The Ultimate Experiment - Handmade Brick Firing

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 พ.ย. 2020
  • The final step in our handmade, brick-making process.
    Brick Playlist • Bricks, Making, Firing...
    Visit Our Website! ➧ www.townsends.us/ ➧➧
    Help support the channel with Patreon ➧ / townsend ➧➧
    Facebook ➧ jas.townsend
    Instagram ➧ townsends_official

ความคิดเห็น • 1.3K

  • @1216marknig
    @1216marknig 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1423

    My family and I are transforming 1.25 acres into a homestead to sustain at least 4 people. Your channel inspiring and gives great instruction and ideas to really not need to buy a bunch of materials. Thank you so much for all of your content.

    • @townsends
      @townsends  3 ปีที่แล้ว +257

      That is awesome! Keep us posted on how it goes.

    • @CuriousDiscourse
      @CuriousDiscourse 3 ปีที่แล้ว +88

      Only 1.25 acres for four people? I thought the standard was an acre a person. Unless of course, you are doing trading and such then that is different, but to "sustain" four people on that little land will require some incredibly dense methods. I wish you the best in this endeavor!

    • @erinsquire2749
      @erinsquire2749 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@townsends what kind of a dog boy or girl

    • @martinpanev6651
      @martinpanev6651 3 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      @@townsends Its funny because I am JUST fixing an attic and NOT *building* a homestead and these videos are still inspiring and is still great instruction for construction!

    • @rabidbadger3855
      @rabidbadger3855 3 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      ​@@CuriousDiscourse 1.25 acres is a LOT of land in this day and age, and a lot can be produced on it. How do you know it isn't bordered by amazing wilderness that is literally crawling with deer, moose and other small game? Oh that's right, you don't know, so how about you can your snarky bs please.

  • @davidashmore3929
    @davidashmore3929 3 ปีที่แล้ว +261

    Round of applause for Townsends and our brick maker ancestors.

    • @Derginator
      @Derginator 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Round of applause for people that make bricks now

    • @roflstomps324
      @roflstomps324 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @Alina McPherson Hi. The third world exists. You're welcome.

    • @Derginator
      @Derginator 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @Alina McPherson I doubt there isn’t at least 1 person working there

    • @TuckerSP2011
      @TuckerSP2011 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      A very fascinating experiment that shows just how much hard work went into life in those days.

  • @steamboatmodel
    @steamboatmodel 3 ปีที่แล้ว +499

    When I was a child back in the 1950s we lived near a working brickyard. I can still remember the siren they used to sound just before they started firing a load or bricks, all the women would rush out to remove any clothes from there Clothes lines as soon every thing out side would be covered in soot. The kilns were all coal fired and you could hear the roar of the fire from quite a ways away.

    • @Pieces_Of_Eight
      @Pieces_Of_Eight 3 ปีที่แล้ว +48

      That's incredible! Thank you for sharing that, and what wise ladies to bring everything inside before it snowed ash. :)

    • @steamboatmodel
      @steamboatmodel 3 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      @@Pieces_Of_Eight Some of it was black soot! not just white ash that came latter.

    • @Pieces_Of_Eight
      @Pieces_Of_Eight 3 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      @@steamboatmodel Yikes, I can't imagine trying to get that out of everything! Glad the factory used a siren to alert everyone in the area.

    • @steamboatmodel
      @steamboatmodel 3 ปีที่แล้ว +44

      @@Pieces_Of_Eight The Brick Yard used the Steam siren not to warn everybody, but to alert the workers to come fire the kilns. Most of the workers lived within five minutes walk of the site and some were only called to work firing the kiln, which if I remember was for four days straight.

    • @Pieces_Of_Eight
      @Pieces_Of_Eight 3 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      @@steamboatmodel Four days straight, remarkable! The heat must have really been something else. This amazing video (and your wonderful experience) have really shed new light on bricks for me, I shall never look at them the same way again, and am thankful for it.

  • @BrotherMikeCritic
    @BrotherMikeCritic 3 ปีที่แล้ว +130

    Brick by brick, it’s all coming together

  • @mrdanforth3744
    @mrdanforth3744 3 ปีที่แล้ว +541

    Those bricks that are well fired are called face bricks, they were used on the outside of a wall or the face. The ones not so well fired are common bricks used inside the wall. The wall of a house would be a foot thick, thicker if it was more than one story. The blackened bricks were used to build chimneys fireplaces and ovens where the blackened part didn't show.
    You have to be careful not to mix up the face bricks and common bricks, because the common bricks will not stand up to weathering.

