Simple Flat Roof Build | Wood Fired Pottery Kiln | ep. 3

After building up the walls of the kiln, I have to begin a more difficult task: building a roof. Today I make a flat roof out of refractory bricks, inspired by Nils Lou's design for a Minnesota flattop kiln, for my small wood-fired pottery kiln that will hopefully reach 1300 degrees celsius, or cone 10. I refer to Steve Harrison's "Small Portable Woodfired Kiln," Nils Lou's "The Art of Firing," and Fred Olsen's "The Kiln Book." They are all available to read for free on the Internet Archive. I use a combination of dense firebrick and soft firebrick (IFB). There were quite a few obstacles in my attempt to build my first kiln roof, but I got through it and ended with something usable. IG:   / tinkerandthink   Website: https://benshane.com/ Tinker and Think ethos: Combining the manual and cerebral. We cannot separate the mental and the physical, nor treat any endeavor as solely mental or solely physical. But this is precisely how we have come to talk about our world—blue collar vs. white collar, intellectual vs. athlete, book worm vs. adventurer. But this is a totally false dichotomy. This channel promotes an approach that combines manual labor (pottery, carpentry, welding, bricklaying, concrete) with a smart, purposeful attitude (study, reading, science, math, poetry, and meditation). Our minds work best when they engage with our bodies. Our bodies perform best when connected to conscious mental action. Through intelligent manual work, we discover enjoyment, fulfillment, and human flourishing.