Jose

@Russ Good tip on finding out what a kiln is considered. I am not taking risks though, besides I'm the park. Lots of rules; which i understand & respect. HA! That bundled cord sounds nice... the ones i get full rounds. Working on getting a splitter, though i enjoy the maul & axe work. Gotta admit, i take a parallel stance now when cutting rounds after almost driving the axe through my lower shin!

@fergusonjeff Sorry to hear about the heat stroke. Yeah, I don't plan on firing during summer months. This area is under fire restrictions during that time period. I've heard it from several sources already, and I am really happy to hear this kiln design works & is very versatile. Dimensions i'm looking at put me at 15cu.ft. not that far from yours. Thank you for sharing your experience w/ it and yes, if you can remember the book or reference, I'd love to know. Best wishes. @GEP Trust me, I have all the wood i could ever need! I'm fortunate & grateful to have access to several saw mills and mounds... and i mean mounds of sawdust, wood chips, lumber, branches, 6 - 24" rounds & logs, and an entire pine/juniper forest! Forest has way too much fuel!!! It's been mismanaged, and the local Forrest Service office is more than happy to have folk trim it down. Anyway, I'm "spoiled" and very grateful. FYI, gathering wood from the forest is a TON of work, but I'm new to experience and i love it so far. Just not the first time i did it... that was probably one of the worst experience of my life!!! Thank you for your input on ash development.

@neilestrick Holy smokes, you know Hess? Yeah, he's still at NAU! I had a much different experience this time at NAU. Hess seems like a good guy. OK, I get the large firebox to stacking area ratio. Neil, are barrel arches self-supporting? I'll research this myself, but thought i'd ask. You still keep in touch w/ Hess? Wow, small world! Thanks for the feedback. @Russ Thanks Russ. Fire restrictions just started here, so I will not be doing any firing in the next 2 months. Living in the high desert, there's no way i'm going to mess around w/ fire during the summer or spring months for that matter. You're in Santa Fe so you know. Wow, I got lots to learn about wood behavior & combustion. I moved here during the dead of winter into a wood heated home! I've had to learn a lot about gathering and prepping wood, but it still seems like I have lots to learn. Thanks for the feedback and offer. I'll take you up on it. Best wishes.

@neilestrick After a week of intense research, I had decided the cat arch would suit me best. Outside opinions convinced me that a tube shape would be better! OK, sure, their logic made sense. Well I just got back from NAU ( much better experience this time), and the kiln builder there recommend what you just posted!!! It seems that for backyard kilns a cat arch offers lots of benefits. Neil, must the fire box take up 1/2 the width or can it be less? Is this dependent on kiln size? Thanks.

@Mark C. Working in getting a pick-up. If you don't mind, what are those wood fire specific sites? I've dug and only found sidestroke ( very old site). Thanks Mark. @Hulk I just found out about Reitz Ranch and will definitely road trip there. NAU is a hotspot for wood firing and it's about 2 hrs away. Unfortunately, they haven't been very welcoming to non-students. I'll write something so they might have more time to see & process my intentions/ request. Initial shock, nervousness, doubt have given way to excitement and optimism. I got some road tripping to do! Anyone know what design type is best for flashing & ash build? I think a tube kilns is it, but squared sprung arch is a simpler build. Wishing everyone & their loved ones the best.

First & foremost, thank you for reading and thank you for your time. I got the OK to build a kiln... and I'm a mental mess!!! I'm excited because of the possibility of wood firing, and nervous because of finances and the fact that I've never built a kiln; Afraid of burning the forest down! Commented to my supportive wife how I subconsciously wanted the landowner to reject my request, so that I may endeavor in a less daunting task... I've never wood fired before, much less build a kiln! Majored in ceramics and my mentor was Korean/Japanese, and she got me hooked on wood fired aesthetics. We had a gas kiln and would fire my work in saggars with lots of sea materials... it was enough for me. Crazy mental & emotional roller coaster!i've dreamt of having a wood fired kiln since my 20s (43 now). Many things happened since then (life really). The dream was deferred and it has festered like a sore! It was so bad i literally could not look at ceramics without thinking What If... I processed all that stuff long ago. But now i have this opportunity, and I'm an emotional hurricane. Is it just me, or are most of us scared/fear our potential? Fear of failure or success? Simple fear of the unknown? Fear is the wrong word for sure... more like anxiety/nervousness. My wife is the writer, not I. I think the financial reality of building a wood kiln hit. But, honestly, like my wife has asked, how much are our dreams worth? I live in a heavily wooded, and very rural area in an old/historical wood heated home, so wood gathering/prep is no concern. Here's where I am not so confident and need some feedback. I have a background in heavy construction, so i've figured lots out about brick builds, but conceptual understanding and actual doing are different things. The basic brick laying, mortaring and all that is no problem, but i'm facing design issues. Kiln builders, what's the best/good build for flashing and ash build up? I'm assuming a sort of tube kiln, but that would require a great deal of bricks; though i understand this depends on size of course. I am currently thinking about a small 15 - 20 cu.ft. double cross-draft sprung arch. However, not sure if this would result in the types of ware I'd like to make. Have looked at and read about kiln design and history and have several books arriving soon. @Mark C. & @neilestrick and others i cannot remember, i have read many of the post on the forum about kiln building and you two really drove home the point of not skimping on quality materials and getting the right tools/materials for the job. Looking forward to hearing from you folks on technical & psychological issues discussed. I'll start putting photos as the build progresses. Again, thank you for reading this and thank you for your time.

