Day 24 at Chilko Lake. After several days of steady work, Lin Yu'an's ground kiln had produced enough fired roof plates and templates to begin brick production. He moved quickly into mass production. Using his clay molds he pressed out uniform mud bricks one by one. Before long more than a hundred moist, dark brown bricks were neatly arranged beside the shelter.
To keep the drying bricks safe from rain he erected a simple tarpaulin awning. For two days he turned the bricks regularly so each face dried evenly and avoided warping or cracking. When the bricks lightened from dark brown to tan, they were ready for firing.
He loaded the best twenty bricks into the kiln through the top, stacking them so heat could circulate evenly. The firing routine was familiar now. He preheated the kiln on a low fire to drive off residual moisture, then built the burn up to the high phase where flames changed from dull red to bright orange. When smoke at the kiln top thinned and heat waves shimmered, he judged the temperature correct. He stopped feeding the fire, sealed the top and the fuel port with ceramic plates and wet clay, and let the kiln warm and cool slowly.
The kiln was small, so each batch took time. Over three successive firings he produced three loads of twenty to twenty‑two bricks. The resulting bricks were reddish brown, hard, and rang with a crisp tone when tapped. They were rough handmade pieces, but they met his needs.
"I already have over sixty bricks," he told the camera. "We can start building the stove."
He carried the fired bricks carefully into the stone shelter. He had planned the stove location next to the wall where he had reserved a smoke exhaust hole. Placing the stove here reduced flue length, made the chimney passage straightforward, and used the corner space efficiently.
He did not lay bricks on bare earth. First he dry‑laid a few irregular ceramic pieces as a raised base to improve ventilation and slightly lift the combustion chamber above floor level. Then he mixed clay with collected wood ash and a little water to form a sticky mortar. Using a homemade wooden mallet he tapped each brick into place so joints sat evenly in the mortar.
The combustion chamber was rectangular, roughly 40 cm wide, 30 cm deep, and 35 cm high. The front of the chamber included a fuel door and air inlet about 15 cm high and 20 cm wide. When the four walls reached the planned height, he started on the stove top and the pot seat.
Lin Yu'an had prepared a circular hollow ceramic plate to serve as a pot well. After firing it in a later kiln run, the plate fit into a recessed firing square on top of the stove. He set his stainless steel pot into the opening; the pot sat snugly against the plate edge.
"It fits perfectly," he said, testing the pot seat. "Heating and cooking will be much more efficient."
Next came the flue, a critical and delicate piece of the system. He explained to the camera, "The smoke exhaust system is the heart of the stove. If smoke is not vented properly the whole stone house becomes a smokehouse. That is dangerous. I do not want to be at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and be forced to withdraw."
He built a square brick flue rising near the rear wall of the combustion chamber so it would collect smoke effectively and remain structurally sound. He had reserved a small hole through the stone wall when he first built the shelter and had temporarily blocked it with stones. He removed those stones and aligned the flue to the opening.
Because the stone‑wall hole and the new flue did not match perfectly, he prepared a transition pack. He broke some fired bricks into fragments, mixed them with small stones and a lot of wet clay, and pressed the slurry into the gap between the flue exterior and the edge of the wall opening. He worked the seam until there were no obvious voids. The brick chimney slid through the stone wall cleanly.
To reduce rain ingress and improve draft stability he built a short external chimney on a stone base outside the wall. Using remaining bricks he raised the chimney about 30 cm and capped it with two flat pottery plates to form a small roof.
He checked every seam from inside and outside to ensure there were no major leaks. Then he prepared a cautious first test fire. He placed a small bundle of dry twigs, some birch bark, and a few small logs in the combustion chamber and left the fuel door open to observe smoke flow.
At first, cold air and an unheated chimney allowed a little smoke to escape around the fuel door and stove mouth. As the fire warmed, hot air rose and draft developed. Lin Yu'an stepped outside and watched the ceramic chimney. Thin, bluish white smoke began to flow smoothly from the top and was carried away by the breeze.
"It's moving up the chimney," he said, nodding. Inside the shelter most of the smoke had cleared, though a few minor leaks remained. He sealed those gaps with more clay mortar and added a few more logs to bring the fire up. The leakage dropped into an acceptable range. He planned another systematic mud repair the next day.
Late, exhausted, he ate a small portion of smoked fish and sat back to admire the stove. Building the flue and getting the draft right had been the most technical task so far. With a functional stove he would save wood and reduce indoor smoke exposure. He felt a deep sense of accomplishment.
A final note: If you live in the countryside, pottery is a rewarding craft. I remember as a child making small bowls of white clay by the river and then getting the predictable result when I fired them in a simple pit. The lessons you learn from mistakes are part of the fun.