Yesterday began early; we had to take down our first day's work due to space restrictions. We started the day with a blank slate (sorta...) The issues we needed to consider were:
-how far our kiln protruded into the aisle, which is also where a kiln will supposedly be delivered in November, which will need 68 inches (?? correct me on that) clearing space.
-The vent above the kiln requires that we center our chimney and therefore the rest of our kiln on that spot
-To efficiently heat the kiln we need a 30:70 ratio of firebox to chamber. Any less firebox than that, and we won't get it hot enough. More is okay.
- The Draft needs to be efficient. Updrafts are harder to maintain the heat in;
Before we started setting up the bricks we spent a good deal of time thinking and discussing potential ideas. We had come up pretty well with an idea but there were large blocks in our way-- Karen came up with the great observation that the large, immovable blocks happened to be exactly the same height as one cinder block plus one 3.5" brick! After that realization was made, the momentum of our project just kept gaining.
1. 9/17/2010
Figuring out how we are going to lay-out the kiln's blueprint. Our first version's firebox extended too far into the loading dock so we had to take it down. This one will still maintain a 30:70 ratio of firebox:chamber, but will be done by splitting into two fireboxes, one on each side. It will be a 15:70:15 ratio if you are looking at it from the front- 15% firebox on the left, center chamber, and 15% firebox on the right.
2. Now we're working on fitting our kiln's blueprint into the corner it has been relegated to. There are some weird and pointless cement extrusions coming from the wall, but we will incorporate this area into the base of our kiln. It is important to get our lines straight and our at corners clean, 90-degree angles.
