A clamp kiln firing.

Here is a link to a video I made of my clamp kiln firing last summer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9mLqT6e6c0&list=UUHyKnw7pUdGLsmb6rNqyslw&index=1&feature=plcp

This firing took place last summer at the canal park in Delphi, Indiana.

Visit to a nearby treasure. Colonial Brick kilns at Cayuga.

Driving home to Indiana from Denver, Colorado over the weekend with my wife, my sister and her daughter, I made a short visit to a brickworks in Cayuga, Indiana. Id known about it being in my state for over a year. But never had found time to make the trip to see it.

The 10 or so beehive downdraught kilns are operated by Colonial Brick Co. and still are coal fired to this day. They specialize in recreating old and out of date brick for important historical restorations all over the country.

The sights and smells of the smoke here is a powerful step back in time. If I lived closer, id work for free on the side, just to learn better some of the old ways they made and fired the brick.

I really want to build my next brick kiln like one of these scaled down for my needs. Maybe next year.

Firing results from the brick clamp kiln.

As promised, some photos of fired brick and tile from my latest kiln. It worked very well for a first firing. I have some cold spots and hot spots to improve on next firing. I think nothing will change with the kiln design for now. I will modify how I push the hot coals around in the firebox and stoking in the later stages. Its a learning process, but Im excited about this. Looks like it should be alot of fun!

Death and rebirth, A new kiln for Wabash and Erie Canal Park in Delphi.

With much excitement and some sadness I report to you the ongoing construction of a new brick and tile kiln in Delphi. I have been honored with the task of building a replica historical brickmaking kiln at the Wabash and Erie Canal Park. There you can find a village with several cabins and period homes and other structures from the 1830's to 1880's time frame. They also have an actual reconstructed canal boat that offers rides. For those of you with an interest in metalworking there is a blacksmith shop as well as two iron bridges nearby that have been restored.

The new kiln is a scaled down simple updraft clamp scove fired by wood. This is much like kilns of that time in this area. It is designed to fire a few hundred bricks or tiles each time. The inner body of the kiln is made out of recycled firebrick. This is surrounded by an outer shell of common red brick. In between is filled with dirt for insulation and to stop cold air leakage into the kiln.

The new kiln is the largest I have ever built so far. Because of that it has put a strain on my supply of brick, requiring me to tear down and recycle both of my other kilns for the needed brick.

The barn kiln wasn't a big loss to me as it never worked out as well as I would have liked. Failing to reach peak temps no matter what I tried.

But to loose my backyard bottlekiln is sad. It more than did as I hoped it would. Its sacrafice for the greater good will not be in vain. I hope to one day bring it back bigger and better.

Picture update for Mar 18, 2011

Here are some photos of things I am working on in the shop.


Hand molded clay bricks for the historical Wabash and Erie Canal park in Delphi. I will be operating a tradition replica wood fired brick and tile kiln there. Anyone in the area is welcome to stop by and take a look. This summer beginning in May, festival the first weekend in July.

A large round Delphi paver Im working on.

Some named bricks for a new customer.

Some old style street pavers.

A doggy headstone.

New bigstar brick pavers

Ive made a new plate die for my brick press. I really like the look of stars on old pavers and came up with my very own. They fired in the kiln without trouble. Went to 2025'F in a 12 hr firing cycle in my electric kiln. Im gonna make more of these and layout a patio this spring!

New products update

Some of my terracotta style tiles laid out in a simulated wall arrangement. The color variations are partly due to kiln location and temp variations of the firing.

Small star paver bricks arranged on the floor to visualize a possible layout. These are early test pavers and the finish is rougher than I will allow in final product.

Im excited over my newest paver. The larger star pattern is more interesting with the three dimensional detail. Im gonna be making alot of these!

A fellow brickmaker

I would like to introduce to you Tony Mugridge, a fellow brickmaker and potter.

His work is at least a few years more advanced along than what I am doing now. He is fortunate in that he has access to his very own complete historic brickworks. His work can be found on Facebook as well as his own website. I invite you to take a look at what he has done.

http://www.ajmugridge.co.uk/index.htm

Down for repair.

