Michael C Hill on tue 28 mar 00
I am seeking some advice.
I teach ceramics at the University of South Dakota. I have been a studio
potter for over 25 years, but all of my firing experience has been with gas
kilns. Recently my students built a wood kiln, a cantenery arch with the
firebox on the right, about 30 cu feet of loading space. We are getting
ready to fire it, armed with the best intentions and all the reading we can
cram. I was wondering if anyone had some ideas on a firing schedule, or any
experience with a kiln like this. I was hoping to get to Denver and pick
some brains but my back had other ideas.
Thanks in advance
Michael hill
University of South Dakota
Mhill@usd.edu
Aiko Ichimura on wed 29 mar 00
Hi Michael,
I don't know how much it can help you but it might be of your interest to
visit the below URLs:
http://www.biwa.or.jp/~shiho/voulkos_fir.html
http://www.biwa.or.jp/~shiho/frame/index.html
The first one explains about anagama and its firing in English.
The second one shows Mr. Shiho Kanzaki's , a Shigaraki potter, works.
There are other pages in this site that are very interesting.
My friend in Japan told me that Mr. Kanzaki is well known and accomplished
yakishime( no glaze) potter. Enjoy.
Aiko Ichimura
NW DC 20036 USA
aikop@erols.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael C Hill
To:
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2000 1:25 PM
Subject: Wood Kiln
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
> I am seeking some advice.
> I teach ceramics at the University of South Dakota. I have been a studio
> potter for over 25 years, but all of my firing experience has been with
gas
> kilns. Recently my students built a wood kiln, a cantenery arch with the
> firebox on the right, about 30 cu feet of loading space. We are getting
> ready to fire it, armed with the best intentions and all the reading we
can
> cram. I was wondering if anyone had some ideas on a firing schedule, or
any
> experience with a kiln like this. I was hoping to get to Denver and pick
> some brains but my back had other ideas.
> Thanks in advance
>
> Michael hill
> University of South Dakota
> Mhill@usd.edu
>
Richard Gilbert on thu 30 mar 00
Hello Michael,
My experience with wood kilns is limited to single firing but these
observations may help.
Watch the carbon burn off on the firebox walls, the post and kiln walls. This
happens just below
red heat. Don't let the tip of the flame outrun this line between the carbon
and clean brick.
Once you're through the red heat barrier you can start increasing the fuel.
Watch the stack for smoke. Increase fuel until you get smoke. Then wait till
the stack gas is clear again. This gives you a cycle of reduction and oxidation
and good fuel efficiency. The closer to you're final temperatures the faster
this cycle becomes.
The most important difference with wood and other fuels is the flame length.
Wood has an extremely long flame. That's the reason it's so good for pottery.
Think of the flame tip moving back and forth through the kiln as you stoke.
During oxidation the flame tip is close to the firebox. When you are in
reduction the flame tip is in the stack.
Wood is magic. Have fun. I'm envious.
Richard Gilbert
Cherryville, NC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael C Hill wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
> I am seeking some advice.
> I teach ceramics at the University of South Dakota. I have been a studio
> potter for over 25 years, but all of my firing experience has been with gas
> kilns. Recently my students built a wood kiln, a cantenery arch with the
> firebox on the right, about 30 cu feet of loading space. We are getting
> ready to fire it, armed with the best intentions and all the reading we can
> cram. I was wondering if anyone had some ideas on a firing schedule, or any
> experience with a kiln like this. I was hoping to get to Denver and pick
> some brains but my back had other ideas.
> Thanks in advance
>
> Michael hill
> University of South Dakota
> Mhill@usd.edu
Mark Mondloch on thu 30 mar 00
Hi Michael,
My Phoenix kiln has the firebox underneath but is a similar size and cross
draft like what you've built, so perhaps my schedule may be of interest to you.
10pm-7am I aim a small kerosene torpedo heater into the firebox mouth
overnight. This gets it up a couple hundred degrees. Everything is warm and
dry in the morning.
7am I light chunks of large hardwood at the mouth of the firebox. I
don't want any flame into the chamber at this point. I gradually change to
smaller diameter, longer pieces on the grates.
10 am flames are into the chamber.
noon red heat in the chamber.
2pm cone 08's down. There is usually getting to be a build-up of
coal about now so I switch to slabs of pine which burns without coals. Stoking
is less wood , more often. There's some smoke after a stoke, but mostly I burn
it clean.
5pm cone 9 where the flame comes into the chamber, cone 6 softening
at the exit flue. I've been doing a light salting at this point. 4 lb. of
50/50 mix of baking soda and table salt is spread onto two thick pine slabs and
slid into the fireboxes. The kiln is dampered in to keep in the fumes and to
slow and even out the firing.
7pm-8pm cone 11 is flat where the flame enters, cone 8 is starting to bend
at the exit flue. This gives me a pretty even cone 9 throughout chamber. A
piece of sheet metal is put in front of the mouth, dampers pushed in and a cap
on the chimney flipped down.
open 36 hours later
I'm firing bird-baths 20" D. with smaller pieces around- all green ware. It
will make your life infinitely easier if you can get ahead on wood so that it
is very dry. I mark each stack of wood we put in the shed with a permanent
marker with the month and year. The wood I'm using right now is 3-4 years old.
Good luck. Keep us informed.
Sylvia Mondloch
--
Mark & Sylvia Mondloch
Silver Creek Pottery & Forge
W6725 Hwy 144
Random Lake, WI 53075
silvercreek@execpc.com
http://www.execpc.com/silvercreek
Michael C Hill wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
> I am seeking some advice.
> I teach ceramics at the University of South Dakota. I have been a studio
> potter for over 25 years, but all of my firing experience has been with gas
> kilns. Recently my students built a wood kiln, a cantenery arch with the
> firebox on the right, about 30 cu feet of loading space. We are getting
> ready to fire it, armed with the best intentions and all the reading we can
> cram. I was wondering if anyone had some ideas on a firing schedule, or any
> experience with a kiln like this. I was hoping to get to Denver and pick
> some brains but my back had other ideas.
> Thanks in advance
>
> Michael hill
> University of South Dakota
> Mhill@usd.edu
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