Diane Mead on wed 11 dec 02
I have the Olsen Wood Kiln Book and am getting the Log Book archives and
Wood firing. Does anyone know of a relatively unobtrusive wood kiln design that
1. Fires in less than 8 hours (we already have Train Kiln info)
2. Does not look too awful on the landscape (read "anagama" but sort of
smallish--less than 20'
so that neighbors leave me alone)
3. Can be built in not to terribly many days
4. Maybe does not go more than 3 - 4' off the ground?
I realize that my request may be futile and ill-informed but
I am willing to try to find such a design that has seen some success.
Any info is appreciated and I know what I ask may be impossible.
Thanks,
diane mead
David Hendley on wed 18 dec 02
The Olsen Fastfire is your best option. For less than $1000, it
may be your only option. It's the easiest to build, easiest
and fastest to fire, and best at giving even consistent firings.
For a small wood kiln, nothing else comes close.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
> Please let me know if you have any smaller wood kiln plans. We have the
> KILN BOOK
> but we need to build a small wood kiln on our property.
> If it can be done under $1000 that would be great.
> We are open--down draft, anagama, etc. In other words
> we are still in the thinking phase. Easier to build,
> smaller size is what we need to find.
Diane Mead on thu 19 dec 02
You guys are GREAT, I do have the Olsen book
but please keep wood kiln advice coming
as I am a committee of 20 and I cannot
wait to see what we end up planning.
diane
Ned Ludd on thu 19 dec 02
I agree with the Dawg. The Fastfire is a good bet. The only problem
with it is that it likes to race ahead. I've seen a sadly dry-looking
load of pots on opening a fast-fire that was fired too fast. So just
because you can doesn't mean you should. Take it easy.
With this design you are unlikely to be desperate to get it finished
before you drop with exhaustion because of a very loooong climb to
temperature. Ironically, what I like about the Fastfire is it lets a
potter take his time with wood. An uncommon advantage!
To my taste, stoneware likes to be fired on the slow side, with
enjoyment. I wouldn't trust a wood firing that claimed to be done in
nine hours or less, and nor would my pots. I'd do a pre-dawn to night
fire with this one, including a generous soak time, no haste.
Has anyone with a Fastfire done really good wood firings in less
time? If so, I'd be interested to learn what kind of wood was used.
best
Ned
in Northern CA, USA
Dave "Junkyard Dawg" Hendley wrote:
>The Olsen Fastfire is your best option. For less than $1000, it
>may be your only option. It's the easiest to build, easiest
>and fastest to fire, and best at giving even consistent firings.
>For a small wood kiln, nothing else comes close.
>David Hendley
>Maydelle, Texas
>hendley@tyler.net
>http://www.farmpots.com
>
>----- Original Message -----
>> Please let me know if you have any smaller wood kiln plans. We have the
>> KILN BOOK
>> but we need to build a small wood kiln on our property.
> If it can be done under $1000 that would be great.
John Stromnes on thu 19 dec 02
Diane:
I've been looking for the same thing, a small, cheap, wood kiln for the
lone potter. I don't know how you can find a smaller or simpler kiln than
the Olsen Fast Fire described and illustrated in his Kiln Book. I am
building one, using second-hand hard brick, and my cost, with new 'floor'
shelves and a culvert stack, will be close to $1,500 in materials alone,
using soft brick for the roof and door. That's without furniture or
pyrometer. Let me know if you find a more cost-effectcive design, and what
it is. . In my area, used hard brick cost .80 cents each, fob wherever you
can find them, in quantiies of about 500. If you have hardbrick on hand,
the cost naturally will go down substantially, to less than $1,000 perhaps.
Bye for now
John Syodo Stromnes
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 09:46:39 -0500
From: Diane Mead
Subject: posting again/WOOD KILN plans
Please let me know if you have any smaller wood kiln plans. We have the
KILN BOOK
but we need to build a small wood kiln on our property.
If it can be done under $1000 that would be great.
We are open--down draft, anagama, etc. In other words
we are still in the thinking phase. Easier to build,
smaller size is what we need to find.
Thanks.
diane mead
macon, ga
Wood
Les Crimp on thu 19 dec 02
Diane -
I must concur with everything that Mel was writing about a couple of days
ago.
There is a difference between getting a small "cheap" wood kiln and a small
wood kiln that will give you the look & finish you are looking for.
If you are looking for good/to very good flashing without a lot of drippy
ash running all over the place that is one thing.
If it is the "snotty", runny ash you want, you will not get it with a small
(one person) wood kiln that fires in less that 12 hours.
