vince pitelka on sun 3 jun 01
Someone posted me off list saying that the best solution would be to simply
cut the bricks to shape to make arch bricks, as someone suggested. I
dissagree. I do not recall whether the original post stipulated hardbrick
or softbrick. If hardbrick, cutting them to make arch bricks is out of the
question without a diamond saw and a precision miter jig. If they are
soft-brick and you cut them to make arch bricks they will REALL sift
particles down onto the wares, and it is very difficult to cut the precision
angles so that you have a tight monolithic arch. For as few arch bricks as
you need, as compared to all the straights for walls, floor, etc., it just
doesn't make sense to not spend the money to get the proper arch bricks.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
Kenneth D. Westfall on mon 4 jun 01
I agree one hundred % with vince don't waste your time cutting arch bricks.
You don't have to have that many unless your building a huge kiln and the
arch need to have to correct angle on every brick to make a strong
monolithic span. Don't be penny foolish and have a disaster. You only have
one life and getting burned bad or losing a studio for 40 or 50 dollars
worth of arch brick is just not good sense.
At 10:50 PM 06/03/2001 -0500, you wrote:
>Someone posted me off list saying that the best solution would be to simply
>cut the bricks to shape to make arch bricks, as someone suggested. I
>dissagree. I do not recall whether the original post stipulated hardbrick
>or softbrick. If hardbrick, cutting them to make arch bricks is out of the
>question without a diamond saw and a precision miter jig. If they are
>soft-brick and you cut them to make arch bricks they will REALL sift
>particles down onto the wares, and it is very difficult to cut the precision
>angles so that you have a tight monolithic arch. For as few arch bricks as
>you need, as compared to all the straights for walls, floor, etc., it just
>doesn't make sense to not spend the money to get the proper arch bricks.
>Best wishes -
>- Vince
>
>Vince Pitelka
>Appalachian Center for Crafts
>Tennessee Technological University
>1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
>Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
>615/597-5376
>Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
>615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
>http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
___
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
Kenneth D. Westfall
Pine Hill Pottery
R.D. #2 Box 6AA
Harrisville, WV 26362
pinehill@ruralnet.org
http://www.pinehillpottery.com
Earl Brunner on mon 4 jun 01
Disagree,
If we are talking about soft brick, cutting the soft brick need not be
imprecise, Use a template (like someone mentioned), dip the cut brick in
water to remove powdered brick, heck, lightly scrub the wet brick. We
rebuilt a couple of older Alpine updrafts at university and cut our own
brick. The only problem we had was that we burned out the starter coil
on the band saw and went through three or four blades....
vince pitelka wrote:
> Someone posted me off list saying that the best solution would be to simply
> cut the bricks to shape to make arch bricks, as someone suggested. I
> dissagree. I do not recall whether the original post stipulated hardbrick
> or softbrick. If hardbrick, cutting them to make arch bricks is out of the
> question without a diamond saw and a precision miter jig. If they are
> soft-brick and you cut them to make arch bricks they will REALL sift
> particles down onto the wares, and it is very difficult to cut the precision
> angles so that you have a tight monolithic arch. For as few arch bricks as
> you need, as compared to all the straights for walls, floor, etc., it just
> doesn't make sense to not spend the money to get the proper arch bricks.
> Best wishes -
> - Vince
>
> Vince Pitelka
> Appalachian Center for Crafts
> Tennessee Technological University
> 1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
> Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
> 615/597-5376
> Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
> 615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
> http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
--
Earl Brunner
http://coyote.accessnv.com/bruec
mailto:bruec@anv.net
vince pitelka on tue 5 jun 01
> If we are talking about soft brick, cutting the soft brick need not be
> imprecise, Use a template (like someone mentioned), dip the cut brick in
> water to remove powdered brick, heck, lightly scrub the wet brick. We
> rebuilt a couple of older Alpine updrafts at university and cut our own
> brick. The only problem we had was that we burned out the starter coil
> on the band saw and went through three or four blades....
Earl -
I don't care to go around and around about this, but the primary point is
that you wasted a great deal of time on setup and cutting, subjecting your
band saw to very damaging brick dust, when the cost of the proper arch
bricks is hardly higher than the straights. It just does not make sense.
