Tom Wirt on mon 26 jan 98
>I strongly favor the sprung arch--but have never built a flat top.
>Sprung
>arches are not difficult--in fact, I've heard that flat tops are harder
>to
>build. Perhaps others will have opinions on this.
I built the flattop essentially as outlined by Nils in the book 1-1/2
years ago. It fires as advertised. And no, the flattop is easier to
build than the arch. The form is a piece of plywood, not a curved form.
The bricks are all straights...I bid it both ways and the arch would
have been $1500-2000 additional. And best of all, if you ever need to
adjust bricks in teh kiln or add a couple of layers to get a little more
room, just jack up the lid.
KEY ISSUE! You MUST tighten the lid frame as Nils instructs in the book,
until it stablilizes....10-15 firings. Do NOT do this EVERY firing and
you WILL have falling bricks.....but then I've seen more than one arch
with sliding bricks. I can understand the aesthetics of the arch but the
simplicity and cost of the flattop caught my attention.
Tom Wirt
Clay Coyote Pottery
Hutchinson MN
claypot@hutchtel.net
Vince Pitelka on tue 27 jan 98
>I built the flattop essentially as outlined by Nils in the book 1-1/2
>years ago. It fires as advertised. And no, the flattop is easier to
>build than the arch. The form is a piece of plywood, not a curved form.
> The bricks are all straights...I bid it both ways and the arch would
>have been $1500-2000 additional. And best of all, if you ever need to
>adjust bricks in teh kiln or add a couple of layers to get a little more
>room, just jack up the lid.
Tom -
Please elaborate on the additional cost of building an arch. A 45 cubic
foot kiln takes about a hundred arch bricks plus some straights to complete
the arch, and one can improvise an excellent insulating layer on top of the
arch for very little money. The total cost of an arch that size is less
than $500. This is for 4 1/2" thickness of brick, and an equal thickness of
insulating layer. This gives a very stable and extremely efficient arch.
Let's see you build a flat roof for any less than that. Please let us know
what you think about this.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
Home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Robert Compton on tue 27 jan 98
I find this thread about Flat Top vs. Arch Roof intriguing. From
a technological stand point either method will work, as pointed out by
Jeff Lawrence and Tony Clennell. I have built flat tops, before I
learned how to throw an arch, and must say it really is no big deal to
make an arch. The cost of IFB as arch brick is only pennies more than
a straight, and it has been my experience that either roof would cost
about the same. Sure you need to buttress the walls for an arch, there
is give and take in either design.
I have to agree with Vince that , for me, the ascetics of an
Arched Kiln, either roman or cantenary are important . I chose to be a
potter as a way of life and I want to surround myself with visual
objects, kilns included, that give me pleasure.
This is not a put down on the flat top, and everyone s situation
is different as to where a kiln is built and how it will be viewed. But
I do feel the visual element is important.
--
Robert Compton Pottery http://RobertComptonPottery.com
3600 Rt 116
Bristol, Vermont 05443 802-453-3778
Arturo M DeVitalis on thu 29 jan 98
The BIG difference for this old tired worn out back is the MFT is a car
kiln and easy to load! and there is no door to brick and unbrick with
each firing....I'm getting lazy!!
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Luther Norman on fri 30 jan 98
The AP Green Representative here in Kansas City quoted me $3.84 per 9" X
4 1/2" X 2 1/2" 2600 degree IFB(G-26), an additional $.61 for an arch
cut. A local place, Ferris Kimball, quoted $3.30 for the K-26 IFB and
an additional $.51 for the arch cut. If you guys keep talking about
this and I finish reading Olsen, Rhodes, and Lou, I will have to start
on either a MFT or arch by the end of the summer and I only started
doing all of this last summer.
Luther Norman
lurking and learning and spending as little as possible in Missouri
> The cost of IFB as arch brick is only pennies more than
> a straight, and it has been my experience that either roof would cost
> about the same.
Richard Gralnik on sat 31 jan 98
Luther,
A couple of points to help address this cost -
1. AP Green isn't the only show in town. There are other as good or
better brick manufacturers (e.g. Thermal). Take a look on
the web:
http://www.thomasregister.com/index.html
After you sign up as a user (free) go into their search
screen and look up refractory. You may be surprised
by the number out there.
http://www.thomasregister.com/olc/thermalceramics/home.htm
2. See if you can find a good distributor. Their prices may be lower
than buying directly from the manufacturer. I bought my
bricks from Mike O'Rourke at KMI Industries (562) 330-7454.
They're a Thermal distributor in the City of Industry, CA.
about 10 minutes from Laguna Clay. Their price may be
good enough to pursue even with the shipping charges.
Tell Mike I'm going to start asking for a referral bonus!
3. Arch bricks are standard shapes and come manufactured that way.
You shouldn't have to pay a cutting charge.
4. Some time ago, the manager of the AP Green outlet here in LA posted
a note to clayart advertising #1 arch bricks for $1 each. They
are G26's. They were selling so cheaply because they were
trying to make room for the Greenlite line of bricks in their
warehouse. The price may still be in effect. Their phone number
is (562) 634-9977. Chloe doesn't work there anymore, but the
new manager may still honor the offer. I was assured the G26's
are low iron content bricks and will be fine in reduction.
5. Why are you getting 26's instead of 23's? Is it worth the extra money?
I've been assured that 23's (from a top line manufacturer at
least) have an effective range that includes Cone 10.
Good luck,
Richard
hoping to build his arch form this weekend...
At 09:48 AM 1/30/98 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>The AP Green Representative here in Kansas City quoted me $3.84 per 9" X
>4 1/2" X 2 1/2" 2600 degree IFB(G-26), an additional $.61 for an arch
>cut. A local place, Ferris Kimball, quoted $3.30 for the K-26 IFB and
>an additional $.51 for the arch cut. If you guys keep talking about
>this and I finish reading Olsen, Rhodes, and Lou, I will have to start
>on either a MFT or arch by the end of the summer and I only started
>doing all of this last summer.
>
>Luther Norman
>lurking and learning and spending as little as possible in Missouri
>
>> The cost of IFB as arch brick is only pennies more than
>> a straight, and it has been my experience that either roof would cost
>> about the same.
>
>
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