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itc/salt

updated sun 3 dec 06

 

mel jacobson on wed 3 oct 01


well, big story.
and i have written about this til my fingers ache.

it does work...but, and the big butt......it must be
applied as to instructions, on new clean, washed brick.

if you get chips or blems...well, the salt crawls behind and
attacks the exposed brick.

in the long run, if the kiln is going to be used for years to come...
i would veneer it.

that is:

take 10 inch squares of kaowool, soak them in itc 100 and
apply them to a prewetted wall of soft brick, soaked with itc 100.

nils is doing some experiments with salt and soft brick.
his theory is:
dip the entire brick in itc 100. coat the entire brick.
then build the kiln.
no salt can get behind.
nice thought.

anyway....we have a salt kiln made of soft brick at the farm.
fire the hell out of it.
see cm dec. two years ago.
full story.
or, write me and i will download the text.
i do not run my articles on clayart...just a bit of integrity.

as with all applications of itc, soft brick, fibre....there is a great deal
of `pilot error` in the application. i have seen real failures and it
is often due to very cheap, stupid, misconception. `yes, wally,
spray that 100 bucks of itc on an old, already coated with salt
kiln. just spray it on straight...don't do anything...it will save
the old kiln. then call delcik and tell him he is full of shit.`

cheap fibre does not work...for anything. and, there is a great
deal of it out there. it has no fibre strength...and when you
spray it...it falls apart. the weight of the itc pulls the fibre away
from the kiln wall.

when using itc and fibre, you must use the good stuff...flatten it
with a rolling pin...really flat. then soak it...apply, press it in...and
spray
it again.



we have had to repair the kiln at the farm...but, compared to
the hardbrick salt kiln...what it costs to fire, or a salt kiln
eating away at exposed soft brick. no comparison. this kiln
is a work horse...many, many firings to cone 11. and it is
still in good shape. salt, soda, over fired a few times....cone
13. (we have some very aggressive women at hay creek...
and they can fire the piss out of a kiln. but, do they ever get
great pots.) we did three gail nichols type soda firings this
summer. worked well....but, man, does that eat the crap out
of a kiln. (nils fired with the dock six women, they combined
gas, soda, salt and wood fire in the same kiln. he really is a
piece of work.....we had more smoke, vapor....we could be seen
by satellite. we had three calls from nasa. but, anyway, that is
the farm. we do stuff. experiment and share...then tell the world.
both success and failure. that is what `adult shared learning is
about.`. getting on with it, and no fear allowed.

if you could all see the mudmistress....you know...`our stephanie`.
firing, digging water trenches, arguing about art, laughing til
we all fall in the grass. talk about a piece of work. shared learning.
it is a concept that goes beyond all other learning styles.

get a gang of bright, talented people. bring them together for
a couple weeks. do not have a teacher, just folks...and watch
the teaching, learning, fun....shared.

that is what merrie is trying to do with her wood kiln. it is about
sharing the experience. learning together.

more should do it. you do not need anything very special...just
a pottery....but, make sure all the people are givers, not takers.
it does not work if you have one dork in camp....they will screw
up the mix. wreck it all. our camp works because there is not
a person that will not pitch in. clean, cook, do dishes, mow the lawn.
dig a ditch at 8 a.m. in a 5 inch rain storm, with a yellow slicker on.
( you think she looks good in her foundation dance outfit. (steph.)
boots, short skirt, frilly blouse, you should see her in her yellow
rain suit. and, of course, we have dannon there to correct our english.
(and dannon has nils, just a second way to correct her.) i ignore them
all.
mel
last summer we had 15 dynamite women, as strong a group
as you will find in america, 15 ok men...actually really good men.
and three genders. and, we love them too.


From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots

Edouard Bastarache Inc. on fri 1 dec 06


Hello Mel,


"monona just mentioned in her last article that
the most
prevalent workers to have parkinson's are
welders. amazingly high
chance...jewelers are welders.
mel"

I worked 10 years for a local shipyard employing
1,000 welders
and never saw a single case of Parkinson-like
disease, and many of them
had decades of seniority.
I hired a well known firm of occupational
hygienists and manganese
was never a problem.
It depends on the processes used and the exposure
of workers.
There is no "one size fits all" situation, the
name of the game is exposure.

So far, in Quebec we have compensated 13 welders.


Later,



Edouard Bastarache
Le Français Volant
The Flying Frenchman

Sorel-Tracy
Quebec
edouardb@sorel-tracy.qc.ca
www.sorel-tracy.qc.ca/~edouardb/Welcome.html
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
http://www.pshcanada.com/Toxicology.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30058682@N00/

mel jacobson on fri 1 dec 06


vince is more than correct.
itc soft brick kilns used for heavy salt will kill the kiln.

we are convinced that the entire brick should be dipped
in itc. then the kiln constructed with those bricks. almost like
a dry mortar.

that is expensive and perhaps not cost effective.
most would shy from that.

the salt migrates behind the itc and eats the brick away.
that has been our experience.....the itc face of the soft brick
is perfect...the crack is eaten away.

we have done itc soaked kaowool tiles, and that works well
a bit tricky for some to try.

but, hard brick is still the best way to build the interior
of a hard use salt kiln...and that will eat away too.
so.
i say...`to hell with salt`.

but, we will rebuild our salt kiln at the farm this summer
with donovan....and we have some new ideas.
we will share them in the fall.

we just did a benefit sale of pots and have a nice kitty
to work with. hay creek folks step up to the plate whenever
we need a new project.
mel

\monona just mentioned in her last article that the most
prevalent workers to have parkinson's are welders. amazingly high
chance...jewelers are welders.

from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/

Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html