Sasha on tue 17 aug 04
Hello,I have a question that was asked probably before,but I will try it
again.
I am interested in making tiles for building ceramic stoves (kachelofens).
I am now in the situation that I have learned much about tilemaking ,but
to go further with this I need to make a kiln.I have for now only ordinary
bricks,but I belive they could be used for one or two firing.I also have
two small gas burners.Any advice will be apreciated.The kiln should be
about 1x1 meters.How to achieve even firing of the tiles?Should it be
downdraft?
Thanks,
Sasha from Serbia
ps:one of the problems here is that is hard to find materials needed for
pottery,including refractory materials,pyrometers etc.
Snail Scott on thu 19 aug 04
At 06:25 PM 8/17/2004 -0400, Sasha in Serbia wrote:
>...I need to make a kiln.I have for now only ordinary
>bricks, but I belive they could be used for one or two firing.
>I also have two small gas burners...The kiln should be
about 1x1 meters.How to achieve even firing of the tiles?Should it be
downdraft?
Many different styles of kiln will achieve
your intent. I would consider an updraft,
though, since it eliminates the need to build
a chimney. Since this is your first kiln, keep
it simple for now.
Ordinary red building brick will probably not
survive even one firing, however. You didn't
say how hot you plan to fire, but I'm assuming
that kachelofen tiles would be stoneware. Many
types of building brick will melt into blobs
at even low-stoneware temperatures. Since you
say that firebrick is difficult to find, perhaps
you could build using a castable refractory made
from raw materials? It can be made from fireclay
and alumina hydrate, with sawdust or other
materials to burn out and leave tiny air pockets
for insulation. You can build a wooden framework
shaped like the inside of the kiln (a catenary
arch would be self-supporting when complete)
and pack the castable material over it like
clay, about 10 cm thick all over.Use blocks to
keep the burner ports and flue open. When the
castable is dry, remove the support and fire
very slowly the first time.
There are recipes for castable refractory in
the archives.
With an updraft kiln, the openness of the damper
and the burner ports will have a big effect on
the evenness of the firing, but so will the way
the kiln is loaded. Try to keep an even load,
not all at the bottom, and not too tight. Gaps
in the middle can help keep the airflow moving
throughout the kiln.
-Snail Scott
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