I was just about to get into debt buying a Kiln. I really forget how simple, experimental and playful life can be. Thank you.

I have made some pottery out of garden clay and fired it in the pit that the clay came out of, it was just as successful as building a brick kiln without the need for bricks. This was 58 years ago when I was 20 years old. I used the clay that I had refined by adding water to the clay that I had dug from the clay pit and allowed it to settle in the pit without having to keep it in a bucket since it came out of the ground and no harm was going to happen to the clay in the process. It enabled me to refine far more clay than I could have made in buckets, without the need to buy a bucket. All the stones and sand settled on the bottom and any vegetable matter came to the surface that was easily removed with a sieve. I suppose I could have managed to keep the clay separate from the pit with a sheet that would have kept the clay free from worms and insects, however I think that this would have been frowned on by my mother. Unfortunately I do not have any examples of the pottery that I made in this way, it having been so very long ago. And the pots were only biscuit fired, the pit having been far to difficult to regulate the temperature sufficiently for glaze firing.

Impressive that such a seemingly simple kiln could burn the wares to ceramics. Just a sidenote, the metal sheet and grate seems to be galvanized, if so, be really careful about the smoke/fumes when it's placed in a fire, the zinc used to galvanize the metal is rather poisonous when it burns off.

Being so starved for air, I wouldn't imagine that it got very hot. It would be interesting to know the temps you can achieve with this setup if you use a thermocouple next time. It's great to see folks experimenting and using simple methods. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Seeing items like this makes me think about taking up pottery making. Those are really nice looking.

Nice vid. All the interesting bits, none of the fluff. I like it. I also like the effective salvage/reuse of the bricks. Real good catch. Super practical. Algorithm must've got me here, since I've recently been doing some intense looking at foundry furnaces/refractory cement/clay/kilns/pottery and related "make things really really hot" technology as I get ready to build my personal "ultimate goal" multi-fuel foundry furnace. The coffee can one is OK, but as I do things, I figure out new things to do with the things I just did, so I need/want something a bit bigger, hotter, and altogether better to do 'em with. I've got the required materials, now I need to get a break in the rain long enough I can get the cutting and welding done. (I don't dare do it inside the *OLD* wooden barn, which is the only thing other than the house that's even remotely like shelter - have to do fiery/sparky/burny things outside and well away, which means "when it isn't raining", particularly when there's gonna be electricity (and therefore, extension cords) involved.

I really like that design of kiln, may have to give it a go. Great video and presentation!! I love the blackening from the carbon, gives them a great look and that ancient style.

Beautiful!! Thanks for showing us this method, love it.

That was so cool. Your pieces turned out amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Just a few hours ago I fired some pottery, and now I'm watching this video. Really enjoyed it!

this is very cool, love listening to these videos whilst I do uni work

You're amazing. My crazy art project idea now seems so much more attainable! I love the coloration on these!

The best I have seen for a small kiln. I have just gotten back into throwing and building and don't have a BIG kiln, but do have lots of bricks. Thank you!! From cape cod

this simplicity is hard to believe , i love it

You’ll get a higher temperature if you design the kiln so it lets in air at the bottom, creating an upward draft. Of course, you may or may not want that.

wow!!!! Das sind Juwelen aus dem Brennofen, so schön!! Danke für dieses Video.

Смотрю с наслаждением! Это прекрасно! Очень уравновешенная, спокойная подача материала. Вдохновляет!

Great detail and explanation. Thanks for sharing this video.

A really interesting watch. Thanks for sharing!

Excellent! Thank you 🌸

They’re beautiful!

I love your channel and website. I live with roomates, in a rowhouse in a small city, so an electric kiln is just about out of the question. Thankfully we do have a small backyard. I think I'm going to build a steel trash can style raku, per your tutorial. Mine will probably be a touch smaller, maybe 20 gallons. I want to learn to make Ocarinas and kitchenware. Although I enjoyed this video, my neighbors probably wouldn't appreciate the smoke.

Those are beautiful!

Beautiful !

Great video and information, thanks.

Nice one, thanks for the video.

This was a nice video. I liked the out come of the firing. When you said it was a bisque firing i was expecting you to clean them up and glaze fire them . Still a cool video.

Minunat, multumesc frumos oameni buni!

great vid!!!!

you're definitely my favorite person ever right now omg

Wonderful!!!! ❤

So amazing. I’m trying to learn how to do this. Thanks!❤️😊👍

I like how the saw dust made it all black I really like that black pottery

Very enjoyable and beautiful ❤️.It's best way to be natural.

Nice!

