Kiln Down

We got it down, but it took a little more than I thought. I just knew that during a firing, at high temps, the kiln would just fold in and vaporize everything within a 10 foot radius.

My first attempt with a chain, broke the chain, then I got out my loggers cable, this is about 2" of flexible cable with hook and loop ends. I wrapped it through the feed holes on each side of the kiln and attached it to the tractor. I mounted and tightened up the slack in the cable, put the tractor in 4WD and sat there with the tires digging trenches. Well, enough of this, I backed up and changed from low range to high, putting it in 3rd. Half the kiln came down. I took a hammer up and hit it in a couple of places and it finally fell on down. I had used rebar in the insulation layer to tie the kiln together and give extra support to the shape. I will not do without rebar in any other kiln.

The fun part is the finding salvageable bricks and moving the sections of the kiln that are reinforced with rebar. I have filled several areas in the road that are mud holes.

I have done some preliminary drawings to get some ideals about the shape and size. I'm going to go up and take some measurements for the length and climb,the lowest spot in the firebox to the base of the chimney. I'll estimate the length from the back of the stack to the front of the firebox. Some other preliminaries I have been considering is the firing time of the different anagamas around the area. Talking with Shane Mickey about his week-long firing endeavor to fire his anagama, states that he feels a large firebox and throat, hole for chimney, is probably the difference in firing time. Michael Hunt & Naomi Dalglish's anagama has fired in less than 12 hours, but they perfer to extend the time to give the glazes time to mature. (Michael &Naomi's Kiln, shown).

I cannot fire a kiln for a week , with or without help. So, my search now is for information about the faster firing kiln.

Pro: 1. I really like the ideal that I can build a piece of work in the kiln, let it dry there and then fire it in place.

2. I would only have to fire once or twice a year. Maybe a third time.

3. The flexibility size in the pieces I can make.

Con: 1. Got to make sure that each firing is done right.

2. Experimentation is slower: could be a good ideal.

3. Would have to increase my volume of work.

If you have any information about the above please pass it on to me or send me a link. Thanks.