The welder did a great job fabricating the corner angle iron pieces. I need to shave the soft brick corners so there are no protrusions. Thought I had done it, but not good enough. When the angle iron fits snug, and is perfectly vertical, it will eventually be bolted into the concrete foundation below.
The next step, before the arch, is to super-insulate the side walls. One inch of Kaowool, a spun alumina space-age insulation blanket will back all the brickwork. The Kaowool will be held in place with sheet metal. I have some pieces of sheet metal left-over from my old kiln. Some of the pieces can be used on the new kiln. Howard phoned this morning with a great idea: When I have the sheet metal cut to fit & holes cut for stoking & burner ports, I should have them pleat the sheet metal. The pleats would be in a Z-shape to fit under the edges of corner angle iron. This way the insulation blanket would not be smooshed, but stay lofty. That is the thing about soft insulation, it needs space to be effective.
Howard & I measured the sheet metal for the front of the kiln on Saturday. It took quite awhile to do this. I want to double check all the measurements before I have the sheet metal cut. And I'll have to bring in my old sheet metal for cutting before I order any new sheet metal, since I do not know what gauge (thickness/strength) it is. This is looking like a few trips to town for the sheet metal.
The photo on the left shows a mock-up of a start of the corbel-in on the chimney. Corbel-in is how the chimney goes from very wide (45" from side-to-side) to desired chimney width of 13.5". I only went a few rows up, then laid a straight-edge along the outside ladder of bricks to see where they will come together. The chimney will be at its desired width at the height of the angle-iron that supports the skewback bricks. I want to figure out the size of sheet metal that will be on the right side wall next to the corbel-in chimney. More figuring...
Rain is in the forecast after one last day of sun. I can always make pots, if I cannot work on the kiln.
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