    • @PKMartin
      @PKMartin 3 ปีที่แล้ว +35

      My house is from about 1905 and it has this distinction visible: the front wall facing the road is made of "fair face" bricks, uniform red in colour, but the back and side walls are "common flettons", patchier in colour and more prone to spalling. A little like this www.thevictorianemporium.com/images/made/images/uploads/articles/Brick-Imperial-Victorian-Olde-Reclamation-Clamp-2_1000_883_80.jpg

    • @reekz1568
      @reekz1568 3 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      This is accurate advice.

    • @user-gk8vb6dl9l
      @user-gk8vb6dl9l 3 ปีที่แล้ว +59

      I'm a Bricklayer with 18 years of experience and now you mention it I too have came across this but just hadn't processed it.
      Especially in Victorian buildings that I've worked on in the Anfield area of Liverpool , England.

    • @mrdanforth3744
      @mrdanforth3744 3 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      @@user-gk8vb6dl9l You don't see it on modern bricks because they are processed differently and a much more uniform product. You see it in hand made bricks and bricks made before 1900. Not sure when the old brick making process went out but if I had to guess I would say by the 1920s. How does this fit in with your experience?

    • @user-gk8vb6dl9l
      @user-gk8vb6dl9l 3 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      Absolutely , also coincides with the advent of the tie-wires for cavity walls.

  • @jmupp2876
    @jmupp2876 3 ปีที่แล้ว +217

    Watching them bake the bricks, bake the bread, cook the stew, it really makes you realize how much time was needed to just procure firewood in that period.

    • @TheRojo387
      @TheRojo387 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The stew is a bogracs gulyás!

    • @tomiyu2297
      @tomiyu2297 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      It's kind of amazing how there really was a job for almost anything, and just how important each one really was!!

    • @dudeinoakland
      @dudeinoakland ปีที่แล้ว +2

      You could make some good money as a lumberjack or a woodsman.

    • @Apost0345
      @Apost0345 ปีที่แล้ว

      @Abe Adams late reply but hungarian

    • @opslocked8597
      @opslocked8597 ปีที่แล้ว

      Definitely doing the same here and it helps us.

  • @thirzapeevey2395
    @thirzapeevey2395 3 ปีที่แล้ว +145

    My great grandfather ran a brickyard during the Depression. When my great grandmother died in childbirth, and the baby died with her, she left him with six children to raise, ages 2 to 18, my grandmother being the oldest. He didn't have anyone to watch the two year old at the beginning, so he would take her to work with him. He would sit her next to the brick kiln where it was warm, and draw a circle in the dirt, and she had to stay inside that circle and play with her doll all day. They had mechanized means of cutting the bricks by then, but they still built a kiln and fired them like this, from what I understand.

    • @westonadams7135
      @westonadams7135 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +11

      Thank you for your story.. If I were to to have 6 children today, It would put me financially into that great depression... And for him to make it and for your family to survive and thrive today is amazing..

    • @thirzapeevey2395
      @thirzapeevey2395 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

      @@westonadams7135 It wasn't easy, and it often wasn't pretty. In the end, they pretty much raised themselves, the older kids raising the littles. You do what you have to do, because you have to do it.

  • @machintelligence
    @machintelligence 3 ปีที่แล้ว +39

    In Sioux Falls SD the only houses which survived one of the major floods belonged to the owners of the brick factory. They filled the houses with bricks so that they wouldn't wash away.

  • @Betterhose
    @Betterhose 3 ปีที่แล้ว +324

    The steel plant my grandpa was working at, once demolished one of their chimneys.
    He thought "they won't miss the rubble". So he took it home and removed the old mortar from the bricks with a hammer and built his house out of them.
    The house is still in a perfect shape today.
    Didn't make them himself, but that is as close as it gets...

    • @Betterhose
      @Betterhose 3 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      Surely makes you appreciate every individual brick.

    • @maxdecphoenix
      @maxdecphoenix 3 ปีที่แล้ว +33

      my neighbor did that with stone for his foundation. Said he got a couple loads of mortared stone rubble dumped at his property, and he and his wife spent their weekends chipping off the motar.

    • @Betterhose
      @Betterhose 3 ปีที่แล้ว +47

      @@maxdecphoenix
      Both stories are evidence, that a well made brick's live expectancy is longer than the building it is a part in.

    • @riograndedosulball248
      @riograndedosulball248 3 ปีที่แล้ว +34

      The house my grandmother lives in was made in 1954 by a südbrasilien german, Albert Scherer, with foundations of stone that he himself carved out of a rock face in the property. He laid the bricks with nothing but clay between them, AND, 60 YEARS LATER, we were told by my stonemason uncle that the house is the strongest and most stable he's seen in 40 years of work. The old kitchen that grandpa made in late 80's with concrete and new bricks had to be torn apart in 2012 because it was falling apart already

    • @riograndedosulball248
      @riograndedosulball248 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      Also, as of my bread oven, the bricks used on it are being used continuously in oven building for about a century now, since the times of my great grandmother, and i tell you, those broke two mallets when we were tearing the old oven apart to build the present obe

  • @pjstatenisland1575
    @pjstatenisland1575 3 ปีที่แล้ว +149

    My grandfather was a brick layer, but even he did not have to make his own bricks! Huzzah to John & friends!!!

