A new spot next to the hut will make a good workspace as the hut is too small
But there's a large fallen tree that's too big to move by hand
Like with most problems, fire is the solution
Mosquitoes are around but the smoke keeps them at bay
As mentioned previously, the firesticks are easier to maintain than a bow or cord drill set. When you get good with fire sticks it's less over all work to make a fire this way.
A hot ember is produced within 45 seconds
The hot ember is blown so that it ignites the tinder
The mosquito won't hang around once the fire gets going
kindling is added to the smoldering mass of crushed dry leaves and flame appears
Now the burning kindling is positioned under the offending log
Fanning the flames
Wood is stacked around the log like a temporary kiln wall and finer sticks are fed in
Now the wood does the work of cutting the log in half saving labor and tool wear
By mid morning the log is nearly burnt in half
Levers can now be used to move the shorter segment of the log
Where there are few obstructions, the log can be rolled by hand
The log is rolled right down the slope out of the way
Now to burn and shift the rest of the section of log
This fire burnt overnight and the next day was ready to roll
Again levers are employed to lift the log over uneven ground
A large area is now usable
A pit about 1 m in diameter is dug to mix clay for bricks
No excavators were harmed in the making of this video
pit is about 1m wide and 50 cm deep
The ground is made flat to form bricks on
Compacting the soil to from a brick making floor
The site is a short walking distance from a seasonal creek with a bank of brick quality clay
The clay is gritty in texture meaning it doesn't need sand added to prevent cracking. It's good enough for bricks but not ideal for pottery and tiles .
Into the pit, one pot of clay makes about 2 bricks
25 pots were collected
Water is added to mix the clay
A terracotta trough and brick mold made in a previous video
Water is added to wet the mold between making bricks
Mold is set in place and clay formed into a brick on the spot
Time lapse of 50 bricks
The brick kiln at the hut (bricks made in previous video)
Disassembling the 100 brick kiln and taking them to the new worksite
Avian brick foreman
The new firebox design is simply made with 4 rows of 3 bricks stacked on their sides topped with another 4 parallel rows
The ware chamber is made as normal layers of 10 stacked on their side (less likely to crack than laid flat)
The kiln took a total of 75 bricks compared to the 100 of the old design
Wooden stakes to hold the fire wood
This makes a pile of wood 75 cm cubed
The bricks are turned as soon as they can be to dry faster
Damp bricks loaded into the kiln for forced drying
Bricks stacked on their sides in alternating layers of 10
50 bricks in total
A fire to dry the bricks
Fire in the bottom channel to dry bricks
The next day the bricks are dry and won't deform when touched
The firing proper begins
Wood is inserted into the 3 upper stoking channels
These are ignited with a fire in the lower middle channel
Roof tiles are used to keep the heat in the furnace while still allowing a draft
Constant stoking with wood is needed to raise the temperature
The heat can be seen rising up the layers of bricks
The fire can be stoked from both ends
The top bricks just started to glow red before I ran out of wood at 2.5 hours. Next time I'll collect more wood for a 3 hour firing.
The next day the bricks at the top (that got the least heat) are water tested to see if they will dissolve. The others will be ok if these ones pass the test.
The resulting fired bricks
The calcium rich wood ash from the firing is saved to make mortar later.
Water is added and the ash mixed into a paste
The paste is formed into bricks for storage
These will be fired later to calcine them for mortar when it is needed
The bricks passed the water test (didn't dissolve) after 5 hours in water
The new brick yard