Cristina Gassier on fri 18 feb 00
I finally have the chance to build my own studio, and the first thing I want
to attack is the kiln. I love the warmth and depth of wood reduction and am
lucky enough to live on a farm with unlimited access to seasoned apple,
peach, and grape vinestock wood. I'd like to use this kiln (18 cu ft ~
500 liters) in reduction for both bisque and high fire. Not wanting to be an
energy hog, I'd like it to be as efficient as possible. Going back through
some kiln books, I ran across Olsen's plans for a fastfire wood downdraft
kiln (similar to the one he built at the Andersons Ranch in Aspen, CO) and
I'm very tempted to duplicate it. These are the questions I have:
1 Would any Clayarters who have experience with this type of kiln be
willing to share their impressions? Is it really fast-fire (ie, cone 10 in
less than 4 hours)?
Does it fire relatively evenly throughout the kiln? Has anyone seen a
difference in the quality and/or variability of firing when using soft or
hard wood? In his book, Olsen says he uses less than a quarter of a cord of
wood for the 18 cubic ft kiln. Does this hold true? How do you control the
cooling cycle in a kiln like this one? Any insights would be most
appreciated.
2 I'm now in the process of drawing out my plans. Once finished I'd love
to have a sincere critique of the functionality of the designs. Does anyone
know where I could have this done?
3 David Hendley, if you're reading this, you can see I still haven't given
up on the idea. Thanks so much for the prompt resonse. It was much
appreciated.
Thanks everyone, Tina Gassier
lucien m koonce on sat 19 feb 00
Tina,
I am in the process of building the Olsen Fastfire. The departure I
made was using hard firebrick for the chamber interior, since I will salt.
I had some questions when I was trying to design it, only having the book to
read and look at photos. So I called Fred, himself, for some help. His
number is in Ceramics Monthly, in his add for Olsen Kilns.
Mine is ready for the arch to be put in place. I have a photo of it's
current state on my website, on the Kiln Shed page.
Lucien Koonce
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click on http://lmkoonce.home.mindspring.com and visit my on-line gallery.
L M Koonce / Robbins, NC
-----Original Message-----
From: Cristina Gassier
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Friday, February 18, 2000 11:11 AM
Subject: Olsen's Fastfire Wood Downdraft Kiln
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I finally have the chance to build my own studio, and the first thing I
want
>to attack is the kiln. I love the warmth and depth of wood reduction and
am
>lucky enough to live on a farm with unlimited access to seasoned apple,
>peach, and grape vinestock wood. I'd like to use this kiln (18 cu ft ~
>500 liters) in reduction for both bisque and high fire. Not wanting to be
an
>energy hog, I'd like it to be as efficient as possible. Going back through
>some kiln books, I ran across Olsen's plans for a fastfire wood downdraft
>kiln (similar to the one he built at the Andersons Ranch in Aspen, CO) and
>I'm very tempted to duplicate it. These are the questions I have:
>
>1 Would any Clayarters who have experience with this type of kiln be
>willing to share their impressions? Is it really fast-fire (ie, cone 10 in
>less than 4 hours)?
>Does it fire relatively evenly throughout the kiln? Has anyone seen a
>difference in the quality and/or variability of firing when using soft or
>hard wood? In his book, Olsen says he uses less than a quarter of a cord
of
>wood for the 18 cubic ft kiln. Does this hold true? How do you control
the
>cooling cycle in a kiln like this one? Any insights would be most
>appreciated.
>
>2 I'm now in the process of drawing out my plans. Once finished I'd love
>to have a sincere critique of the functionality of the designs. Does
anyone
>know where I could have this done?
>
>3 David Hendley, if you're reading this, you can see I still haven't given
>up on the idea. Thanks so much for the prompt resonse. It was much
>appreciated.
>
>Thanks everyone, Tina Gassier
David Hendley on sat 19 feb 00
Tina, here on Clayart we have some Fastfire fans and
some detractors. I'm a fan, but Tony Clennell, for example,
thinks I am a little weenie because firing a Fastfire is hardly
even a woodfiring to him; it's fast and there's not much ash
accumulation. He loves the 'train' design for maximum wood
fired effect in a reasonably small and fast firing kiln. Others
love the Bourry Box design for good results and easier firing;
you don't have to stoke so often or bend down to stoke and
clear the coals.
If you want a heavy wood-fired effect on your work the
Fastfire is not for you. If you want just some flashing
and ashes, but not overpowering, it is a good choice.
Just because you have a wood source nearby and like the
look of woodfired pottery is not a good reason to build a
woodfired kiln. You need to really LOVE the idea because
it is a lot of hard un-economic work.
To answer your questions:
Is it really fast-fire (ie, cone 10 in less than 4 hours)?
Maybe 4 or 5 hours, but the pots will not look very good,
with no depth or warmth. A cone 10 firing needs at least
7 or 8 hours to look good, no matter the fuel.
| Does it fire relatively evenly throughout the kiln?
Absolutely
Has anyone seen a
| difference in the quality and/or variability of firing when using soft or
| hard wood?
Nothing significant, either works.
In his book, Olsen says he uses less than a quarter of a cord of
| wood for the 18 cubic ft kiln. Does this hold true?
Yes.
How do you control the
| cooling cycle in a kiln like this one?
Block up the big firebox openings at the end of the firing
for a slow cooling. I think it is a big mistake to build this
kiln with 4 1/2" thick walls, as shown in the plans. Go with
9" walls for structural strength, better insulation, and
slower cooling.
| 2 I'm now in the process of drawing out my plans. Once finished I'd
love
| to have a sincere critique of the functionality of the designs. Does
anyone
| know where I could have this done?
