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firebrick-how hi to fire?

updated sat 11 apr 98

 

Tim Lynch on fri 10 apr 98

I have a source of highly refractory clay from a used pit. It is good clay
and I have used it to make wares. It also has a lot of teeny weeny pieces
of shale in it that must be cleaned out before I can throw with it. As I
have been bitten hard by the wood-fire bug, I want to build a wood-fired
kiln. I want to use the local clay as firebrick. It has been fired to
cone 10 and from what I read in an old Clays and Minerals of Washington
State book it is able to be fired much higher. What I would like to get an
opinion on is, how high do I fire the raw brick to make is useable? By
useable I mean I want to fire it and be able to use it to build the
aforementioned kiln. Thanks for any and all offerings of wisdom and advice.

Tim Lynch
The Clay Man
748 Highline Drive
East Wenatchee, WA 98802-5606
509-884-8303
clayman@internet.wsd.wednet.edu
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Museum/1613