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I want to make a brick. How hard can it be?


Construction Channel

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i think the glazing is done as part of the firing, iv got a funny feeling that has something to do with the sand lining the mould 

that is IF I wanted a glazed brick, I may be wrong but i would say engineering bricks have more of a glazed look, and that is definitely not the look i am going for,

 

if you look to the right of the plastic cup in the thumbnail for the video there is a small chunk of what looks like brick, That was just a lump of clay from underneath a fire we had after doing some hedging, its pretty bloody hard and looks exactly like i want my brick to which makes me want to mess about with the clay even less

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I didn't read it that just because it's red it's high in iron only that'll it'll go varying degrees of red when fired...unless I missed something?

 

"Regardless of its natural color, clay containing iron in practically any form will exhibit a shade of red when exposed to an oxidizing fire because of the formation of ferrous oxide".

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  • 1 month later...
20 minutes ago, Construction Channel said:

This is all you're allowed. The clay has been taking a while to dry but I think it is very nearly ready. There is a small chance I might have a first attempt this weekend ?

IMG_2055.JPG

 

Bet you're bricking it.....

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Ed, just a warning: physics is against you.  Bricks are the aspect ratio they are to help minimise the distance from the centre to an outside surface to help make it easier to dry out.  They often have holes running through them for the same reason.  Your brick has a pretty uniform aspect so it is going to take a long time to dry out, and the inside will still be surprisingly damp when the surface looks bone dry.  Bricks are often baked at low temperature for a bit or put in special drying ovens to remove the residual moisture before being fired properly.  If you don't achieve this level of internal dryness, then the internal stream being generated when you attempt to fire it will probably cause it to crack up or at worst explode.

 

Your lettering looks about 8-10mm deep, so one way of minimising all this is to make a brick that is only 25mm deep or so.  As soon as it is dry enough, break it out if the mould and leave on a baking grid in a well aired place,  but protected from rain etc., and since the moisture only has 12mm or so to travel to get out, then it should dry better.

 

Once fired , there is nothing stopping you pouring in a 2:1 or even stronger mix into the mould and leaving 25mm gap at the top.  Then wet the fired brick and lay it on it on top of the wet mix to bring it up to full width.  No one will know the difference once it is cured and up. 

 

Any, carry on with what you are doing but just have this option as a back-pocket one. 

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I have been considering release agent. But I haven't seen anyone else use it for bricks. All they seem to use is sand. I was intending to use brick dust for the first attempt. We will see how we get on. I'm not expecting this to work perfectly first time. It might which would be nice but I'm not holding my breath. 

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1 minute ago, Triassic said:

Why not carve your name plate on stone?

2 reasons, I haven't got any stones big enough to cut it out of, and I want to have a go at making a brick.

 

I am fully aware that i could have just paid someone else to make me a Brick or carve me a stone, It would have been a lot easier but i would be wasting an opportunity to have a go at something new. 

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13 hours ago, TerryE said:

@Construction Channel Ed, any update, or has the clay set in the barrow?

 

Iv just noticed i didn't thank you for this comment earlier, and i should have, 

 

there will be some videos uploaded tomorrow. iv been sitting on footage for days but i just haven't been bothered to make any videos from it.

 

I could achieve so much if i could motivate myself better. 

Thank you again.

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This thread is "what it's all about" as far as I'm concerned. Ed doesn't "have to", could indeed take an easier route but wants to see "if he can". Rediscovering a lost art and some of his local history at the same time. Great stuff!

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