Falling arches, surgery and transplants
Today I spent the day with The Champ conducting some surgery after 34 successful firings. First of all I took down the bag wall that was leaning towards the fire box. A sledge hammer is often a potter's best friend and sometimes that hammer is a friend to the pots you made.
The rebuild of the bag wall will be tomorrow.
When we built the kiln we incorporated brick arches for the grates in the firebox. I thought this was a brilliant idea of kiln builder Donovan Palmquist but it turned out to be the Achilles heel of the kiln. The arches are falling under heat and abuse. There is no way I can get in there to rebuild the arches without completely dismantling the firebox so we drilled over the arches and put in a stainless steel bar for a grate. I like the idea of being able to repair areas that are under stress.
I got a load of hard bricks from a friend so now the entire door will be hard brick. We found that the soft brick door was the least favourite part of the kiln. Hard bricks although not the best insulators reflect more radiant heat and we like the pots deeper in the chamber better. I am hoping the door will now be yet another sweet spot.
Got word tonight that Mr. K (Andrew Kellner) , Bruce Almighty Cochrane and I have been invited as guests to 260 Fingers in November in our Nation'
s Capital. I can't think of better company to keep. Look out Ottawa there is a party coming your way.
The rebuild of the bag wall will be tomorrow.
When we built the kiln we incorporated brick arches for the grates in the firebox. I thought this was a brilliant idea of kiln builder Donovan Palmquist but it turned out to be the Achilles heel of the kiln. The arches are falling under heat and abuse. There is no way I can get in there to rebuild the arches without completely dismantling the firebox so we drilled over the arches and put in a stainless steel bar for a grate. I like the idea of being able to repair areas that are under stress.
I got a load of hard bricks from a friend so now the entire door will be hard brick. We found that the soft brick door was the least favourite part of the kiln. Hard bricks although not the best insulators reflect more radiant heat and we like the pots deeper in the chamber better. I am hoping the door will now be yet another sweet spot.
Got word tonight that Mr. K (Andrew Kellner) , Bruce Almighty Cochrane and I have been invited as guests to 260 Fingers in November in our Nation'
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