Ref.: Cob: Clay Tiles-cement tiles?

[ortoneda]

I've read about clay tiles being made  in Colombia with a modified cinva-ram. As for pouring clay in a mould and firing it to make the tiles, it seems that you would need quite a temperature. In a cob oven you can get 350° C  if you are lucky, to make ceramic you need 750° C . Once I read of a japanese master ceramist that went once a year to a windy spot on a high mountain, built an oven, much like a cob oven, and fired it for days, relaying in the strong winds to give enough oxigen to get the temperature needed. How zen ! yet I can only imagine the tremendous amount of wood he might need, the effort to cut all that wood (no chainsaws in mediæval japan) and the effort to fire the oven day and night.   The cinva- ram makes a lot of sense, but maybe with a good stabilizer you could get away without the pressure. Maybe sulfure (used like cement in SouthAmerica).
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