns and need additional information,
the following books should cover almost any type of construction.
THE ENERGY EFFICIENT POTTER
by Regis C. Brodie
Paperback 1982
Watson-Guptill Publications
1515 Broadway NY NY 10036
Burners, fuels, fiber kilns, and burner setup
THE KILN BOOK
AUTHOR Olsen, Frederick L.
EDITION 2d ed.
PUBLISHER Bassett, Calif. : Keramos Books, c1973.
DESCRIPTION x, 170 p. : ill. ; 22 x 26 cm.
NOTE Includes index.
SUBJECT Kilns.
KILNS by Daniel Rhodes
SUBJECT Kilns.
Electric Kiln Ceramics
A Potters Guide to Clay and Glazes
Richard Zakin, Chilton Book Company
Electric kiln maintenance, clay body classification and formulation, glaze typ
theory, fired glaze properties, glaze color theory and materials, use of stains
and engobes, glaze application techniques.
The North American Combustion Handbook
Noth American Manufactoring Company
Cleveland, OH 44105
1965
Basic reference onthe art and science of Industrial heating with gaseous and
liquid fuels. Best tech book on burners fuels and combustion info and charts.
Electric Kiln Pottery, Complete Guide
Emmanuel Cooper
Publishers: B.T. Batsford Ltd., London
Overview of electric kiln construction, packing and firing, clay body types and
formulation, glaze chemistry theory, glaze colors, formulating and correcting
glazes, decoration techniques, raw glazes, glaze and slip recipes, formulas for
wide variety of wood and coal ashes, health & safety info.
Electric Kiln Construction for Potters
Robert Fournier
Van Nortrand Reinhold Co
450 W.33 ST NY, NY 10001
ISBN 0 442 30134 0
Thanks to:
--
william brouillard
1011 literary road
cleveland,oh.44113
ch151@cleveland.freenet.edu
for the fine list of Kiln related books, that he posted several weeks ago,
and I repeat here en toto.
Ric
Ric Swenson, Bennington College, Route 67-A, Bennington, Vermont,
05201-6001 USA. telephone 802 442 - 5401 vox X 262 fax X 237
direct fax line
802 442 - 6164
rswenson@bennington.edu
Chris Trabka on sat 19 jul 97
Giddings, Maxine wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Does anyone have pointers on building a gas fired, catenary arch kiln?
> Or would you propose to build one with a less sloping arch than a
> catenary as we heard a catenary is less easy to repair. We need a kiln
> large enough for four class room firings per firing. That is large
> enough to accommodate pots of various sizes made up of at least 10
> persons firings per time fired. We have a large basement area where we
> now have a kiln that needs replacing. We would use our original burners
> and perhaps some of our old kiln brick. We fire up to cone 10 and one
> half, often. We have a vent to the outdoors; want a safety cut off,
> have four burners; want a door that we don't have to brick up. However,
> a tracked door is not an option as we don't have enough kiln to wall
> space to accommodate a track. This same room contains our building's
> heating furnace and two electric kilns. Thanks for any suggestions on
> how to go about building. OH, We hired a guy to draw up some plans for
> us, but it seems that his planned structure is too small - and we have
> some other questions about his work.
> Thanks, Maxine Giddings for Clayworks' Potters'
> Cooperative.
Try "The Art of Firing" by Nils Lou.
It has the complete plans and list of materials for a kiln which uses no
special "arch" bricks. The book can be found through your library (often
through inter-library loan) or purchased from The Potters Shop, 31
Thorpe Road, Needham Heights, MA 02194.
I am building one
Chris
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