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Arch Form for Rock Fence Wood Kiln

Mark Peters
Pine Root Pottery
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Kiln Building Resources  
 
Years ago, AP Green mailed it's pocket catalogue to anyone who wanted one. It had all the technical data about it's products, but more importantly to kiln builders it had all the charts for determining how to achieve any size barrel or sprung arch. As far as I know, these handy books are long gone, and the old timers won't readily part with their copies. I scanned my copy and posted files for the pages that are most relevant to potters.

Firebrick Shapes

Skews
Complete circles
Sprung arches
Estimating Data
Arch constants and temperature conversion tables

If you would like the entire catalogue, just e-mail me. For $10 I'll mail you a CD.

   

Marc Ward builds probably the best burners systems on the market. I always recommend his products to anyone who is building a gas kiln. He also has a great website that is full of valuable technical data for kiln builders. Here's a sample:

Calculating Kiln Volume:
Kiln volume is usually expressed in Cubic Feet (CF). In a flat top kiln this figure is arrived at by multiplying the interior height (H) by the interior width (W) by the depth or length (L).
Sprung or Roman arch: CF = W x L x (Side wall + 2/3 of the arch rise)
Catenary arch: CF = L x Arch area (4/3 H x 1/2 Base Width)
Barrel kiln: CF = H x Pi x R2 (R2 - Radius is 1/2 the diameter x itself) (Pi = 3.14)
If you have used inches in the above equations, divide the total by 1728 to convert to Cubic Feet.

 

I developed some graph paper specifically for kiln builders. One file is for floor plan and the other is for elevation. The floor plan grids indicate 4.5" x 4.5" bricks (half bricks), while the elevation grids are for 2.5" x 4.5" half bricks. If you want it to print to scale, you must print it on legal sized paper. The scale is 1 inch = 1 foot. If your drawing a larger kiln you'll need to tape 2 sheets together. The grids are in a very light non-photo blue that shouldn't show when you photo copy your drawing.  I'll soon add an elevation grid for 3" bricks. The floor plan grid is the same for 2.5" or 3" bricks.
Elevation design grid for 2.5" bricks

Floor plan design grid

 

One of the best places to get bricks and other refractory material in the southeast is Larkin Refractory. If your pricing out materials check them out. They usually have the best price around and they are happy to deal with potters.

 
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Pine Root Pottery is open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM
1108 Pine Root Branch Road
Bakersville, NC 28705
Contact us at 828-688-1332 or  e-mail