David Voorhees Pottery Wood-fired Car Kiln
Oct 21, 2009 • Limited, anyone with the link
Photo: Getting started moving dirt next to my studio.
Photo: No rocks bigger than a grapefruit were unearthed.
Photo: I had the dirt moved down to another area of our property and filled in an unused goat pond.
Photo: $$ will do what the back can't handle...
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Photo: Building the prototype bourry box kiln.
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Photo: It has only been 25 years since I built a kiln...
Photo: Bamboo sticks hold up arch in bourry-style firebox.
Photo: Yep, saw it in a magazine...
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Photo: Stepped in "hob" area of the firebox.
Photo: Coffin style ware chamber area, looking at the firebox.
Photo: Chimney base ready for culvert flue.
Photo: I took down the initial chimney base to tie it into the ware chamber.
Photo: Not too fancy...
Photo: Bricks in the middle signify where the chimney flues will be.
Photo: Saundra Poces helped me lay some of the bricks.
Photo: I have loosely followed plans from Steve Harrison's book "Laid Back Wood Firing".
Photo: A bed of sand worked well as a leveling base over the crushed stone.
Photo: Kiln shelves will form the lid. They get covered with fiber and soft bricks.
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Photo: The Bourry Box. While Emile Bourry did not invent this style of fire box, he was the earliest to write about it in France. I have read that the development in Europe of this firebox was instrumental in achieving the higher temperatures needed for true porcelains. History seems to say that there was considerable effort spent attempting to duplicate what the Oriental potters were creating and selling to traders from the West.
Photo: A fiber-lined sheet metal lid will serve as the "door". A simple handle and three primary air holes with fiber board covers keeps it all simple and light weight.