by matt walker » Thu Nov 13, 2014 5:22 pm
Lili, thanks so much for the kudos to my sloppiness! I do appreciate it, truly. If you read around the net you'll find folks agonizing over the details and I do love to encourage people to dive in and make something, perfect or not. You won't need fire cement all throughout the interior, and really don't need to worry about the cracks. They will be there, regardless of material. The trick is to get better at mixing cob as you work with your materials, and then make a really good outer case around the whole core. The softer perlite/clay core will crack, and frankly anything will, but with a good surround around it you won't need to worry about cracks. Stuff falling off and wearing off the interior as Manny describes is what needs attention, and it will happen. I have never found it to be too troublesome, and as time goes on you will sort out your preferred patching mix, and I found it a beneficial process as I tuned my feed over time to my fuel and use needs. Great photos, so fun to follow your build.