Such an awesome video 🤙🏽 liked an subscribed. Wonderful job

Love from India, I'm an artist

Thank you. This is a beautiful exploration in the elemental aspects of the material realm! From EARTH with WATER one fashions vessels with utility and purpose. From this Earth and this water, trees grew and AIR was produced. From there to sawdust and still more Earth and water fired into brick a kiln is made and set alight. EARTH, WATER, FIRE, AIR interact under SKY and the elemental magic of time transforms these labors into ceramic. The product of which will outlive its creator and bring joy to all who have the good fortune to have held all of this wonder in their hearts. Beautifully done! The purpose of life, to experience the experience of the experience is to become experienced through the senses of SIGHT, SOUND, TASTE, TOUCH, and SCENT not only of its production, but also of what these jewels can contain. The sweet wines, butter, honey and vinegars. For all come from soil and inevitably return to sol from which pots such as this can be fashioned. May my dust be so lucky! Cheers E ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् | उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात् ||

This was very interesting

The color is exactly what I'm looking for omg so rich and beautiful like zulu pottery. I'm gonna try

nice.

Just my $0.02, find a local woodworker, or woodworking shop. As one myself, I either give away my sawdust my dust collector catches to local farmers, or just toss it. I’m sure you could acquire more sawdust than you could ever use in a kiln!

Cool

非常漂亮，完美。简简单单的素烧。启发了我。 本身头疼，怎么建一个炉窑很麻烦。 谢谢提示

I did enjoy it and learned from it, I might try this technique, thanks for showing us🙏⚘

Nice

Thank you for this wonderful video! These pots are gorgeous, too! With this being a bisque firing, would you have to fire them again to make them usable/less fragile?

Loved this! Thanks for the detailed information! I've been trying to build a small brick kiln for wood-firing, and this is by far the simplest, most affordable small brick kiln I've seen. I have a variety of stoneware and wild clay pots to fire. I wonder if you could put some charcoal in with the sawdust to increase the temperature for stoneware? Although that might also increase the breakage rate...I also make my own charcoal so I've got loads of the stuff, and I know it burns about 200 degrees hotter than wood. I also wonder if using a brick or two with the holes in them as air inlets or "mouse holes" along the bottom perimeter of the kiln (you could plug them up with clay or cover them somehow when the fire burns down to that level or to create a reducing atmosphere) would let more air in and the fire would burn hotter, if you want more vitrified stoneware. Maybe the thermal shock could be reduced by pre-heating the pots in the oven or over an open fire for. few hours first. I guess I'll have to try it and find out!

Hello! Great video for anyone wanting to try this method. Plan on using what you showed in your video for my pieces. Are you able to include the complete list of specific materials and the quantities you used in the description? I was curious of the exact number of bricks and type of wood dust (pine, aspen, cedar, other?) Thank you so much for showing us how to build a sawdust kiln!

8:50 I almost always build fires with the two "log" method. Select two objects, they can be logs, or rocks, or whatever, something between your wrist and half that in diameter. Space your two logs 3 or 4 fingers apart. If it's windy, put them crosswise, closer together, with the fatter log up wind. If there's little breeze, put them with the wind. Put your fluffy tinder between the logs, where it can't be crushed, then stack your kindling over all that, leave a hole to light the tinder, and add more tinder if you need to. That's it, just light it. If the tinder is burning up and hasn't lit the kindling yet, it's easy to tuck more tinder in and keep your mini stove going till the kindling takes.

Amazing work, I really appreciate how simple and effective it is. Did you preheat the pieces before you put them in the kiln, I mean the candling process ?

that was amazing to watch, thank you for showing us! i do have a question for you-- can you use this technique to make food-safe pottery? i want to make mugs and bowls but don't have easy access to a kiln in a studio and was wondering if this would be a good alternative. If not, can you suggest anything that might be? thanks again for your expertise!

Brilliant and informative video, I will be giving this a try! What was the clay type of the pot that exploded out of interest?

You have to left holes in the bottom living the air go through and the top a little hole. Like that will burn like you making charcoal.

That was perfect ❤. I really want to know if we can use those glasses to drink anything?

that was a surprise

A very nice result, thanks for the demo... My only issue is your steel sheet appears to be galvanized, you really shouldn't expose zinc to high temperatures as it can cause Metal fume fever (I know you are not in a confined space but I think it’s best to reduce any chance of exposure)

Veryhelpful and great again, thanks. I've heard a few potters say they don't use the raku clay which they said sounds weird but they said it doesn't work so well despite it being raku clay. that's interesting, isn't it? We've been pressing a stamp into the base of the pots with p for porcelain, t terracotta and s for stoneware. it helps at the end.

Instead of buying saw dust check to see if there are any cabinet or carpentry shops in your area. You might be able to get all you want for free.

😮😮😮

I don't know if you've checked him out but Andy ward has a fantastic video that might be able to help with the explosion of one of your pots. I just thought maybe that would help

What a fantastic video! I feel very inspired now. Do you have the details anywhere, of which glazes you used? I am very new to ceramics, just learning about glazes. Is it possible to achieve lighter finishes, or will the colour always be dark, due to the contact with the sawdust and ash? Thank you! :o)

As I understood, you used green ware (no bisque)? If so, your success rate is fabulous! I wonder how durable they are. Do you think they could be used as a household pottery? I always thought durable pottery could only be made with only very high temperatures. Interesting video. Your presentation is very warm. It was a feel good video.Thanks!

