Janine Roubik on wed 14 feb 07
Hey all,
I'm wondering what my options would be for the cheapest homemade kiln design possible of ^10 reduction? Would an inexpensive kiln be something I would need to rebuild or fix every time I fire?
So then I ask what would be the easiest to build kiln? I've never made a kiln all by myself - just helped a friend with different parts when he was further along the way (i.e. I didn't see how he did the foundation or the arch or any of that...)
Are the terms "inexpensive", "easy to build" and "sturdy" mutually exclusive in terms of making my own kiln?
I could put a kiln on my parents property. They have a garage and a pole barn, there's electricity in both, not sure about gas. If I had to have the kiln outside and do a woodfired, I could also do that. I'd like something a bit smaller (14 - 18 cu. ft?), and then just fire more frequently. I am interested in "woodfire" aesthetics, but not all the time. Would a train kiln be best for this?
I know these are a lot of questions, and I'm all over the place here, but I'm in the "thinking" pre-planning phase right now, and I honestly have no idea what to do.
Any help would be appreciated.
Janine
pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET on thu 15 feb 07
Hi Janine,
My own appreciation is that if one uses Refractory
'blanket' or 'Firber' material, it would not
matter then 'what' the Kiln 'body' itself is made
out of, so long as one is careful in lining that
body nicely with the Kaowool or similar...
You could make the 'Kiln' ostensibly out of Wood
for that matter if you did a nice enough job of it
with the Kaowool...but of course that would be
rather pushing it...
Phil
el v
----- Original Message -----
From: "Janine Roubik"
> Hey all,
> I'm wondering what my options would be for the
cheapest homemade kiln design possible of ^10
reduction? Would an inexpensive kiln be something
I would need to rebuild or fix every time I fire?
> So then I ask what would be the easiest to build
kiln? I've never made a kiln all by myself - just
helped a friend with different parts when he was
further along the way (i.e. I didn't see how he
did the foundation or the arch or any of that...)
> Are the terms "inexpensive", "easy to build" and
"sturdy" mutually exclusive in terms of making my
own kiln?
> I could put a kiln on my parents property. They
have a garage and a pole barn, there's electricity
in both, not sure about gas. If I had to have the
kiln outside and do a woodfired, I could also do
that. I'd like something a bit smaller (14 - 18
cu. ft?), and then just fire more frequently. I
am interested in "woodfire" aesthetics, but not
all the time. Would a train kiln be best for
this?
> I know these are a lot of questions, and I'm all
over the place here, but I'm in the "thinking"
pre-planning phase right now, and I honestly have
no idea what to do.
> Any help would be appreciated.
> Janine
Michael Wendt on thu 15 feb 07
Janine,
Take a look at my kiln built in the
12 brick per ring manner similar
to electric kilns :
http://www.wendtpottery.com/equip.htm
The photo is near the bottom of the page
so you need to scroll down.
These kilns are easy to build and fire
very nicely with practice.
Regards,
Michael Wendt
Wendt Pottery
2729 Clearwater Ave
Lewiston, ID 83501
USA
208-746-3724
http://www.wendtpottery.com
wendtpot@lewiston.com
Dave Finkelnburg on thu 15 feb 07
Janine,
I hope some woodfireres chime in regarding the
train design versus others. I have heard (but do not
know whether it is so) the train can be difficult to
get to fire evenly. It is superior in producing ash
deposits, if crusty is your desire.
You need to decide on fuel, then design. For the
latter whether an updraft (Michael Wendt's suggestion)
or a downdraft like an MFT (Hank Murrow's input) or a
crossdraft is preferable. Unless you plan to fire
really large ware, a smaller kiln is better, so 10-12
cubic feet is a great size.
I built a downdraft, sprung arch car kiln with
powered burners and can tell you it was not cheap but
it's good to use. A more or less cube shape, either
updraft or MFT, with a door you brick up each time
will probably be the least expensive. Burners and
good soft brick will probably be the majority of your
expense.
Hope your project goes well!
Dave Finkelnburg
From: Janine Roubik
I'm wondering what my options would be for the
cheapest homemade kiln design possible of ^10
reduction?
____________________________________________________________________________________
Don't pick lemons.
See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.
http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html
Hank Murrow on thu 15 feb 07
Dear Janine;
One of the variations on the Minnesota Flattop design sounds just right
for you. There are plans at Nils Lou's web site, and many people on
this list have experience with them. The size is variable, and you are
quite right to want to fire often. Most folks building their first kiln
wind up with one that is too large to fire often. start with the kiln
shelf size you want to use(I suggest a pair of 12x24, or 14x28) and
don't build it too tall. Here are some links:
nlou@linfield.edu
www.potterymaking.org/FlattopKiln_Complete.pdf
http://www.linfield.edu/~nlou/
Good Luck!
Hank in Eugene
www.murrow.biz/hank
On Feb 14, 2007, at 11:41 PM, Janine Roubik wrote:
> Hey all,
> I'm wondering what my options would be for the cheapest homemade kiln
> design possible of ^10 reduction? Would an inexpensive kiln be
> something I would need to rebuild or fix every time I fire?
