mel jacobson on sun 3 aug 03
i do not know if others have given this hint.
buy a 12 inch brass tube from your hardware
or hobby shop. 3/8 or 1/2 inch depending on what
you want to insert. (cut it out arti, nothing dirty here..
he will think it from his hospital bed.)
it is not expensive.
place in the end of a drill motor...new 14 amp battery dewalt
would be nice.
tighten down.
put it where you want to drill in your kiln...drill.
it will go right through.
take it out of the drill, clean out the brick from the tube.
drill some more. hell, drill five or six places.
you can put a dob of fibre in the unused holes.
remember to drill through the stainless first if you are
doing an electric.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
new/ http://www.TICK-ATTACK.COM
dalecochoy on mon 4 aug 03
I've been reading all these hints about drilling out peeps, or holes where
access is punched in stainless cover, etc. Since I need to do this also with
pyro probe since ceramic covers won't fit through any existing holes I've
been interested in this thread.
. I was just going to enlarge a top and bottom peep hole enough to get the
ceramic cover through. Peep plugs will still work. BTW, it is an Olympic
gas kiln.
but,
I can't understand what the problem is with simply using a drill and drill
bit, or heck, even using the bit by hand brick is so soft. Why all the
comments about using pipes, etc. I'd think the drill bit would leave the
nicest hole.Am I missing something. I'd assume you still need to vacuum out
after anything you use.
Also, as an alternative method to those mentioned, I've thought of taking
two unused peep plugs and cutting off the ends, grinding smooth and using a
high temp cement ( or even 3,000 degree caulk from chimney stack
construction) to cement the ceramic sleeve into the peep plug. Seems this
would solve lots of probs?
Regards,
Dale Cochoy
----- Original Message -----
From: "mel jacobson"
To:
Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2003 6:13 PM
Subject: drilling in softbrick
> i do not know if others have given this hint.
>
> buy a 12 inch brass tube from your hardware
> or hobby shop. 3/8 or 1/2 inch depending on what
> you want to insert. (cut it out arti, nothing dirty here..
> he will think it from his hospital bed.)
>
> it is not expensive.
>
> place in the end of a drill motor...new 14 amp battery dewalt
> would be nice.
> tighten down.
>
> put it where you want to drill in your kiln...drill.
> it will go right through.
>
> take it out of the drill, clean out the brick from the tube.
> drill some more. hell, drill five or six places.
> you can put a dob of fibre in the unused holes.
>
> remember to drill through the stainless first if you are
> doing an electric.
> mel
> From:
> Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
> web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
> or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
> new/ http://www.TICK-ATTACK.COM
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> 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.
Arnold Howard on mon 4 aug 03
At Paragon we use drill bits to drill the holes in firebricks. The next
time any of you attend Paragon's in-plant kiln maintenance seminar, you
can tour the factory.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P.
arnoldhoward@att.net
From: dalecochoy
> I've been reading all these hints about drilling out peeps, or holes
where
> access is punched in stainless cover, etc.
> I can't understand what the problem is with simply using a drill and
drill
> bit, or heck, even using the bit by hand brick is so soft. Why all
the
> comments about using pipes, etc. > Regards,
> Dale Cochoy
Dapogny.Gail on mon 4 aug 03
Dale said...:
>I've been reading all these hints about drilling out peeps, or holes where
>access is punched in stainless cover, etc. ...I can't understand what the
>problem is with simply using a drill and drill bit, or heck, even using
>the bit by hand brick is so soft. Why all the
>comments about using pipes, etc. I'd think the drill bit would leave the
>nicest hole.Am I missing something.
I agree with Dale; I've been puzzled about this too. When we wanted
additional holes for looking at cones in a kiln, we just got out the drill.
Took 2 minutes. I feel like I'm missing something too....?
Gail in Ann Arbor
Vince Pitelka on fri 8 aug 03
I have not tried Mel's technique of using a length of brass tube, but it
sounds very effective. My favorite technique has always been to use an 18"
length of allthread - regular threaded rod. Just sharpen one end to a
diamond point - that is like a chisel-tip but coming to a slight point in
the center. Get a size appropriate for your drill - 3/8 for a 3/8" drill,
1/2" if you have a 1/2" drill. Chuck the blunt end in the drill, and make
your holes. While drilling a hole you may have to remove the drill several
times in order to allow the powdered softbrick to escape from the hole.
Once you have drilled your holes, remove the allthread from the drill and
use it like a file to abrade the holes to the size and shape you want. It
goes very fast. I do not recall seeing what the initial question was in
reference to, so I do not know if you need a specific size hole. I've been
running around in the desert seeking out obscure hot springs for the last
week, and just downloaded over 500 Clayart messages, so I deleted rather
indescriminately.
For spyholes, I like to abrade the hole to a 1" round hole on the outside
surface of the kiln, and a 2" by 2" square opening on the inside. This
gives you a maximum field of view, with minimal opening on the outside. It
is easy to "carve" the interior shape using the allthread like a file.
Good luck -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
John Britt on fri 8 aug 03
I find paddle bits to be pretty hard to beat in effeciency. The treaded
rod is good in a pinch. The brass tube is, I believe, the same method
Kemper uses to punch holes for teapots, been around quite a while.
Which ever method you use just dip the IFB in a bucket of water first.
That will eliminate the problem of dust. You can do the same when cutting
soft fire bricks.
Incidently, Larkin Furnace sells the most fantasticly efficient soft brick
saw that is self sharpening. I believe it is $10.---1.800.898.4532
John Britt
Fredrick Paget on fri 8 aug 03
I just went out to the workshop and tried mel's method of drilling
soft brick with a thin brass tube. It works! It works beautifully.
A couple of months ago I saw these real neat brass tubes in a display
at the hardware store . They are paper thin and a foot long. They
come in a lot of sizes so I bought a few to use as ferrules on tool
handles.
Today I took one of 1/2 inch outside diameter and chucked it in my
hand drill. I got a piece of scrap soft brick (A P Green 2300) left
over from building my gas kiln 5 years ago. The brick scrap was 1
inch thick and 8 inches long. and 4 1/2 inches wide. -sort of a
"split".
Using the brass tube I put a hole through the split the long way with
ease, You don't have to file teeth in the tube. The end was perfectly
smooth yet it goes through the brick like butter, so smooth.
I don't think I could have drilled that hole with a regular drill. It
would have busted out and shattered the brick.
So forget drills - use the brass tube.
Fred
--
From Fred Paget, Marin County, California, USA
fredrick@well.com
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