Manufacture
In the making of firebrick, fireclay is fired in the kiln until it is partly vitrified, and for special purposes may also be glazed. There are two standard size of fire-brick; one is 9 × 4½ × 3 in. (230 mm × 115 mm × 75 mm) and the other is 9" × 4½" × 2½". Also available are firebrick "splits" which are half the thickness and are often used to line wood stoves and fireplace inserts. The dimensions of a split are usually 9" × 4½" × 1¼". In the United States, fire bricks were made at the now-defunct Evens & Howard Fire Brick Company in Saint Louis, Missouri, and shipped to diverse locations around the nation as well as Canada. Here is a description of the plant circa 1904:
| “ | The grounds of the plant cover 133 acres. The company has three mines in the city and one mine at Glencoe, Mo., 30 miles away, where about 61 acres are owned. All the mining is done below ground by pick and blast. About 50 men are constantly employed disembowelling the raw material. The company has an extensive equipment of cars and tracks, at Glencoe, for the conveying of the clay to the plant. All clay is weathered for at least six months. The clay from the mines on the plant is hauled to the dry pay by teams, being dumped into storage bins situated near the pans for which it is intended. -- The Clayworking Plants of St. Louis (1904 book) | ” |
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