    • @llkjjjss
      @llkjjjss 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Huzzah!

    • @toddposton869
      @toddposton869 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Huzzah is correct.

  • @randolphchappel6098
    @randolphchappel6098 3 ปีที่แล้ว +55

    A few days ago I watched a video on the TV channel “How It’s Made” on making ceramic tiles over in Spain. After their initial firing; there was this fellow with an accurate hearing ability that could tell if the tiles were properly fired and no cracks or flaws in them by tapping them with a small hammer. The ring tone would indicate any issues with individual tiles. If they passed the test; they were sent in to be glazed and fired again. The the ones that didn’t sound good were discarded. Cool eh?

    • @donmiller2908
      @donmiller2908 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I've heard of that before in the manufacturing of clay bricks. After the bricks were fired they were clapped together and the ringing tone would indicate which bricks were suitable. I was shaking my head at this video as I watched these guys tapping on the bricks with their knuckles which accomplished absolutely nothing.

  • @LeeCausseaux
    @LeeCausseaux 3 ปีที่แล้ว +376

    All of Townsend's videos are excellent and I have enjoyed them for years.
    This one surpasses all others because of the display of family and friends.
    That, above all other aspects, brings history to life.
    Seeing Ryan pick up his child with such love and enthusiasm is beyond what a normal history channel can give us.

    • @forGodandCountry7
      @forGodandCountry7 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      That moment and the reason we're exactly what made me love this video. The community here filled with history and how-to just made me smile. Need more moments like this between family and neighbors.

    • @michealbreathnach2928
      @michealbreathnach2928 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      I agree. Old school Americans were tough, smart, religious decent people and many of those type of people still live in rural America today, despite media portrayals to the contrary.

    • @averykempf9164
      @averykempf9164 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I loved the moment when he scooped that child up, too. Very nice cinematography and editing!

    • @samsunguser3148
      @samsunguser3148 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@MrBooblo086 halo effect (not the game)

  • @EditingComby
    @EditingComby 3 ปีที่แล้ว +338

    Is this just a really long-form tutorial on how to build a period-accurate colonial house?

    • @jameskerlin6081
      @jameskerlin6081 3 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      I hope so.

    • @krockpotbroccoli65
      @krockpotbroccoli65 3 ปีที่แล้ว +37

      We can hope. The original settlers built homesteads like this only as stopgap housing while materials are procured and construction is completed on the real house. You build your primitive encampment in the spring and summer, cut your frame timber trees in the fall and by spring you can start hewing timbers and making bricks. By the following spring, assuming you've hewed and set to season all necessary timbers and made yourself enough bricks, construction of the permanent house can commence.

    • @bobcostas6272
      @bobcostas6272 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      99th like btw

    • @pointblank2890
      @pointblank2890 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      God, yes, please. I'd love that.

    • @ramsessevenone416
      @ramsessevenone416 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Final product in 2030: Independence Hall replica

  • @SkywalkerAni
    @SkywalkerAni 3 ปีที่แล้ว +68

    Can I just say that I love how great your content is? In a world filled with stress and strangeness, it's refreshing to have a channel like yours.

  • @sadie21962
    @sadie21962 3 ปีที่แล้ว +109

    It is great to see the young children running around and families eating together. This is truly a family event.

  • @fireisfire95
    @fireisfire95 3 ปีที่แล้ว +29

    This channel is like a fine wine. It keeps getting better with time.

  • @mustfaaboassd
    @mustfaaboassd 3 ปีที่แล้ว +614

    Just imagine what this man and his family can do with a good budget from a documentary channel
    Instead they are funding alien documentaries

    • @Raskolnikov70
      @Raskolnikov70 3 ปีที่แล้ว +59

      Hey, "Secret German UFO Moon Bases of WWII" was pretty historical-ish.... kinda....

    • @MSP-km6li
      @MSP-km6li 3 ปีที่แล้ว +49

      I mean I wish that was true but history would make it dramatic to the point of making it unwatchable

    • @billmiller4972
      @billmiller4972 3 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      Well, maybe with too much money at your hand you become lazy and overconfident. If you have to be careful you can't let anything go to waste. Thus you must make the best out of your means.