Happy building and thanks for the book recs. I'm planning out my small cat arch kiln build as well. Not owning the land makes it hard to build mid/large kiln. Best wishes w/ the work; would definitely love to help you but I'm in the Southwest!

Hey everyone, first and foremost, thank you. Thank you for your input, and thank you for your time! @Pyewackette again, thank you for your thorough feedback. I don't think you're fickle... it's just wanting something better. Wow, I really did learn a lot from this thread, and it sounds like Skutts and Soldners are great machines. Shimpos seem great as well. I genuinely haven't heard anything negative about them. And yes, what you CAN FORCE a wheel to do vs what it's designed to do in normal operations are different things. Pyewackette, I agree with what you said about the VL-Lite; People have to know what its potential and limitations are, and be comfortable with them. I think i have an idea about who their target audience was for that wheel. Yes, the Whisper along many other wheels, is an upgrade no doubt about it, but after genuinely considering my needs and limitations, the VL-Lite might really be it. First of all, I'll be limited by the size of my kiln! I don't own the land, so I can't build one with a large chamber. The stack can't be more than 7 feet, meaning the chamber will be 2 feet or so? Also, if i managed to build a larger kiln and needed bigger wares, I'd just use my kickwheel (Korean). Weird, but I prefer coil-throwing large pots. For future forum members who might be looking at how much can be thrown on the VL-Lite; I'm in contact w/ a potter who claims to regularly center and throw 18lbs on it. However, he has been throwing for 6 yrs and more importantly, he learned and developed on a kickwheel. He claims this made him a sensitive/non-aggressive thrower b/c... well It's pretty obvious... kickwheels spin slower and lose momentum with pressure. I researched this and sure enough it's generally true. I myself learned and developed on a Lockerbie in HS. Since then, I've noticed that many potters who learned on an electric wheel center at high speeds and use lots of pressure b/c the machine can handle it. (Can anyone second this? From observation or personal experience?) Anyways, all this to say, yeah, it sounds like the VL-Lite can handle 15 lbs, and anything above that will require good hands and experience. Biggest lesson i've learned from all this is, with regard to the Shimpo VL-Lite, know it's purpose & limitations; and more importantly, know your needs. Really, think about your current and future needs and stay within your means. Hope this helps anyone looking at the VL-Lite or other wheels for that matter. Everyone, thank you. It's a big purchase, so thank you all again for helping me process. I'm curious to hear from y'all about soft & hard/aggressive throwers. Which one are you? Also, I'd love to hear about plaster bat and molds? I'll research plaster bats, but would love to hear about them. Blessings to you and your loved ones. Thank you.

Happy_pots, thank you for your feedback. Wow lowering length of warranty to 3 yrs... Yeah, that's a pass. I've gotten good feedback on both Shimpo. The only negative I've heard about the VL Lite is its weight capacity. I haven't heard about the whisper being a thing. What are people raving about? Honestly, for the price point, I've heard nothing but good things about the Whisper. My wife just tells me to get the best wheel, but the practical/moderate/... umm... frugal me says, buy the one that meets the need. If the VL Lite can handle 20 lbs I'd be happy. Thank you for your time and input.

Hi everyone, i've been researching buying a wheel and I've searched & read the forum on buying a wheel. I have a background in ceramics, but haven't been active in over a decade. My options are Shimpo VL Lite, Speedball ClayBoss, & Pacifica GT400... all within the $1k entry level budget. I am leaning towards the Shimpo b/c I was never able to throw more than 25 lbs in college and that was challenging; I mean, that's a lot of clay... to me at least. I'm building my own wood kiln, and it will not be very large. The chamber might be 18"x18"x24" tall or 8 cubic feet at most! This means the wares are not going to be very large, which is another reason why I' leaning towards the Shimpo. If a larger piece was needed, I would throw/build in sections. I'm researching kiln design/build and will document this journey. Anyone has experience with the Shimpo VL Lite? Any slowdown issues? I know centering max is 25lbs, but how much can it handle if a pot is thrown in sections... can it even handle that? If anyone has experience (positive or negative) with any of these wheels pls, I'd appreciate any feedback. What about customer service and warranties... any experience here? I just noticed that I can get a ClayBoss for $100 more... is the boss an upgrade? Full disclosure: I'm on sabbatical and have nothing to do except focus on pottery. I could push my budget to around $1500, opening up more options, but I just do this for enjoyment and learning. I don't intend on selling my work and want to get what's right for my needs. Blessing to you and your loved ones. Thank you.