My last firing stalled out at 1000'F due to the lower half shutting down. Turns out one of the four bottom heating elements burnt out creating an open circut. Ive priced replacement elements for the kiln at around $30, so I should be able to have it up again soon. Its an old used kiln that has served me well. I cant be sore about it at all.

A brick with your name on it.

Wildcat Creek Brick Company Ok, we are taking orders for your personalised decorative old time brick. Have a one of a kind item with your name or favorite slogan that you can't find anywhere else in the world. Each brick is $10. Larger volume orders get discounts. Shipping is available for an additional cost. If you have a special need let us know!

Email to

r_w_hendrix@hotmail.com

765 490-6271 can lv msg.

Wildcat Creek now on Facebook

Hey, my new brickmaking business is on facebook too.
You would need to be logged in to facebook to see this page.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Wildcat-Creek-Brick-Company/110729915664390

Wildcat Creek Brick Company

I have wanted to come up with a good name for my brick making enterprise. Settled with 'Wildcat Creek Brick Company'. Its named after a large creek that runs thru the county between the towns of Burlington and Cutler. The main focus of my business will be small scale custom and personalised brick. I will be offering wood and electric fired brick and tile in a few colors. I have a few surprises too.

Happy Thanksgiving, Interesting pressed brick history website.

Google searching today and came across this interesting site. A very detailed list of pressed bricks and their makers. Its great to be able to see examples of historic brick like this.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

http://www.penmorfa.com/bricks/index.html

Finsh line! Done with the 50 bricks

I am done with the last 12 of the batch of 50 bricks I was making for Delphi. Now I can put my attention to making a few for a local art antique gallery.

39 bricks made, 11 more to go!

Its hard to see all of them, some are not in view. 39 bricks done, 11 more to go! These are the Delphi bricks ive been contracted to make and fire. All has went pretty smoothly so far.

My first customer!

Ive been hired by the Delphi chamber of commerce to make 50 promotional bricks for them. So far I with the help of my son have pressed out all 50 bricks and a few extras. 20 have been fired in my electric kiln to 1900'F with only one breaking. I should be ready to fire another 20 tommorrow if all goes as planned.
On another note, it looks like I may have a chance to show off a few of my Delphi and Carroll bricks at a local antique art gallery soon. Pretty cool!

Video of my latest firing of my bottle kiln.

Here is my latest brick kiln firing video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ2vs7IdjAs

Bottle kiln, firing #2, better but not good

I kept the top temp of the firing down to around 1850'F at the pryometer. But the center of the chamber still got much hotter than that! Gonna have to rethink the kiln and firing cycle some.

Improved results over first firing of the new bottle kiln, but along way from good results.

Can you tell which brick is wood fired and which one is electric fired? Both were fired to 1850'F.

Monster results. Too hot!

The bricks literally MELTED! Wow thats gotta be the hottest kiln Ive made ever.

It took me a few hours with a hammer and chisel to force remove these clinkers.

Heres what it looked like when I first opened it up. You can see that more heat was at the center of the chamber. It was cooler th the edges. Well over 2000 in the middle. Maybe 1800 by the walls.

I do like the wood glazing that occurred on the bricks. The cracking and tearing is most likely from the rapid heating of the clay in the bricks. Need to slow it down to at least double the time on firing. At least 8 to 10 hours. And max temp no more than 1850'F.

Here are a few more pics.

The firebox door.

A look down thru the chimney.

A cutaway diagram.

New brick bottle kiln. The 'Monster'

My latest clay furnace is a small bottle updraft named 'Monster' by my daughter after an energy drink she says it looks like.

Ive wanted to experiment with a different design, hoping to gain easier firings and higher temps.

Just a bunch of firebricks surrounding an old cut up 55 gallon barrell. That surrounded by red brick.

It took me only 4.5 hours to reach 2000'F, and it could have went further if I pushed it. May have went too hot for the clay I was using for the test bricks inside.

Looks to be a real improvement so far though. I will post the results soon.

I pressed out 12 clay bricks last week just for this test firing today. Finished drying them in my electric kiln last night.

Heres a peek inside at the end. See the brick slumped over. Got too hot I think. Gonna have to slow down this beast and run it to 1850 - 1900'F max.