    • @asparrow5505
      @asparrow5505 3 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      They're also controlling the narrative on there too

    • @jamessilberschlag1705
      @jamessilberschlag1705 3 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      @@asparrow5505 It's all about the number of people watching, which controls the advertising dollars, which is where the salaries and profits come from. And, sadly, dumbing it down brings far more eyes...

  • @Angloman2000
    @Angloman2000 3 ปีที่แล้ว +131

    I’ll be 20 tomorrow, and going hunting with a flintlock this weekend, and a Townsends video today?! It’s gonna be a good week!

    • @commissarlugh1040
      @commissarlugh1040 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Good luck, be safe, pack a backup, and BAG A BIG ONE!

    • @NeonManatee
      @NeonManatee 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Happy Birthday!

    • @s.leemccauley7302
      @s.leemccauley7302 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Happy Birthday
      Be safe and have fun.

    • @robertmetesan2341
      @robertmetesan2341 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      happy birthday and have fun :)))

    • @johnk6237
      @johnk6237 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Happy Birthday have fun hunting.

  • @askhowiknow5527
    @askhowiknow5527 3 ปีที่แล้ว +67

    How to make a brick-firing kiln:
    Step 1: Make a kiln out of bricks

  • @onebackzach
    @onebackzach 3 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    It's amazing how much appreciation you can gain for everyday objects by studying how they were made historically. It's hard to believe that there would have been someone who had dedicated their life to learning how to make some mundane item we take for granted. I consider myself to be a competent hand tool woodworker, but my skills would pall in comparison to craftsmen in the 18th century, and furthermore, almost everyone would have been skilled at something.

    • @vektor_z7208
      @vektor_z7208 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I feel the same, I love to build and repairs things but watching this in some way it makes me feel small.

    • @faroukabad
      @faroukabad 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      so different from these days where the parents work outside the home and don't always get enough time to be with the kids.

    • @quirty864
      @quirty864 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      In my area, the frontier, everybody had to have many skills to survive. Still do, just not as many. Specialization is a new thing and it might be what destroys us.

  • @vegabaker
    @vegabaker 3 ปีที่แล้ว +144

    Such a great video! - I’ve been a kiln fireman in the brick industry for over 30 years now so you can imagine how happy I was to see this series. So glad you were willing to put all that effort into the project so I could better understand where my vocation began in our early years. Thank you so much!
    - as an aside, I just finished firing sixty thousand in the last eight hours but your run was the more gratifying accomplishment by far!

    • @ethanhawksley9097
      @ethanhawksley9097 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Hello, I'm working on a project for school. Are these bricks really as sturdy as the ones you can buy from the hardware store these days? Thank you very much.

    • @vegabaker
      @vegabaker 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@ethanhawksley9097 absolutely! Same process and materials. They would have to be graded more closely but the real innovation in brick making over the last three hundred years has been speed of manufacturing and consistency of product.

    • @ethanhawksley9097
      @ethanhawksley9097 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@vegabaker this is very very good news. Thank you very much! Do you mind if I include your statements in our project?

    • @vegabaker
      @vegabaker 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@ethanhawksley9097 feel free and good luck!

    • @Alvgaar
      @Alvgaar ปีที่แล้ว

      @@vegabaker thinking of making a brick garage. Mainly to save money. Scavenge the local area of clay, silt it, decant it, shape into mould, sundry then fire them. A few thousand should do. Do you think it's doable?

  • @Warhammered
    @Warhammered 3 ปีที่แล้ว +38

    The new 18th century inspired cook and work book: Field of bricks. "If you bake it, they will come."

  • @audiotechlabs4650
    @audiotechlabs4650 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    For those who did not know, me included, now we know why bricks are red! The components in the clay were fused together by the high temperature. Fantastic! I could have watched any number of TH-cam videos on brick making, but this and the video making the bricks explains the process clearly and uncomplicated. I feel like this is becoming more of a real time documentary on how our country was built and all that it took for the build! I hope you can continue with the process of building a settlement! Love from NW Colorado. Thanxz

  • @eldorados_lost_searcher
    @eldorados_lost_searcher 3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    My mom's family used to own a brick factory, and this series gives me a new appreciation for everything that was involved in the process. Thank you!

  • @kevinb4079
    @kevinb4079 3 ปีที่แล้ว +49

    Can't believe I'm just coming across this brick making series now. My ggg-grandfather was working as a brickmaker in the mid 19th century. He eventually worked in one of the limestone quarry/cement mills until his death in the early 20th century. There are a few homes in the area that date back to early 18th and 19th century that are made of clay bricks. There are many more buildings in town that date back to the early 20th century that are made of concrete blocks. I've often wanted to learn more about this brick making history of our area but I just can't can't find much about it. Watching this video I can see why clay bricks fell out of favor for what has to be cheaper and faster to produce concrete block. Which could also explain why he went from being a brickmaker to a foreman in a cement mill.

