Paul Lewing on tue 18 jan 00
I have a question for a friend of mine who's not on Clayart about
getting K28 soft brick. She makes pots with crystal glazes and puts a
thin flat wafer of soft brick under each pot to catch the drips. Much
easier to grind off than a harder substance. For years she cut the
bricks with a hand saw. Then a few months ago, she was told they can't
get those bricks any more, and the new ones are so coarse in texture
that pots with small feet won't stand up on them. The only bricks she
can find that are smooth enough are too hard to be cut with a hand saw.
Does anyone know where she can order 2800 degree, smooth soft brick,
soft enough to be cut with a hand saw? I especially want to help her
solve this because she is now cutting them on my table saw with a
masonry blade, which makes huge volumes of dust, which we've figured out
how to deal with (sort of) but we'd both rather not.
Thanks from both of us.
Paul Lewing, Seattle
Ray Aldridge on wed 19 jan 00
At 09:44 AM 1/18/00 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I have a question for a friend of mine who's not on Clayart about
>getting K28 soft brick. She makes pots with crystal glazes and puts a
>thin flat wafer of soft brick under each pot to catch the drips. Much
>easier to grind off than a harder substance. For years she cut the
>bricks with a hand saw. Then a few months ago, she was told they can't
>get those bricks any more, and the new ones are so coarse in texture
>that pots with small feet won't stand up on them. The only bricks she
>can find that are smooth enough are too hard to be cut with a hand saw.
>Does anyone know where she can order 2800 degree, smooth soft brick,
>soft enough to be cut with a hand saw? I especially want to help her
>solve this because she is now cutting them on my table saw with a
>masonry blade, which makes huge volumes of dust, which we've figured out
>how to deal with (sort of) but we'd both rather not.
Has she ever considered making her own setters? She could mix kaolin and
sawdust, roll out slabs and cut them into appropriate-sized squares.
They'd have the advantage that, if used under green pots, they'd shrink a
bit in the bisque and help prevent stresses to the bottom of the pot. The
sawdust would burn out, and the kaolin would still be pretty friable,
unless she's actually firing to 2800.
Ray
Aldridge Porcelain and Stoneware
http://www.goodpots.com
Mike Gordon on wed 19 jan 00
Hi Paul,
I rebuilt my kiln with k28's and they were very smooth and cut easily
with a pruning saw blade or a coarse hack saw blade. How many do you
need? Mike in Walnut Creek.Ca.
Jean Todd on thu 20 jan 00
Hello All,
My first day with this group. Why go to the expense of buying soft brick to
place crystal glaze pots on when it is easy (but messy) to make setters just
the right size and thickness. Find somewhere where you can obtain sawdust,
fairly fine and with no additives in the timber. Mix this with as little
slurry as possible and maybe add a smidgeon of bentonite to make it more
workable. This has to be a crumbly mixture. Roll into balls and then flatten
it to make a round shape like a pancake. Place this between sheets of
"fibro" (do Americans have fibre?) or some absorbant sheeting and let dry
very slowly. They need to be flat. These can be used once they are dry, does
not need bisquing first. It is very easy to grind off where glaze runs, and
if not contaminated can be used over and over. The first time they are fired
the kiln does smell of singing timber as the timber burns out.I use them
always for test glazes as I like to do big tests, none of these silly test
rings for me.
Jean from Australia
"Lang may your lum reek"
Jean Todd on sun 23 jan 00
Gypsum board sounds fine, Fibro here used to be asbestos and cement board
and is now fibourous cement. I find it ideal for wedging clay on if it is a
little on the too wet side. Also newspaper whould also work to draw the
water out slowly while the "Patties" of clay were very slowly drying
provided there was some weight on top to prevent warpage. They have to be
flat so the pot sits straight in the kiln. The beauty of them is their
lightness, and so cheap. Also you can make them to different sizes.
Dont know if I am sending this to the list or just to you,
Jean
"Lang may your lum reek"
MudFire - Luba & Erik on sat 9 dec 06
I am also researching soft bricks for a soda kiln. Our distributor here =
in Atlanta is Larking Refractory. They sell a soft brick type referred =
to on their price sheet as "LW" (as in LW23, LW26 and LW28). Have any =
of you ever heard of this nomenclature? =20
I'd love to find out what company makes them so that I can research the =
composition of the bricks and figure out what would work best for a soda =
kiln.
Thanks y'all
Luba
MudFire Clayworks & Gallery
Open Studio * Workshops * Exhibits
175 Laredo Dr, Decatur, GA 30030
404-377-8033
www.mudfire.com
Lee Love on sun 10 dec 06
We have high duty softbrick here in Japan. They have
spherical holes instead of irregular ones. These are what are
mostly in my kiln. I have some regular type in the arch and they
don't hold up as well. Do they have this type back home? Euan
told me the high duty ones a made with tiny spheres of aluminum that
melt out to leave the spherical spaces, turning into alumina. I
have no idea how accurate this description is, having received it 3rd
hand. They cost over twice as much as regular duty softbrick.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
http://potters.blogspot.com/
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
"When we all do better. We ALL do better." -Paul Wellstone
Rogier Donker on sun 10 dec 06
Uh Luba...
Don't even think of building a soda (salt) kilnof soft firebrick....
the salt will eat up the brick in no time.....
Ought to build a salt kiln out of hard firebrick on the firing
chamber side, backed upwith soft firebrick or some other insulation....
Rogier(still sucking)
See us on the web at http://www.donkerstudio.org
Hank Murrow on sun 10 dec 06
On Dec 9, 2006, at 8:16 PM, Lee Love wrote:
> We have high duty softbrick here in Japan. They have
> spherical holes instead of irregular ones. These are what are
> mostly in my kiln. I have some regular type in the arch and they
> don't hold up as well. Do they have this type back home? Euan
> told me the high duty ones a made with tiny spheres of aluminum that
> melt out to leave the spherical spaces, turning into alumina. I
> have no idea how accurate this description is, having received it 3rd
> hand. They cost over twice as much as regular duty softbrick.
Dear Lee;
This technology is called 'bubble alumina', and is available also in
castables. The floor on my Doorless Fiber kiln is cast from Cerlite 75,
which is a 75#/cuft bubble alumina castable stocked by C.H. Murphy Co
in Portland, OR. Mizzou is 150 #/cuft, so Cerlite 75 is around half the
weight. Others are available, but this is what I chose for the floor. I
back it up with Insblok 19, and Cal-Sil block insulations.
Cheers, Hank
www.murrow.biz/hank
Craig Martell on sun 10 dec 06
Luba was asking:
>I am also researching soft bricks for a soda kiln. Our distributor here
>in Atlanta is Larking Refractory. They sell a soft brick type referred to
>on their price sheet as "LW" (as in LW23, LW26 and LW28). Have any of you
>ever heard of this nomenclature?
Hi:
"LW" plus whatever number follows as a temp designator, is the tag used by
New Castle Refractories. Very good quality brick.
regards, Craig Martell Hopewell, Oregon
Ivor and Olive Lewis on mon 11 dec 06
Dear Luba=20
You say << I'd love to find out what company makes them so that I can =
research the composition of the bricks and figure out what would work =
best for a soda kiln. >>
Is there a recommended Design Specification for Refractory Insulating =
bricks that will be in contact with molten Sodium Carbonate ? Could you =
provide details ?
In general, has anyone ever asked a manufacturer of refractory products =
about the service conditions that exist in either a Salt or a Soda =
firing?
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis.
Redhill,
South Australia.
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