Now go take all that biochar you made on the side and if you don't garden, give it to a friend that does. They will love you for it.

☺

Can you use these pots for food? This was such a good video!

i see the once that did not make it had large variations in it's thickness. I liked the one that was darkest best. Terra Cigalata according to the captions. @19:33

I am using this from last 7 year but today I change my kiln design

You're a great brick layer still ☺️ I think if you'd have used a clean Gaz kiln, you could have had a clean result and preserved their natural colours.

Beautiful! Did you reuse the bricks and steel metal for another firing? Or should I at least replace the sheet metal every use? Thanks for your video!!

If you bisque fire in this way would you then be able to glaze and fire them again the same way to set the glaze do you think? or would the charcoal bbq method be enough for the second glaze firing? Great video, can't wait to try it!

Thanks for the video! I can get wood shavings from a local carpenter. It is smaller than wood chips but bigger than sawdust. Do you think this will burn with the same effectiveness? I am living in rural Kenya, so I don’t have access to many other options :)

thank you, great video. would this firing be food-safe for making tea bowls?

Have you made any further experiments with this type of firing? I’d be interested to know what kind of temperatures can be reached.

While I'm not a specialist in pottery, I do quite a bit with refractory and am a bit surprised this actually worked. The top layer I would imagine benefitted most once the shavings cooked down and temperatures normalized while being fed from beneath, though I fully expected the bottom layer to be rather mushy. Very interesting! I would have thought that this would need periodic vents (moreso than chance misalignments) for air circulation to sustain combustion, as it's really up to nature's folly at hot and cold spots within. If you happen to still have any of those pieces and have or know someone with a multimeter, I'd very very intrigued to see if any of them register resistance from the embedded carbon layer.

I'm afraid with such little holes for air/oxygen ingress, and that lid on top, this setup will generate a lot of carbon monoxide and some tar. Also, the heat generated will be less than otherwise it could. That said, most of the seem to have been fired well.

Great video, thank you for sharing! What brand of heat resistant gloves are you wearing? They look like much more functional than regular welding gloves. Thanks!

wow nice! around what temperature would you say it reaches? also what kind of clay are you using? Thanks!

Great proyect to do at the backyard jjj. Few questions: is it low temperature clay, or stoneware? Does the pots had been fired once to make them bisque in advance or they're just bone-dry glazed to be finished after that single firing? Thanks beforehand ;)

To get an idea of the heat work, could you have included some orton cones?

Thank you for the easy-to-follow video. Where do you find/buy the different types of clay?

Hi, Great results! Can you please share the timetable more or less until you put the lid on? Thank you!

I was wondering how dry should the pieces be before they go in and if they should be relatively thin or thicker?

Hi Lesley, I'm just building a kiln like your one. Do you think three levels for pottery would work? I mean, an extra shelf and another two courses of bricks before the steel lid. Or would it lose too much heat? Otherwise, for better cost effectiveness sawdust from an equestrian supplier would possibly work out cheaper than two bales from Pets at Home. I don't know whereabouts you are precisely but near me at Chislehurst is Speedgate / Frogpool Manor. The only problem with it would be the size of the bale for storage! Thank you so much for the video :) Best wishes, Lindsay

just an idea but what if you kinda mark where the pots are in the sawdust mentally or just even leave a stick sticking up and make a small fire over each pot, so like five little fires instead of one big fire in the center maybe it will help something by burning different I don't know just a thought I had

Do you know of any decently priced sources for your refractoyr bricks/fire bricks?

Time to time do we have to add more saw dust..? and how long does it take to complete the burning process?

Was your clay already dried? Where do you get the different kind of clays or is it a process you use?

Can I fire pottery with glaze on it

I'm wondering what is the cost for that large bag of sawdust?

Can you do saggar firing in this type of Kiln?? I read on your blog that you can do it in a pit fire, which I also believe you said was the same as this but this one is just about ground. I’ve googled it but I can’t find a straight answer and I want to make sure I’m safe

will this kiln be hot enough to glaze pottery?

Did this actually work? Doesn't seem like it would be enough heat for a long enough period?

I can't get pure sawdust so I tried using wood shavings. No idea what temperatures were achieved. Pots lower down in kiln seemed better fired than top ones. However, all pots were seriously blackened. I would have liked to have more of a mix of brown and black Any ideas???

Could the black color be because you used pine sawdust to fire the pots? Vs say a hardwood sawdust?

max temperature?

How long was it in the oven ? Thank you.

Were these pots bisk fired already?

Does the steel top have to be galvanized or not?

My dad has one of those kampdo joe bbq’s that get hot as f***!