Murray & Bacia Edelman on fri 9 jul 99
For Kurt and Mel: Perhaps you have already explained the shape of a train
kiln and compared it, say, to an anagama, noborigama or whatever. I see
Clayart by Digest, and when I am rushed, I simply don't get to read a whole
day's posts.
So I have never read what it might be like. I am looking forward to seeing
the pics of your work, Mel, when they only take 20 seconds to download!!!
But I am really curious about the definition of "train kiln." It is
delightful to hear of what is going on up there, even with unaged wood.
If you Minnesotans ever drive down as far as the Madison, WI area, I urge
you to contact David Smith, whose anagama kiln in Stoughton, WI is
absolutely stunning. The interior looks like pics of Jack Troy's kiln in
his book. The side stoking holes are like a ship's porthole, with lids
with cool handles because the lids are stuffed with something like kaowool.
I am short of expertise (to describe) and only saw that part of it once.
David is away teaching in Montana for much of the summer, but I am in awe
of his kiln, his knowledge of each spot in it and the results he gets.
Gosh, I wish I could be at the woodfiring conference (as a fly on the
wall.) Can't get away. Mel, you write things up so well. How about an
article for one of the journals on the conference?
Regards, Bacia
nikom chimnok on sat 10 jul 99
Hey you guys!
I wholeheartedly second that. What the hell is a train kiln, anyway?
So far as I know, I read every word about kilns that's written on Clayart,
but if anyone ever defined this, I missed it. To me, train kiln is slang for
a continuous kiln, as used in industry.
And while we're at it, what's a double venturi chimney? I beg you
networking Americans to remember that some of us live in distant, obscure
places, and do not have access to every book ever written, and couldn't
afford them if we did. No inter-library loan where I live: no library. All I
know about flat top kilns is the word, although after I heard the word, I
built a couple of kilns with ceramic fiber flat tops. They worked fine.
What's missing from Clayart is a graphic element. Why don't some of
you guys with websites make some nice drawings, digitally photograph them or
scan them in, and let us poor 3rd worlders in on some of the latest.
Thanks in advance,
Nikom in Thailand, where there are millions of people who own gold necklaces
but have no telephone
*************************************************
At 12:29 9/7/99 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>For Kurt and Mel: Perhaps you have already explained the shape of a train
>kiln and compared it, say, to an anagama, noborigama or whatever. I see
>Clayart by Digest, and when I am rushed, I simply don't get to read a whole
>day's posts.
>So I have never read what it might be like. I am looking forward to seeing
>the pics of your work, Mel, when they only take 20 seconds to download!!!
>But I am really curious about the definition of "train kiln." It is
>delightful to hear of what is going on up there, even with unaged wood.
>
>If you Minnesotans ever drive down as far as the Madison, WI area, I urge
>you to contact David Smith, whose anagama kiln in Stoughton, WI is
>absolutely stunning. The interior looks like pics of Jack Troy's kiln in
>his book. The side stoking holes are like a ship's porthole, with lids
>with cool handles because the lids are stuffed with something like kaowool.
> I am short of expertise (to describe) and only saw that part of it once.
>David is away teaching in Montana for much of the summer, but I am in awe
>of his kiln, his knowledge of each spot in it and the results he gets.
>Gosh, I wish I could be at the woodfiring conference (as a fly on the
>wall.) Can't get away. Mel, you write things up so well. How about an
>article for one of the journals on the conference?
>Regards, Bacia
>
>
Cameron Harman on sun 11 jul 99
Nikom wrote and asked why we don't use some more graphics. I have
picture of a kiln we just commisioned that has a flat, fiber top
and downdraft built into the car top. This is an industrial
shuttle kiln using only four burners for 120 cubi feet and 2
million BTU connected.
You can see it at http://www.kilnman.com/pix1.html There are two
photos, the outside taken in the shop where it was built and the
inside photo with the burners lighted.
Cameron
--
**********************************************************
Cameron G. Harman, Jr. 215-245-4040 fax 215-638-1812
e-mail kilns@kilnman.com
Ceramic Services, Inc 1060 Park Ave. Bensalem, PA 19020
get your free ezine: http://www.kilnman.com/ezine/ezine.html
THE place for total kiln and drier support
**********************************************************
Richard Selfridge on tue 13 jul 99
I have been following the train kiln struggles of Kurt and Mel and also
those who want to know what one looks like. Mel's diagram sort of lets you
know the general configuration but for a more complete description you
might want to read the article I wrote in the Fall 1998 Contact mag. The
title is "Ah, So You Do it for the Ash". There are three pictures of the
kiln in Logan in the article as re published on our web site.
http://www.compusmart.ab.ca/selfridg
Bob Rippon and I have been building a slightly wider (31.5 in.)version of
this Logan train which will have a castable lid in a metal frame with the
elevated fire box. John Neely showed some slides of it in his talk at
NCECA. We have the throat arch cast and the brick structure up to the
threshold of the stoking door and a couple of courses of the chimney at
damper level. The site is about 38 Km. north of Edmonton beside the
Sturgeon river. Yesterday, we spent a sunny day (31 C.) under the shade of
the metal roofed structure laying 3" bricks that are 70% aluminia. Heavy
work, but we think the results will be great.
I have been taking pictures and will get a few scans posted on our site in
a couple of weeks. We hope to have a first firing about the first week in
Sept. firing with Spruce edgings from a small sawmill about 10 Km. from the
kiln. Our kiln has about 65 cubic feet of loading space and will accomodate
28 in. shelves. The inside loading dimensions are about 8 ft. long by 3 ft.
high (to the domed lid)by 31.5 in. wide. If it fires like the Logan kiln,
Bob and I should be able to do it easily by ourselves.
I can't say for sure what the problem with Kurt and Mel's little train is,
but my guess is that it is "too small" and the "flame front" of the burning
wood is well up the stack. Even with the checkered exit flue breaking up
the flame, not much of the heat remains in the kiln with the ware. Our "big
train" is all hard brick (except the lid), like the kiln in Logan and thus
we heat the envelope for a few more hours but the thermal mass of the kiln
"fires" the pots as much as the flames. Much like the "grip" discussion (I
don't own one) we choose the kind of tools that make the kind of pots we
want. You can see the kind of woodfired pots we like on our web site.
Yours for highballing on the main line, Richard Selfridge
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