  • @andrelo1911
    @andrelo1911 3 ปีที่แล้ว +51

    Amazing. Here in Argentina, near my home town, one can see how the bricks are made in a similar -but not identical- way. I can even taste the smell of the smoke! I loved the video. Thanks a lot!

    • @tipitossj
      @tipitossj 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      hey hola de que provincia sos? yo vivo en buenos aires, nunca vi como se hacen los ladrillos

    • @andrelo1911
      @andrelo1911 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@tipitossj Entre San Nicolás y Rosario aún quedan ladrilleros "tradicionales" que queman como en el vídeo. A otra escala, claro. En la A9 existieron accidentes por el humo de los ladrilleros

    • @canaldofred2366
      @canaldofred2366 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Argentina? Inflation goes brrrrrrr

  • @kungfuchimp5788
    @kungfuchimp5788 3 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    Love all the different episodes, but the construction episodes are my favorite. Keep on keepin' on.

  • @sweepingtime
    @sweepingtime 3 ปีที่แล้ว +29

    I expected a video explaining how they fired bricks back during the old days, but I thought the scene of friends and family having a meal while working the fire was truly wonderful. It wasn't just about the engineering, but the social aspect too.

  • @tricityladytn
    @tricityladytn 3 ปีที่แล้ว +41

    Aw, man. Right there at the end, I thought he was going to say, "I'll never take another brick for granite!" Perfect dad joke missed opportunity!

  • @caregivingwithlove3405
    @caregivingwithlove3405 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Oh.my.goodness. How I love love love that so many people came together in period costumes to take us back in time....this is my favorite video yet! The little break where the women are chatting and the children are playing....having meals prepared for the working men....this video is EVERYTHING!!!!

    • @chuckbailey6835
      @chuckbailey6835 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Those aren't costumes there period correct clothing. He has videos on the clothing there very interesting and informative as are all the videos on this channel

  • @olyvoyl9382
    @olyvoyl9382 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Your videos are so homey.i love seeing the bread baking and kids playing while the kiln bakes the bricks.

  • @ProSimex84
    @ProSimex84 3 ปีที่แล้ว +38

    Townsends -we dont know if this will work
    Primitive technology-hold my stick

    • @skeetsmcgrew3282
      @skeetsmcgrew3282 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I was thinking the same thing. To be fair it took him WEEKS to fire all his bricks, he did them like 50 at a time. He also made charcoal which burns much hotter and takes less work during the firing process

    • @ProSimex84
      @ProSimex84 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@skeetsmcgrew3282 indeed,much different process, he made draft furnaces and burned charcoal, so a way faster, more consistent result.

    • @joshschneider9766
      @joshschneider9766 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Not to mention way more accurate historically. This is not at all the way tilers and brick makers made kilns.

    • @joshschneider9766
      @joshschneider9766 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Up draft dome kilns were the norm for tiles for centuries and that was the same for bricks

    • @alfredoprime5495
      @alfredoprime5495 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Who are you guys talking about? I'm pretty sure Primitive Technology never used charcoal to fire his bricks

  • @ladyofthemasque
    @ladyofthemasque 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Thank you, everyone, for doing all these experimental archaeology style projects, recording everything, and sharing it with the rest of us!

  • @amey_pathak
    @amey_pathak 3 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    Being an architecture student, this was a really interesting series to watch

  • @octavianm3166
    @octavianm3166 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    The cabin series is just so incredible to watch! It is the ultimate display of living history and I can't get enough of this!

  • @HLBear
    @HLBear 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    One branch of my ancestors came to what is now Albany, NY as Palatine refugee in the early 1700s. I know they cleared the roads out to their land grant, cleared the land, and built their homes from what was on hand. This gives me a small taste what it was like in that wilderness. Thank you so much!

  • @andyleighton6969
    @andyleighton6969 3 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    It's the way every job in the pre industrial age was contingent on half a dozen others.
    ME: I want to build a fire pit.
    I will need a pallet of bricks, a bag of ready mix mortar and a spare weekend.
    JOHN: I want to build a fireplace.
    I will need half a ton of river clay, a couple of hundredweight of horsehair and chopped straw, a ton of firewood and several weeks.
    Then for the lime putty mortar.....

    • @slome815
      @slome815 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Lime putty? pfff, A real man would burn shells or limestone and slake his lime just before using it.

  • @rabidbadger3855
    @rabidbadger3855 3 ปีที่แล้ว +60

    When your neighbor's kid accidentally kicks a rubber ball onto your property, does it pass through the time/ space continuum and magically change into a ball of twine when it hits the ground of your property? Somehow, that doesn't seem like an unlikely scenario when I watch these excellent, olde tyme DIY videos.

