The wee beauty salt kiln
Things often happen this way....I have been thinking about making a small vapor kiln for some time, and have made make shift ones in the past. Almost single use ones due to unsuitable bricks. But just after joining the Auckland Studio Potters ASP, the first newsletter arrives and the first article is about a newly built small salt kiln that fires in 6 hours and works well. 150 bricks used and a tank of LPG. I now have the plans for this kiln. Just three shelves, but that's enough for my low production and experimental work. Now what's holding me back you ask?
1) I have no bricks.
2) I have no burner except a raku burner which is under powered.
3) No kiln shelves.
4) the cost of fire bricks ranges from $5 each to $10 each.
5) Refractory coatings are another issue.
6) I don' have a large LPG gas tank.
These are the issues I am going to think about this year.
1) I have no bricks.
2) I have no burner except a raku burner which is under powered.
3) No kiln shelves.
4) the cost of fire bricks ranges from $5 each to $10 each.
5) Refractory coatings are another issue.
6) I don' have a large LPG gas tank.
These are the issues I am going to think about this year.
posted by dwing at
1:11 pm
2 Comments:
Too bad you are on the other side of the world. I have a brick grain bin to demolish and would give you all the brick you need for your small salt kiln. All I can suggest is to search classified ads in your loacal paper or on the internet. That is how I cam to find my brick so cheap. Craigslist.com. You may be able to come across a good deal for far less than new full price on brick.
Hi Thanks for your comments. I have a feeling that if I keep looking and talking about it the bricks will turn up. Until then I am constantly thinking about how to get around it. Perhaps a kiln made from kiln shelves insulated with ceramic fibre. Kiln shelves are not hard to find and ceramic fibre is also easy to get, but a strong brick kiln would be the ideal. Here we have trademe.co.nz which is better that ebay for finding things, so I have a constant search on for key items. I have my fingers crossed. in the meantime I am working on trying to produce woodfired effects in the electric. I did have one crazy idea a few years ago of making my own fire bricks....even made the mould for it. Stoneware clay mixed with sawdust....but quickly realised the this would be a long hard costly process!
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