> So then I ask what would be the easiest to build kiln? I've never
> made a kiln all by myself - just helped a friend with different parts
> when he was further along the way (i.e. I didn't see how he did the
> foundation or the arch or any of that...)
> Are the terms "inexpensive", "easy to build" and "sturdy" mutually
> exclusive in terms of making my own kiln?
> I could put a kiln on my parents property. They have a garage and a
> pole barn, there's electricity in both, not sure about gas. If I had
> to have the kiln outside and do a woodfired, I could also do that.
> I'd like something a bit smaller (14 - 18 cu. ft?), and then just fire
> more frequently. I am interested in "woodfire" aesthetics, but not
> all the time. Would a train kiln be best for this?
> I know these are a lot of questions, and I'm all over the place here,
> but I'm in the "thinking" pre-planning phase right now, and I honestly
> have no idea what to do.
> Any help would be appreciated.
Vince Pitelka on thu 15 feb 07
Janine wrote:
" I'm wondering what my options would be for the cheapest homemade kiln
design possible of ^10 reduction?"
Janine -
I'm not even going to hazard a guess as to what the cheapest would be,
because it would be a waste of your valuable time and labor, and it would be
a frequent source of trouble and disappointment. There is no point in
building a gas kiln yourself unless you are going to build a quality kiln.
It's worth the time and money to do so.
If you don't have it, get Fred Olson's "The Kiln Book." It will provide
most of the information you need to build a good sprung-arch IFB kiln. Or,
you could choose to go the flat-top route, in which case Steve Branfman's
"The Potter's Shop" sells Nils Lou's plan sets for the Minnesot Flat Top
kiln.
Good luck -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
Hank Murrow on sun 18 feb 07
Dear Phil & Janine;
What Phil says is sort of true, except for the fact that fiber is
porous to gases under pressure. A kiln in reduction contains gases
under pressure. So the shell of such a kiln needs to be pretty
gas-tight. I build mine of 304L stainless steel 16ga sheet with the
seams sealed with hi-temp silicone, so the only place gases can escape
or enter is flue or burner port.
I testified in a civil court trial involving a fiber kiln that was
made of expanded metal. Just after they went into reduction during the
first firing, a worker passed by the kiln and got the side of his face
burned badly from a stream of gases shooting through the open expanded
metal shell. The man sued the pottery company, who countersued the kiln
design firm, who pointed the finger at the fiber manufacturer. Not a
pretty picture, and one that could have been avoided if the designer
had accounted for the porosity of the fiber. I have seen this even in
kilns with an 8" lining. BTW, I use stainless because fiber absorbs
atmospheric moisture, and when you first fire the kiln this moisture
condenses on the cold metal wall of the shell. If built from ordinary
steel, the shell will erode(rust) from the inside. One of my kilns went
through 1052 firings before having the fiber replaced....... the story
is on the Ceramics Monthly web site, "The Kiln of a Thousand Fires", by
Linda Doherty.
Hope this long response will be helpful.
Cheers, Hank in Eugene
www.murrow.biz/hank
On Feb 15, 2007, at 10:16 AM, pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET wrote:
>
> My own appreciation is that if one uses Refractory
> 'blanket' or 'Firber' material, it would not
> matter then 'what' the Kiln 'body' itself is made
> out of, so long as one is careful in lining that
> body nicely with the Kaowool or similar...
>
> You could make the 'Kiln' ostensibly out of Wood
> for that matter if you did a nice enough job of it
> with the Kaowool...but of course that would be
> rather pushing it...
>
> Phil
> el v
Janine Roubik on thu 22 feb 07
Hey all - Thanks for all the help here.
While I usually am a big proponent of the "don't cheap out on materials/tools" theory, I do plan on moving out of these disgusting Wisconsin winters within the next year or two.* Michael's design intrigues me because it looks fairly simple and possible might be able to be dismantled and moved if necessary. Although Steve Mills' 60-minute kiln and garden kilns looks easy, too.
Right now, I'm 80% sure my fuel would have to be wood, because it would be cost prohibitive to run a line from my mom's LP tank and it would make her "nervous". But I don't see how that could work with Michael's kiln.
Basically, I'm just weary of having to depend on others for a place to fire and to do the firing. If there's a mistake I want it to be MY mistake - something I can learn from and not have to worry about people BS-ing me...
Thanks again for the good ideas and the offers of off-line help. I'll meet with my friends sometime within the next week or two and I'll see what they think about everyones input, since they are much more experienced builders than I am.
And in case anyone thinks I'm being a snot for not buying their kiln plans/CD's - it's really just because I can't afford it right now. I think I may have to sell some of our old music CD's to make my student loan payment!
You're all awesome!
Janine in Milwaukee
* OT - I've been talking about moving for about 20 years, but my friend near Taos has offered me quite an incentive to actually get my butt in motion - mainly help with finding jobs and kilns and galleries as well as a place to stay while we're getting on our feet. My husband thinks New Mexico will only worsen my addiction to mexican food. He likes the Chapel Hill area, mostly because of the music "scene" there. But then we'd have no place to stay while we're finding our way around. I know North Carolina would be great for finding places to fire, but gallery-wise would there be too many potters in NC? Both places look beautiful and warm. Thoughts?
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