    • @Vikingwerk
      @Vikingwerk 3 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      No, it turns into an inflated pigs bladder. Twine was to valuable to play with back then! I remember distinctly in the Laura Ingles Wilder book "Little house in the big woods" during butchering, the father inflated the pigs bladder to make a ball for the kids to play with.

    • @fizban7
      @fizban7 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Vikingwerk Lol. I would love to see what a period ball would look like, or how it was made.

    • @mrdanforth3744
      @mrdanforth3744 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@fizban7 They made golf balls by first sewing a leather cover then stuffing it with feathers. If you wet chicken feathers you can stuff a hat full into a golf ball, and when they dry out they expand and make a hard ball.
      They made wooden balls by turning them in a pole lathe, as demonstrated in a previous video.
      Here is the best trick of all, how to make round marbles out of stone. First you have to drill a hole in a big rock. Then set the rock under running water, dam up a creek if you have to so water pours into the hole. Now pick out the roundest stone you can find, or chip one out, and drop it in the hole. The running water will swirl it around and around, and after a few weeks it will wear down to a perfectly round marble.

    • @levity90
      @levity90 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Vikingwerk that's so gross. Yet so interesting. They really didn't allow anything to go to waste back then.

  • @lindsayalisonstevens3592
    @lindsayalisonstevens3592 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Jon smiling at the massive brick kiln flames at the end is just plain adorable 😂 I love this channel - I’m learning so much ❤️

  • @remp5529
    @remp5529 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Hello Townsends. I wanted to let you know how much I really appreciate these videos. I am currently a History Major with teaching certification and I can't tell you how much these videos help me relate to the lives of people in my lessons over the 18th century.

  • @chrisowens4550
    @chrisowens4550 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    I remember seeing stacked bricks for firing like this when I was in Zimbabwe in the early 1990s.

    • @winghun
      @winghun 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Such a great country Zim was

  • @MorgansRaiders23
    @MorgansRaiders23 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    It certainly gives you a greater appreciation for the hard work our ancestors went through just to survive on a daily basis.

  • @l.m.2404
    @l.m.2404 3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    In England, brick makers are the one common occupation that never had a proper name like cooper or smith. It was a common skill that everyone needed to know from prehistoric times forward until the first Industrial Age. Enjoyed the video. * thumbs up *

    • @nunyabiznes33
      @nunyabiznes33 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Are there last names like Mudd or Clay or something?

    • @scottgoodman8993
      @scottgoodman8993 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@nunyabiznes33 My thought exactly. The Mudds and Clays I can think of are large, tall people with big hands.

    • @robcampbell3235
      @robcampbell3235 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Tyler (english) Ziegler ( german) if i recall correctly.

    • @l.m.2404
      @l.m.2404 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@robcampbell3235 those are true trades but neither is a brick maker.

    • @wes326
      @wes326 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      I love occupational last names. Mine is Smith. What's yours?

  • @Ironclad17
    @Ironclad17 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    It's really humbling to see the care and effort it took to make something as quaint as fire brick.

  • @Pieces_Of_Eight
    @Pieces_Of_Eight 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    An extraordinary and triumphant journey! Warmest congratulations to all for your remarkable accomplishment. Thank you for allowing us to tag along with the inspiring Townsend crew, and may you take a well-deserved break following that endeavor. Cheers!

  • @thejollyskunk
    @thejollyskunk 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    What an amazing channel,

    • @rosemcguinn5301
      @rosemcguinn5301 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      My favorite go-to Happy Place online!

    • @dwaynewladyka577
      @dwaynewladyka577 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@rosemcguinn5301 Agreed! Cheers, Rose!

    • @rosemcguinn5301
      @rosemcguinn5301 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@dwaynewladyka577 Hope it's been a good week for you so far, Dwayne :) Nice to see you here!

  • @Sam-ct5qz
    @Sam-ct5qz 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    5:53 I bought my very own Townsend Blowtube year before last and can vouch, its the nutmeg of fires, always makes em better!

  • @anti-popfpv4638
    @anti-popfpv4638 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    You are probably the sexiest fellow in 1800's research. I'm obsessed with your projects. I get sick when I think of all the knowledge technology has cost us.

  • @emeliea9504
    @emeliea9504 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I love these videos so much, it's so interesting to learn about all of these old techniques. Only one thing though - Get poor Ryan a higher work surface for cooking, I experienced back pain from just watching him cut carrots like that 😳

  • @TheFobbo
    @TheFobbo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Hey there John. I watch your videos for quite some time and I just have to make you a big compliment. I am a professional archaeologist myself and seeing how you transformed your work from a humble start with mostly cooking videos (which are great by themselfs) to experimenting about boats, houses, building materials and so on is great. I remember experiments about casting bronce or making iron from my student-time and I you really get another feeling for the value of things, if you see all the work, which went into it. So keep on the great work!

