Reid Harvey on wed 6 oct 99
I am considering making a frit for earthenware, since feldspars and
other fluxes are a rarity hereabouts (as in tropical latitidues in
general). My first thought is to combine silica and kaolin with calcium
carbonate and boric acid. Can someone give me some sense for the amount
of time necessary to burn off the gases. How long? Would there be any
use in stopping the melt mid-way, in order to crush the cooled 'foamy
glass,' readying for a second melt? ie. would this reduce the overall
time needed to remove the various gases?
I've just finished building a small furnace for just such purposes,
along with various calcining operations, metal melting, etc. My
intention is to use charcoal as fuel, with the aid of a small hand
operated centrifugal fan. As usual, the need to do all of this comes
from the unavailability of various resources in this part of the world.
No feldspar, no bituminous coal. Imagine a very short list of ceramic
materials from which to work. For example, my stoneware body is kaolin,
earthenware clay and pre-washed, powdered glass.
Reid Harvey
Ceramiques d'Afrique d'Abidjan
la Cote d'Ivoire
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