Clayart is probably your best resource.
If you could put your design up on a webpage, we could have a
look. If you don't know how to do it, grab a teenager and ask
them to do it! If all else fails, ask for volunteers to mail the
plans to.
--
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com/
----- Original Message -----
From: Cristina Gassier
To:
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2000 10:10 AM
Subject: Olsen's Fastfire Wood Downdraft Kiln
| ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
| I finally have the chance to build my own studio, and the first thing I
want
| to attack is the kiln. I love the warmth and depth of wood reduction and
am
| lucky enough to live on a farm with unlimited access to seasoned apple,
| peach, and grape vinestock wood. I'd like to use this kiln (18 cu ft ~
| 500 liters) in reduction for both bisque and high fire. Not wanting to be
an
| energy hog, I'd like it to be as efficient as possible. Going back
through
| some kiln books, I ran across Olsen's plans for a fastfire wood downdraft
| kiln (similar to the one he built at the Andersons Ranch in Aspen, CO) and
| I'm very tempted to duplicate it. These are the questions I have:
|
| 1 Would any Clayarters who have experience with this type of kiln be
| willing to share their impressions? Is it really fast-fire (ie, cone 10
in
| less than 4 hours)?
| Does it fire relatively evenly throughout the kiln? Has anyone seen a
| difference in the quality and/or variability of firing when using soft or
| hard wood? In his book, Olsen says he uses less than a quarter of a cord
of
| wood for the 18 cubic ft kiln. Does this hold true? How do you control
the
| cooling cycle in a kiln like this one? Any insights would be most
| appreciated.
|
| 2 I'm now in the process of drawing out my plans. Once finished I'd
love
| to have a sincere critique of the functionality of the designs. Does
anyone
| know where I could have this done?
|
| 3 David Hendley, if you're reading this, you can see I still haven't
given
| up on the idea. Thanks so much for the prompt resonse. It was much
| appreciated.
|
| Thanks everyone, Tina Gassier
|
James M. McDonough on sun 20 feb 00
We have a four year experience with a Phoenix. It is woodfired,downdraft and
quite efficient. Although it is possible to get to cone ten in about 8
hours if small diameter very dry wood is used a more typical firing is
longer to achieve a better layer of ash buildup with the longer firing. It
is being fired this weekend and started at 3:00 PM Friday with a finish
planned for early Sunday afternoon. Cone 6 was down after 24 hours firing
with hardwood sticks slightly green and in slabs 2"x2" to 2"x4".
If we were to rebuild there are several changes that would be nice:
An extra two course of fire brick beneath the fire box to allow for an
ash pit that was a bit deeper.
Better planning for wood storage and delivery adjacent to the firebox,
would simplify the firing and allow the
wood to be seasoned for 6 to 8 months before use, cut down on material
handling that can be repetitious.
A large slab and cover as the weather always seems to turn nasty once
you get started.
One of the fortuitous choices we made was to place the kiln on a grade so
that the firebox is located at waist height. This grade also makes it easy
to unload a pickup truck full of wood by removing the tailgate, backing down
the grade and hitting the brakes allowing the load of wood to drop.
Good luck with your studio, if photos would help we'll be glad send them.
-----Original Message-----
From: Cristina Gassier
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Friday, February 18, 2000 11:12 AM
Subject: Olsen's Fastfire Wood Downdraft Kiln
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I finally have the chance to build my own studio, and the first thing I
want
>to attack is the kiln. I love the warmth and depth of wood reduction and
am
>lucky enough to live on a farm with unlimited access to seasoned apple,
>peach, and grape vinestock wood. I'd like to use this kiln (18 cu ft ~
>500 liters) in reduction for both bisque and high fire. Not wanting to be
an
>energy hog, I'd like it to be as efficient as possible. Going back through
>some kiln books, I ran across Olsen's plans for a fastfire wood downdraft
>kiln (similar to the one he built at the Andersons Ranch in Aspen, CO) and
>I'm very tempted to duplicate it. These are the questions I have:
>
>1 Would any Clayarters who have experience with this type of kiln be
>willing to share their impressions? Is it really fast-fire (ie, cone 10 in
>less than 4 hours)?
>Does it fire relatively evenly throughout the kiln? Has anyone seen a
>difference in the quality and/or variability of firing when using soft or
>hard wood? In his book, Olsen says he uses less than a quarter of a cord
of
>wood for the 18 cubic ft kiln. Does this hold true? How do you control
the
>cooling cycle in a kiln like this one? Any insights would be most
>appreciated.
>
>2 I'm now in the process of drawing out my plans. Once finished I'd love
>to have a sincere critique of the functionality of the designs. Does
anyone
>know where I could have this done?
>
>3 David Hendley, if you're reading this, you can see I still haven't given
>up on the idea. Thanks so much for the prompt resonse. It was much
>appreciated.
>
>Thanks everyone, Tina Gassier
>
Jeff Ferguson on tue 22 feb 00
I fire an olsen kiln and can stick pots to the shelf with runs of ash in a12
hour firing.We fire it about 4 times a year as we do not have much cool
weather in the south. It is work to get the ash to fly up threw the kiln. I
am scared to fire in 4 hours . What is the rush? I use scrap pallet wood and
would like to run more wood threw but my help is always in a hurry but want
good ash.The clay that is used is the key to warm colors from this kiln. I
hate to glaze so i stack and stoke insted. Good luck it is a fun kiln that is
easy to manage and can produce some great work.
jeff in Louisiana
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