  • @mark-wright
    @mark-wright 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love this. My great-great grandfather (H. H. Wright) was a brick maker in northwest Missouri in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Fascinating to see how it was done.

  • @jeffczochara142
    @jeffczochara142 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I love seeing the women and children having fun contributing their part! Everyone is laughing and having a great time getting very important work done! I so wish life was the same today. Family really did matter...

  • @WizardOfAtlantis
    @WizardOfAtlantis 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I am so glad your channel is still going, you're still going, and your subscriber numbers are still rising. Thanks for everything, you deserve all the good that comes to you!

  • @Wolfboy_109
    @Wolfboy_109 3 ปีที่แล้ว +194

    This is wrong, u need to put nutmeg in there to complete the recipe of making brick!

    • @asparrow5505
      @asparrow5505 3 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      A real gingerbread house

    • @robdewey317
      @robdewey317 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Oh no 😂

    • @robdewey317
      @robdewey317 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@asparrow5505 And you had to chime in 😂😂😂

    • @asparrow5505
      @asparrow5505 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@robdewey317 Of course! 😋

    • @MorbidEel
      @MorbidEel 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That went into the clay

  • @csonkaperdido
    @csonkaperdido 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    These kids are gonna grow up and be the neighbors who bring you food and cookies for your birthday, every single holiday, and even just randomly because they are just good, friendly people.
    The real life version of minecraft.
    Well done to each mom and dad who take part in these videos, and extra good job for bringing the kiddos along.

  • @dethkruzer
    @dethkruzer 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    There's something extremely wholesome about the way you show your friends and family all participating in the process.

  • @1incutheta
    @1incutheta 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Wonderful! The BBC farm series from some years ago had a really great example of brick firing too. Worth checking out if you want even more brick content. I recommend the BBC farm series for any fellow homesteader or historical geek.

  • @OptimusWombat
    @OptimusWombat 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I've really been looking forward to this video.

  • @PonderingDolphin
    @PonderingDolphin 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    It warms my heart seeing everyone together and enjoying themselves

  • @Incubansoul
    @Incubansoul 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    And now I finally know why bricks vary in color from orange to near-black. Nice!

  • @Tippswimmer12
    @Tippswimmer12 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Really thankful to you & the entire crew for this channel! It reignited a spark for my love of "Colonial" era history that I had when I was younger, as well as just providing a fantastic haven of such positive vibes! Need to plan a road-trip to the store when Covid eases off!

  • @cheryllamb8831
    @cheryllamb8831 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This is amazing. I also enjoyed watching your "small colony" working, eating & conversing together!

  • @tamaraatum4202
    @tamaraatum4202 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love it when your dog casually shows up in you videos 🥰

  • @jayg0351
    @jayg0351 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great video, just finnished a trip from Charleston, SC and Wanynesboro, NC. We visited the Boone Hall plantation we learned of the brick making process they did there. I also just finished the book Thye Longhunter, this book was about Longhuntes who started as waggoneers in Charleston hauling supplies for the British Army. They then became hunters, map makers and explored the areas of North and South Carolina and Virginia. I am going to have to rewatch the video of yours about the Longhunter.

  • @MylesStandish-oh6bq
    @MylesStandish-oh6bq 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Great info on bricks and love the cabin but when is it getting a new roof? No seriously though im building a log cabin and this channel inspirid me to do it. Ive always wanted to and after following jon and the guys in their build i had to. They made some great videos. All around great channel. Great job!

    • @mrdanforth3744
      @mrdanforth3744 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      That will be the shingle making episode, coming soon.

  • @reeni4prez701
    @reeni4prez701 3 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    this is so inspiring and wholesome can i like 10 times

    • @gman323232
      @gman323232 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      not unless your a democrat and fake voting. one one like please.

    • @juancabrera-ru9jx
      @juancabrera-ru9jx 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@gman323232 that was unexpected but good

    • @spiritmatter1553
      @spiritmatter1553 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@gman323232 Good one!

    • @spiritmatter1553
      @spiritmatter1553 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yeah really I keep hitting the 👍🏼 button over and over but the extra likes don’t add up.

  • @m.r.furianii3920
    @m.r.furianii3920 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My friend, it is heartwarming to accompany your work retaining and restoring this country's great history. "You are cool!", says the wide-eyed boy in me. You help us hold on to reality amidst the craziness gripping our country today. Thank you! God continue to bless you and your family.

