Ben and Mia's Oven

[SpringJim]

Originally Posted by cvdukes

Jim,
That kiln is what is known as a goundhog kiln and was for stoneware.
It might take a potter months to make enough wares to load one... and typically it would fire for a few days ....maybe a week to 10 days before it cools enough to unload. There were supposedly some in Asia that would take an entire village of potters over a year to fill.

I spent a couple hours chatting with a potter last month who moved a groundhog kiln over from SC to an old textile mill museum down in Augusta GA. He was planning to fire it up that night, but I couldn't stick around. He said that he starts firing it at 3 a.m. because there is less traffic on the interstate about a mile away. Said that it never fails that someone will end up calling the fire department because the flames shoot so far up out the chminey, they think the old mill is burning. Bought a great jug from him.

Groundhog kiln, that makes sense....and the stoneware part too!

I'm guessing it was a build project for the students one year and they filled it up with pottery from their class as part of the build.

The blocks covering the dome and the chimney were interesting. They looked like homemade bottle bricks....you can see them on the chimney.

It's kind of a nice start to a recycled oven project!

[SpringJim]

Originally Posted by dmun

Raku is big fun. I can't believe they let us high school students grab red hot pots out of the kiln and throw them into oil soaked sawdust! Wouldn't happen in any public school today, I suspect.

So, are you going to re-work the existing shed as a bakehouse? Stick the dome out the back like they did in the 18th century? That would be way cool.

I like that idea!

The shed was going to be torn down....holes in roof, full of rodents (coons last year, now squirrels)...but you got me thinking! I'm going to tear off the siding and see what we have...it will at least give me a shelter to build the oven under!!!

and the sheathing is all wood boards....wonder what I can do with that??

[jbaker]

Here's some other links concerning a "hillside" kiln for pottery

Definition of an Anagama:
Anagama kiln - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Take a look at Moby Dick here. Incredible oven build.
Anagama: Building 'Moby Dick'

[SpringJim]

that drawing in Wikipedia is spot on...I climbed up inside the monster!

Is Anagama japanese for groundhog

[SpringJim]

I can get some new common brick for the outside enclosure for 25 cents a brick....is that a pretty good price? They are leftovers from a house build.

[SpringJim]

Stripped the aluminium siding off the shed and decided to take up Dmum's idea of turning it into a bakehouse with the oven half way out the back wall!

Cleaned out the shed and found all sorts of materials for use with the Benjamia Oven build...lumber, plywood, tarps, even 10 new can lights and enough floor tile for the Benjamia Bakehouse!

...but my SIL Gary wants to move the building back into the corner and my wife wants a concrete slab.....oh my achin' back!

Jim

[Ed_]

Jim,

From what I've seen here in Iowa, new brick starts at about $0.35 each and goes up from there. If the appearance is acceptable, I'd snap them up at a quarter each!

Ed

[SpringJim]

I talked to a local builder today and they do garage floors without any mesh, just pour the slab on the local sand...so I'm going to go simple.

Slab on native sand. I am going to spend the extra $6 per yard of concrete to to to a 6 sack mix over the 5 sack....for some additional strength!

Prepping the site and setting forms now.

[dmun]

This is in Northern Michigan, right? If I remember correctly, there is almost nothing except sand there, as deep as you can dig. You shouldn't have any problem with drainage.

[SpringJim]

Well, after the topsoil and all the roots and other garbage (plastic, cobbles, leaves, etc.) we dug down enough that we need some fill so I think it's crushed concrete for a base to bring the slab up to/above grade. I know the sand base would work but didn't like it at/below grade for the BenjaMia Bakehouse building....