Sawdust in making Charcoal Briquettes?

Making a sawdust kiln?

• i know that most clay you dig yourself is low fire clay so i was looking to make a sawdust kiln. any advice on making one? also, is there any way to make the pottery shiny without the use of glazes?

• Answer:

  There are many ways to make a sawdust kiln for pit firing. You can take bricks or cinder blocks and make a square or rectangle about two or more feet on any side and about two feet or more high (it can be lower and wider too). The bottom can be a large piece of metal or more blocks. Then fill with sawdust and pots, light it, put a lid of nonflammable material on it and fire. Some people use wire to space the pots apart, some don't. You could also dig a pit for this, but being careful about fire spreading where you are doing this. As far as making pots shiny, many potters fire the pots with different chemicals for flashing of colors, sometimes making it shiny. But many will put terra sigillata on their pots and burnish them at the greenware stage, giving them a satiny gloss. Then after bisque firing and pit firing they could also use butchers wax to make the pots even glossier. The links below will show some possibilities. Good luck.