Up here on Vancouver Island we are very fortunate to have the Tozan Society
which owns a huge 5 chamber uphill noborigama and also a large anagama.
With these, if your pots are in the right place in the kiln, you get a super
amount of heavy ash deposit. But this means working for up to 4 days
depending on how many chambers are being fired... 24 hours per day with 6
persons per 8 hour shift.
does this help with your decision?
Les.
lcrimp@shaw.ca
Diane Mead on fri 20 dec 02
Les:
YES THANKS!! Thishas gone into the multi-chambered memory banks that
are occurring in my ancient brain right now! Thanks, generous
clayarters! I love the glaze reference as "snotty"--excellent metaphor.
Since I live so far from n.carolina I only see 3 unusual kilns on a reg. basis.
The Phoenix at mercer univ here in macon is a kiln i've worked on firing.
The others I have not fired but regularly my students that work on these.
There is an anagama I'd love to build, but it seems ill-advised since we
already have on of that type here in Macon.
I really think many months will pass before we can decide.
The "Woorfire...." book is on its way here from Powell's books
in Oregon, and I have read a lot of that.
Money will always be an issue in building anything for us
as we are a TINY Catholic high school and funds are spare.
But we do have a huge piece of property outside
city limits and I just got permission to build the kiln there!
Keep the responses coming! I am banking all!!!
RJones7582@AOL.COM on tue 24 dec 02
Dear Diane,
I have built a cross-draft woodfired kiln with very simple rough sketches
made for me by a potter friend i.e. Jerry Horning. It was designed with the
firebox 36"X13 1/2" on the left side of the kiln and the flu opening on the
right side of the kiln. It has a sprung arch over the whole structure which
rises approximately a foot at its highest place. The firebox is
approximately 16" below the level of the floor of the ware area of the kiln.
The arch is made of insulated fire brick set on end making the roof 9 1/2"
thick.
The ware area is separated by a firebrick bagwall and is approximately
27 cubic feet in volume. I lined the firebox with hard firebrick but the
outside layer of brick is insulated firebrick. On the right side of the kiln
which is the ware area both layers of brick are insulating brick. We stack
in such a way that 6 24"X12" shelves force the flames to course thru the
kiln in a backward S path which lengthens the distance the flame has to
travel and results in reaching a proper temperature more easily. We use a
welded steel grate in the firebox which is elevated approximately 6" above
the floor of the ash pit. It is supported in several places by upright
"soaps" built into the floor of the ashpit.
This kiln will reach cone 10 to 12 in 12 to 14 hours. However since
my partner and I are older guys we fire it up to 1400 degrees in about 8
hours the first day then seal it up overnight during which time the
temperature drops to 500 or 600 degrees . We start then the next morning
around 7 or so and fire it up to temperature which usually is at about 5 or 6
in the evening. We may have cone 10 or 11 down by 4 PM but try to soak it a
couple of hours before we close it.
Our pots do not look like they came from an anagama but the have quite
a lot of flashing and ash effects. We glaze most of our pots so we do not
try to imitate the anagama pots. If you would like to have more details feel
free to call me.
402-366-2249.
Robert Jones
tim knick on mon 13 mar 06
Hello all-
Enclosed are plans for a train type bourry box kiln. I would like any
input you would like to give me about design flaws. areas for improvement,
and so on, please and thankyou. The roof of the chamber is 11 by 28 inch
shelves (x4). These photos open best in "Paint" for the Windows using
people. They should be large enough to see the handwriting in that program.
let me know what you think if you have the time to look over the plans.
My main areas of concern are the fire throat and the exhaust flues,
appropriate ratios.
Thankyou again,
Tim Knick
Also, please tell me if the photos don't trasmit.
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Patrick Cross on mon 13 mar 06
Um...is there a link or something to get to the plans?
Patrick (cone10soda)
On 3/13/06, tim knick wrote:
>
> Hello all-
> Enclosed are plans for a train type bourry box kiln. I would like any
> input you would like to give me about design flaws. areas for improvement=
,
> and so on, please and thankyou. The roof of the chamber is 11 by 28 inch
> shelves (x4). These photos open best in "Paint" for the Windows using
> people. They should be large enough to see the handwriting in that
> program.
> let me know what you think if you have the time to look over the plans.
> My main areas of concern are the fire throat and the exhaust flues,
> appropriate ratios.
> Thankyou again,
> Tim Knick
> Also, please tell me if the photos don't trasmit.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE=
!
> http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/
>
>
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