mel jacobson on fri 3 dec 99
this is a very personal issue, and should be custom built for the
individual potter.
think of it. a 6` 11`` potter loading a kiln..big arms, strong as a bull.
upper body strength....build a tall kiln...he hates to bend over and load.
potter of 5` 1``...small build, small arms, no upper body strength...hates
working over her head. low kiln.
what i tell people is:
take your heaviest shelf, hold it out at arms length and count to 10.
now lift it up in front of you, and place it above your head, still at arms
length.
hurt? hell yes. now think of placing 12 of them inside your kiln.
i know without question, that dannon hates to load her kiln alone...nice kiln.
built to her height, but, she has one inch silicon carbide shelves, big,
10x20's.
it is a bugger to load her kiln with those shelves. and the top shelves in
the back
almost kill her.
she is a normal sized woman, has strength, but upper body strength above her
head is brutal.
so, in saying all of this my suggestion is:
measure your height, find a comfortable height at which you can bend, hold
a shelf, and move it in and out. try it...experiment. kurt and i like three
concrete blocks high, but, we are rather big, normal sized men....(well, i am
rather big.) that height comes just below our bellies...makes a nice load.
the kiln we built in tennessee was flat to the ground, and meagan will use
a sponge matt to kneel on....lori in s.c. had her's on the ground, and used
a kneeling bad. lori is very tiny, and does better on the ground.
once a kiln is built...it is hard to raise or lower it.
so get it right.
customize it.
breast size is important to consider for woman...they sure can get
in the way while loading kilns...something important to consider.
same with belly size for men, gets in the way. also, door size, how
many bricks wide should you make the door.
so, many things to think about.
i have purchased 3 of the new thin, light carbide shelves, just to use
at the very top of my kiln. the dock six gals just ordered about 50
of the new thin shelves...felt is was very worth it as loading that new
100 cube kiln is a great deal of work....and the new shelves have
really made that job easier...i know, that is almost 7,000 bucks, but
you know what......? they can afford it, they sell pots.
a nice hint from dock six....they send two cards for their sales, one about
10 days before the sale, and one to arrive about a day ahead....they have
almost doubled their attendance at the shows....makes sense. of course
these are very smart, strong, kick ass women...no messing about. do things
right. ( you can tell i am very proud of them, love them all.)
mel.mn
http://www.pclink.com/melpots
from minnetonka, minnesota, u.s.a.
Christopher J. Anton on sat 4 dec 99
Another factor to consider in kiln height is the types of pieces created. I
am currently working on writing grant requests for a local university.
Their ceramics program has recently expanded from "normal" size hand-built
and thrown work. They now have several students doing large sculptural
pieces. We are working with Cameron of "Kilnman" fame on the design of a
shuttle kiln with a loading space which will handle pieces 6' tall. The
instructors and students are drooling in anticipation, although they
understand that it may take a while to locate the funding sources.
Also, another consideration besides ceiling height is floor height. Someone
not needing a lot of interior height may have bending problems. I think the
heart of the best advise is in Mel's message. Figure out what size work you
need to be able to handle, then determine what will meet your needs. My
wife and I plan to design our "dream home/studio" to allow us to work from
wheelchairs, should the need ever arise.
- Chris
Dannon Rhudy on sat 4 dec 99
...... dannon hates to load her kiln alone...nice kiln.
>built to her height, but, she has one inch silicon carbide shelves, big,
>10x20's.
>it is a bugger to load her kiln with those shelves. and the top shelves in
>the back
>almost kill her......
Well, not to say "kill". But it is difficult. The kiln stack is: one
stack on back
wall opposite burners, parallel to back wall. Two stacks perpendicular
to that, one against far wall, one next to door-wall, three in all.
I tried different arrangments, and that, difficult as it is,
is the easiest for me. Usually
there is student help, but not always. The problem is mainly that
in order to reach the end-wall stack and the back stack across
from the door, I have to get IN the kiln. Which means, every time
I need another shelf, I have to climb out, place the shelf where I
can get it, and get back in, et-bloody-cetera, until I'm done. It
greatly increases the time to load. Shelves are 1"x24x12, heavy
enough to be going on with. But, Mel - it was nice to note that at
least two of my students must be monitoring the list, because this
aft, appropos of nothing at all, I got a couple of calls
from students offering to come in Saturday & help unload/load.
Didn't say they'd seen your note, but bet they did....a good thing,
no?
regards,
Dannon Rhudy
potter@koyote.com
Jeff & Melanie Boock on sun 5 dec 99
Well, I appreciate all of the discussion regarding this, and I should
have described myself physically and my work before posting . . . but
the three cinderblock height seems to be a good one for me and my
work. (5'10" male, 1' to 3' tall pots.)
Now what is this about putting expanded metal between the brick and
the block? This is a hard brick kiln, so that metal might get really
hot.
And would you run all of the block the "correct" way, that is to say
with the holes upright?
Thanks!
Jeff Boock
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>this is a very personal issue, and should be custom built for the
>individual potter.
>think of it. a 6` 11`` potter loading a kiln..big arms, strong as a bull.
>upper body strength....build a tall kiln...he hates to bend over and load.
>
>potter of 5` 1``...small build, small arms, no upper body strength...hates
>working over her head. low kiln.
>
>what i tell people is:
>take your heaviest shelf, hold it out at arms length and count to 10.
>now lift it up in front of you, and place it above your head, still at arms
>length.
>hurt? hell yes. now think of placing 12 of them inside your kiln.
>
>i know without question, that dannon hates to load her kiln alone...nice kiln.
>built to her height, but, she has one inch silicon carbide shelves, big,
>10x20's.
>it is a bugger to load her kiln with those shelves. and the top shelves in
>the back
>almost kill her.
>she is a normal sized woman, has strength, but upper body strength above her
>head is brutal.
>
>so, in saying all of this my suggestion is:
>measure your height, find a comfortable height at which you can bend, hold
>a shelf, and move it in and out. try it...experiment. kurt and i like three
>concrete blocks high, but, we are rather big, normal sized men....(well, i am
>rather big.) that height comes just below our bellies...makes a nice load.
>
>the kiln we built in tennessee was flat to the ground, and meagan will use
>a sponge matt to kneel on....lori in s.c. had her's on the ground, and used
>a kneeling bad. lori is very tiny, and does better on the ground.
>
>once a kiln is built...it is hard to raise or lower it.
>so get it right.
>customize it.
>
>breast size is important to consider for woman...they sure can get
>in the way while loading kilns...something important to consider.
>same with belly size for men, gets in the way. also, door size, how
>many bricks wide should you make the door.
>
>so, many things to think about.
>i have purchased 3 of the new thin, light carbide shelves, just to use
>at the very top of my kiln. the dock six gals just ordered about 50
>of the new thin shelves...felt is was very worth it as loading that new
>100 cube kiln is a great deal of work....and the new shelves have
>really made that job easier...i know, that is almost 7,000 bucks, but
>you know what......? they can afford it, they sell pots.
>
>a nice hint from dock six....they send two cards for their sales, one about
>10 days before the sale, and one to arrive about a day ahead....they have
>almost doubled their attendance at the shows....makes sense. of course
>these are very smart, strong, kick ass women...no messing about. do things
>right. ( you can tell i am very proud of them, love them all.)
>mel.mn
>
>
>http://www.pclink.com/melpots
>from minnetonka, minnesota, u.s.a.
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