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test kiln for soda firing

updated tue 15 feb 05

 

Fredrick Paget on sun 13 feb 05


I have a very small gas kiln that I made some years ago for Lustre
firing of Moorish lustre glazes. It is about 18 inches cube inside.
I have not used it for several years since I lost interest in the
lustre glazes.

It is made of soft brick with an outer layer of one inch ceramic
insulation board. it has a hinged front door and a metal case on the
outside. The burner is on the bottom and is rather small at present.
When I first built it I had a set of four small burners under it and
had no trouble going up to cone 10.

It was too finiky to maintain the lower temperature required for
lustre glazes so I replaced the four burner setup with a single
smaller burner and I would have trouble getting above cone 04 now.

I have been thinking I could put back a larger burner or two and line
the chamber with some cut up kiln shelves mortared in place to cover
the soft brick and use it as a test kiln for soda or salt firing. the
floor and the small venturi down draft damper box are hard brick.

Any comments or suggestions would be welcome.

Fred
--
From Fred Paget, Marin County, California, USA
fredrick@well.com
Charter Member Potters Council