American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 19 Firing Brick Blanks
"Now that the clay quality is fine and we have a key kiln grate, we can officially start building the surface updraft kiln."

He returned to the open space he had chosen earlier, intending to build a kiln that didn't need to be too large; it would be enough to fire about twenty bricks at a time.

This would ensure efficient heating and make it convenient for him to operate alone. Following his blueprint, Lin Yu'an began to build the earthen kiln.

First, use stones and well-mixed clay to dig a foundation pit at the edge of the cleaned circular ground. Then, build a low, circular wall foundation with an inner diameter of about 60 centimeters. This will serve as the foundation for the entire kiln.

Next, he left a gap about 20 centimeters wide on one side of this circular wall base as a firewood inlet and an air inlet.

Then came the placement of the successfully fired ceramic grate. He carefully set the grate on the inside of the circular base, ensuring it remained level and stable.

This grate will play a vital role in separating the firebox from the kiln chamber, supporting the brick blanks, and allowing hot air to pass through.

After the grate was properly placed, Lin Yu'an began to mix the kiln clay with a large amount of chopped dry thatch and pile it up along the edge of the grate to form the walls of the kiln chamber.

He built the walls of the kiln chamber into a roughly vertical cylindrical shape, making the inner walls as smooth as possible, with a height of about 60 to 70 centimeters, intending to load and unload materials directly from the top of the kiln.

"The kiln walls don't need to be too thick, ten to fifteen centimeters is enough. This way, the temperature will rise quickly and it will save fuel," Lin Yu'an explained as he stacked the kiln.

Once the walls of the kiln chamber are stacked to the predetermined height, the earthen kiln looks like a sturdy pottery jar without a top.

The top of the kiln is an open circular opening about 60 centimeters in diameter. This opening serves as the entrance for filling the brick blanks and as a window for venting smoke and observation during firing. If it is necessary to seal the kiln, it will be covered with a clay slab.

After an afternoon of hard work by Lin Yu'an, the main structure of the earthen kiln was taking shape.

"Alright, the main body of the kiln is now complete! Now, it still needs time to air dry naturally, allowing the moisture in the clay to evaporate slowly."

Lin Yu'an patted the still damp kiln wall and said, "While we have this time, we can make a mold for making brick blanks and a clay slab for sealing the kiln roof."

Lin Yu'an has been working non-stop these past few days. If it weren't for the fish he caught recently that relieved him of his food worries, he definitely wouldn't have made such a fast progress.

While there was still a little light in the sky, he immediately turned to his next task and began making clay brick molds.

"I initially set the dimensions of the mold to be 20 centimeters long, 10 centimeters wide, and 5 centimeters high."

As Lin Yu'an spoke, he carefully patted, cut, and pieced together the kneaded clay into a hollow cuboid box with an inner wall size that met the preset requirements.

Next, he made several rectangular clay slabs about two or three centimeters thick and carefully smoothed the edges of the slabs.

"After these clay slabs are air-dried and fired, they will be used as the lids to seal the top of the kiln, and the pieces should be joined together to ensure a tight seal."

After the molds and kiln roof panels were made, Lin Yu'an placed them in a well-ventilated and dry corner of the shelter to allow them to air dry naturally.

Two days have passed, and the clay on the surface of the kiln feels much drier to the touch. At the same time, the clay mold and several kiln roof sealing plates have also dried and hardened.

Lin Yu'an knew that the final processing of the kiln body could begin, and explained to the camera.

"It's time to bake the kiln body at a low temperature."

"The purpose is the same as when making the grate: to completely remove the residual moisture inside the kiln wall and to allow the clay to initially sinter, thereby increasing the strength of the kiln body."

He gathered some dry, thin twigs and kindling from nearby and carefully lit a small fire in the firebox at the bottom of the earthen kiln.

The weak flames and heat slowly baked the kiln walls, while the top of the kiln was open to allow moisture to escape.

This time, Lin Yu'an started firing the kiln in the morning, and after firing it at a low flame for several hours, he started firing it at a high flame until late at night. After judging that the kiln body was fully dry and initially sintered, Lin Yu'an slowly turned off the fire and let it cool naturally overnight.

On the twenty-third day, Lin Yu'an's food was running low, and he needed to speed up the process to complete the project!
During this time, he has become completely immersed in the challenge, trying his best not to use cheating and relying entirely on his own abilities.

"Good morning! My ground-mounted kiln is officially completed and ready for use today!"

"Once the new kiln is built, the first fire we'll use will be used to fire these ceramic brick molds and those kiln roof sealing plates."

Lin Yu'an patted the warm kiln wall, his eyes filled with anticipation.

He picked up the dried clay molds and slabs and carefully placed them from the top opening of the kiln onto the central earthenware grate, leaving gaps to allow for the circulation of heat.

Then, they began adding firewood to the firebox below.

This time, he was extra cautious, still hoping to succeed on the first try! During the preheating stage, he waited patiently, observing the steam rising from the kiln top opening.

About two hours later, the moisture disappeared, and he began to gradually increase the heat.

Flames roared inside the kiln, and the earthen kiln's insulation performance was far superior to the previous open fire pit.

Lin Yu'an kept adding dry firewood and judged the temperature inside the kiln by observing the color of the flames on the top of the kiln and the state of the smoke.

When the flames turned a bright orange-yellow, and there was almost no black smoke visible from the kiln top, only transparent heat waves, he knew that the temperature had reached the level required for firing the pottery.

The high-temperature firing lasted for about seven or eight hours.

Lin Yu'an stopped adding firewood and let the remaining firewood in the firebox burn into charcoal. Then, he carefully covered the opening on the top of the kiln with the dried, spare clay slabs one by one.

Then, some wet clay was used to seal the gaps between the clay slabs and the edges that contacted the kiln wall, and the fire-adding port was also sealed off, and the "kiln warming" process began.

Another night passed, and as the kiln body cooled down completely, Lin Yu'an, with a mix of nervousness and anticipation, carefully removed the sealing mud plate on the top of the kiln, which had already developed some cracks.

However, quite a few pieces of clay still fell into the kiln chamber, but fortunately the impact was not significant.

Lin Yu'an reached into the kiln and took out the clay mold and several ceramic slabs. They could also make a crisp "knock-knock" sound when tapped.

He excitedly showed the camera: "It's another success! Guys, look! I think I can start running a ceramics studio now!"

"The clay brick molds and the clay slabs used to seal the kiln roof were all fired perfectly in one go! Although the edges of the molds are still a bit irregular, the flatness of these clay slabs is quite good!"

"Moreover, my kiln has been completely terracottaized and is no longer susceptible to rain erosion, but I still need to build a rain shelter to store the clay brick blanks."

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(End of this chapter)