If the IFB arch bricks were not available it would all be worth it, but they
are, and they form a very tight locked arch. You cannot cut them that
precise.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
John Baymore on tue 5 jun 01
Hi all.
Been quite a while (last September) since I have had the time to even rea=
d
much of CLAYART....let alone post. Caught this topic header the last
couple of days and thought I'd throw in my $0.02 worth as a pro kiln
builder.
It is certainly POSSIBLE to build a kiln arch out of straight brick. I'v=
e
done it ....others have done it. Some have had no problems ....others ha=
ve
had various problems. If done well....it works fine. REALLY key phrase
here .......... "done well".
Important thought to ponder: a "done poorly" arch made out of arch brick=
will greatly outperform a "done fairly" arch made out of straight brick.
So....... the big question here for me is WHY to do it at all? The "WHY"=
here has to strongly outweigh all the downside possibilities.
If it is to save money ....... depending on your supplier........ soft ar=
ch
brick cost about $0.25 - $0.30 per brick over the cost of a straight. So=
for an arch utilizing 200 arch brick (a fair sized kiln) you are talking
possibly "saving" about 50 to 60 bucks. That is on an overall kiln job
that is running in at least the $5000.00 and up range for the materials
alone. A pretty piddling percent of the total cost as an "overrun" if yo=
u
suddenly after-the-fact decide to just spend the money on arch brick .=
=
As a skilled craftsperson in 2001, if you are not paying yourself at leas=
t
$25.00 an hour for your time, you are undercharging. A burger flipper ca=
n
get $9.00 - $10.00 an hour. Believe me.......... having built MANY arche=
s
over the past 32 years from straight bricks (for reasons that will be
mentioned later below), on the overall job it will take you EASILY two
extra hours of your time to build the arch at all well out of straights
versus how much time it will take to do a reasonably good job with
pre-formed arch brick. So you are actually LOSING money by using the
straights if you take your valuable time into account.
How many pots could you make in that extra two or three hours? That woul=
d
MORE than pay for the arch brick.
As to the success of the installation.......a LOT depends on the
craftsmanship / craftswomanship of the construction job. If you've got a=
lot of kiln building experience, you'll probably do a better job than if
you have built only a few kilns. If you've had the experience of buildin=
g
an arch from straight brick before, then you'll probably have learned a f=
ew
things from that experience and the next one will be better. If it is th=
e
first kiln you've built, and the first arch you've ever built at all, fro=
m
straight brick OR from arch brick........ expect a "learning experience".=
=
I might actually re-phrase that to an "expensive learning experience" >.
As to some reasons TO build an arch out of straights............
First of all.... for the learning experience. It is a nice skill to have=
in your "back pocket". You never know when you might be in a situation
where you need to put up a kiln and have no resources EXCEPT straight bri=
ck
sitting around. Or for when you decide to build that red brick fireplace=
or barbecue and want to make an arch out of red bricks and cement. =
Besides, you never know when you'll be shipwrecked on a deserted island
with nothing except 5 whole pallets of 9" straights and have to set up a
pottery in order to to keep your sanity .
Next...... for a temporary "rubble" style kiln. If you are building a
small to medium kiln that is not intended to have a long life span, and y=
ou
KNOW it will be ripped down and the materials re-used in a few weeks to a=
few years. Since it will be fired little, the longevity of the arch
construction is not much of a concern.... so some "slippage" or sagging i=
s
a non-issue. Pieces of filler sifting out of the arch over time is not a=
concern either....since the kiln will not have many firings for stuff to
"sift" in.
Third...... in some situations like building the double complex curves fo=
r
a teardrop shape anagama wall...... in certain locations, straights
"adjusted" with a GOOD quality commerical castable refractory often work
quite well. Key here is the good commercial mortar to "fill" in the spac=
es
the tipped straights leave. The further up the curve in the wall the
straights are....the more important what is AROUND the straight making it=
turn the curve. In a sprung arch....ALL the straights are well "up the
wall".
