NettiePenman Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 I have 150 K26 soft bricks that have been drilled through with about a 5/8-inch hole on the broad side of the brick. I want to fill the holes and then reuse these bricks. Does anyone have a recommendation on what type of material/product to use? I have looked online and see that there are fillers intended for repairing small kilns, but these products are packaged in small amounts - too small - and by the time I'd buy it I'd have spent more than I'd be saving by salvaging the bricks I have. The bricks are to be used for a lid for a wood fire train kiln. The first design is failing and has to be rebuilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted June 17, 2019 Report Share Posted June 17, 2019 Well, I stuffed the extra holes in my kiln brick with ceramic fiber, seems to work well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NettiePenman Posted June 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2019 I had not thought to do that. Guess I was thinking that something "sticky" would help stabilize any weakness caused by the hole being there. Maybe the simple solution is the best? Thanks for responding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted June 18, 2019 Report Share Posted June 18, 2019 If I'm understanding the direction of the hole, it won't show when the bricks are used for a kiln wall, correct? I wouldn't even worry about the hole. At 5/8" it's likely not going to affect the insulating properties of the bricks enough to matter. If the hole will show and allow heat to escape, then fiber is probably the best way to go. Wear a respirator when using the fiber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NettiePenman Posted June 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2019 The hole won't show when the lid is built/assembled, but I am concerned about the structural integrity of each brick. The design for the lid has 15 bricks sandwiched together and held in place by a welded structure that will hold them together. Here's a photo of the design. Guess it would have been helpful to post this first! The first design had threaded rod running through each brick with plates and nuts and bolts at each end to hold them together (that caused the hole that I want to repair). The rod became brittle and was sagging, causing the lid to sag during firing. Some bricks have fine cracks in them and these will be tossed out. In the photo below, it's hard to see, but there's another metal plate behind the nuts. That plate that moves freely. The nuts tighten and put pressure on the plate and the plates compress the stack of bricks enough to hold them in place. Hope that makes sense. Thanks for the interest and help. I appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted June 19, 2019 Report Share Posted June 19, 2019 Your photo isn't displaying on my computer. Is anyone seeing it? The holes should not affect the structural integrity of the bricks. If they're going to crack, they'll do it with or without the holes. But even if they do, if the compression system is good the cracks won't matter because the bricks can't move anyway. If the holes were an issue, filling them with fiber won't help. You would have to make little rods of brick and mortar them in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted June 20, 2019 Report Share Posted June 20, 2019 One way to patch soft brick holes was something mentioned on clayart years ago. I used this method when I was teaching at the U of Hawai Manoa. i - Use ITC diluted 50% with water are described on the directions. Soak the ceramic fiber with ITC and push into holes, cracks, glue chunks back together. I repaired several kilns that had been neglected for sometime plus some were damaged during a flood in the previous semester. This worked great and no need for rods. Marcia Selsor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted June 20, 2019 Report Share Posted June 20, 2019 8 hours ago, neilestrick said: Your photo isn't displaying on my computer. Is anyone seeing it? The holes should not affect the structural integrity of the bricks. If they're going to crack, they'll do it with or without the holes. But even if they do, if the compression system is good the cracks won't matter because the bricks can't move anyway. If the holes were an issue, filling them with fiber won't help. You would have to make little rods of brick and mortar them in place. No its not showing here either only this? in a blue square Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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