Fourth....... if you are absolutely dirt poor and it is "build the kiln
with the materials at hand or have no kiln at all to fire pots in to feed=
yourself and your family". In that case, you make do with what you need =
to
make do with. And more power to you, and God bless.
Now....on to "making" arches out of straights.........
Hand cutting a whole kiln's arch worth of IFB straights into arch brick
even with a water-cooled brick saw and cutting jig is a ROYAL pain in the=
butt, and exposes you and everyone around the site to a high dust level
(even with the water) which you simply don't need to risk. Certainly not=
for only about $50.00. Plus....... think of the TIME to make the jig, se=
t
up the saw, and then cut them! "Time used" makes for VERY expensive arch=
bricks. Making arch shapes is a job best left up to the brick
manufacturers....they have the tools and the safety setup to do it. And
they only charge about a quarter to do all that. A bargain.
As to doing the above with HARD brick.......... you gotta be a glutton fo=
r
punishment . And you'd chew up a fortune in diamond blades.
An important consideration in all this is also health issues. Refractory=
brick dust is laden with respirable crystaline free silica. The less of
this you expose yourself to....the better. The more "handling" you do wi=
th
brick, the more possible dust you create. A procedure that requires a lo=
t
of brick handling and cutting work creates great opportunities for
unnecessary dust exposure. Keep the dust down in ALL kiln building
activities. Wet down the growing kiln as you are working on it. Dip IFB=
in a bucket as soon as you slowly and carefully pick it up out of the box=
=
Open those dusty boxes CAREFULLY. Wet the boxes when they are empty as y=
ou
handle them to dispose of them. Spray the pallet of hard brick with wate=
r
to rinse off the loose dust. Wet down any fiber products. Have dillutio=
n
ventilation running in the kiln room as you are building. Use a HEPA
vacume claener as a temporary local pickup for localized dust producing
activities if no other local pickup for the activity is available. And s=
o
on.
=
As a professional kiln builder and workshop leader, the only time I
typically utilize building an arch out of straights is in a teaching
workshop setting where that skill itself is a topic I want to cover for t=
he
participants (ala' a "primitive pottery" format) or the kiln construction=
we are doing is a "spur of the moment" decision based on the intersts of =
a
group, the big stack of straight brick is all there is at hand at the tim=
e,
and there is no budget or time to get any arches to the site. (Otherwise=
known as, "Any kiln is better than no kiln." )
I would never typically build a permanent kiln for a client utilizing
straight brick for the arch. I would not feel that I have given the clie=
nt
the kind of product he/she should get for all the money they are spending=
=
Even with the kilnbuilding skills I have developed from building many, ma=
ny
kilns over the past 32 years, I do not feel that I can do as good a job
with straights as I can do with commercially prepared arch brick. Pretty=
plain and simple.
Over the years I have done many consulting jobs in evaluating kiln
installations for potters and making recommendations on suggested
maintenence, repairs, and upkeep. And replacement. All too often I see
that in order to "save" a few dollars when the kiln was built, the potter=
has skimped on materials selection and/or construction technique to the
serious detriment of the installation. All too often a dollar saved in
construction ends up costing twenty to a hundred dollars in lost producti=
on
time, extra labor to repair the kiln, decreased longevity of the
installation, screwed up pots, and the medical bills for the potter's
ulcers and migranes .
So.... I'd suggest you consider all the pros and cons carefully before
embarking on the straight brick arch route. A lot of good information is=
floating around CLAYART on this subject. Read it all....weigh the validi=
ty
of the information...... and make an informed decision. =
BTW......... "dead on" once again, Vince . And as "wise ol' mel" has
said in the past so many times (to paraphrase), "Build the best kiln you
can."
Best,
.......................john
John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
22 Riverbend Way
Wilton, NH 03086 USA
JohnBaymore.com
603-654-2752 (s)
800-900-1110 (s)
JBaymore@compuserve.com
John.Baymore@GSD-CO.com
"Earth, Water, and Fire Noborigama Woodfiring Workshop August 17-26,
2001" (Full.... doing waiting list now.)
| |
|