  • @danielbowers4008
    @danielbowers4008 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This gentleman's enthusiasm for BRICKS,BRICKS,BRICKS is infectious!! I love it!!! Does this mean I'm getting old?🤔

  • @witchyvicar
    @witchyvicar 3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Why not cover the outside bricks with dirt from the beginning? You might have gotten a better yeild that way. (I used to do pottery.)

    • @nolansykinsley3734
      @nolansykinsley3734 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      I was thinking that myself, but then I realized they need the airflow through the bricks to get the heat to spread, piling dirt up on the outside would prevent the air circulating the heat.

    • @fortusvictus8297
      @fortusvictus8297 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      I was thinking the same thing...this process seems to be very similar to the idea of making a charcoal kiln.

    • @SilvaDreams
      @SilvaDreams 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@nolansykinsley3734 Not really, you just don't block the air holes

    • @witchyvicar
      @witchyvicar 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@nolansykinsley3734 Hmmm....they had the trenches, though, and that would have worked enough, really. I've done a few pit firings, and that's more or less how we did it. *shrug* Although, Considering that they had bricks to re-fire, I suppose it's not too bad...

    • @dv7533
      @dv7533 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      it's probably more to let the hot air and flames spread better between the bricks, I don't know how the heat flow would be if you blocked out the outside too early in the burn. Feeding the fire with oxygen could probably be done with the big openings alone, but the heat might not spread enough.

  • @timkibben8004
    @timkibben8004 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This was awesome!! An enormous effort you guys! It's so cool to watch something that I love so much, and receive an excellent education at the same time. I also like that you all stayed in period context even when you had dinner! Thanks for another great video!
    P.S. With the forged spoon you just sent me, I've also completed my hearth set from your catalog and enjoy cooking over my outside hearth!

  • @trishthehomesteader9873
    @trishthehomesteader9873 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I think we may have watched the same English history of brick making. 🙂 They camped out all night to keep an eye on the fire.
    Such great history and knowledge! Great job Townsend team! 👍

    • @maxdecphoenix
      @maxdecphoenix 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      I assume you're talking about wartime farm. They built their clamp differently though. Theirs was an exterior 'air tight' shell of bricks to increase thermal insulation, while the interior 'column' of bricks was more spaced out to facilitate even heating. Primitive Technology uses a similar approach, but he just makes the kiln shell out of stacked clay. In the end it's just getting heat into the brick to ceramifie them, some ways are more efficient, but bricks are bricks.

    • @trishthehomesteader9873
      @trishthehomesteader9873 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@maxdecphoenix I believe what I was watching was Absolute History. I'll look for the one you mentioned. You never know when you might have to or want to make bricks!😉

    • @maxdecphoenix
      @maxdecphoenix 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@trishthehomesteader9873 Absolute History is a TH-cam channel which buys all the old BBC/Sky documentaries/ intellectual property to host it on YT and various websites. I think they have the rights to all the 'farms' series now. But virtually anything you see from A.H. was produced for BBC.
      The 'farms' team has done brick-making twice. Once during war-time farm, where they made some tiles and bricks; and again during 'secrets of the castle', where they prepped a huge kiln of bricks but the firing got delayed due to weather, and i don't think they filmed it.

    • @trishthehomesteader9873
      @trishthehomesteader9873 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      It was definitely a BBC. Sometimes it's difficult to understand people who speak English rather than American. 😂
      All the same, it was an excellent series. 🙂

  • @mattski1979
    @mattski1979 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Brick buidlings were cool when I was little and didn't know they were just a facade. Clapboard's cooler. So are shingles. Piers are pretty neat and necessary. Those are made out of bricks. Great video. I love your stuff.

  • @americanmath
    @americanmath ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Fun Fact: Most bricks used to build early America were 2 by 4 by 8 inches.

  • @FairFrozen55
    @FairFrozen55 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Will you make more bricks in the future? You should consider making a permanent kiln first if so.

  • @77Shiloh7
    @77Shiloh7 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I live in Ohio, and in our Historical part of our city, there are Federal Style Houses and you never realize how much work went into making those bricks .! Thank you for all the Video's ! I am always learning something new and come away appreciating all the hard work that went into creating a lifestyle in that period. All your video are ...EXCELLENT .

  • @briankesterson4365
    @briankesterson4365 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    John, you said it, "Truly amazing!" Thank you for what you and the Townsend team do to preserve our past & our cultural history.

  • @FingeringThings
    @FingeringThings 3 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    Father history is back

    • @TheodoreMinick
      @TheodoreMinick 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      I think you mean, "History daddy". LOL

  • @SapphireCrook
    @SapphireCrook 3 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    There's something ominous yet beautiful about a stack of bricks that glow on the inside like that.

    • @fortusvictus8297
      @fortusvictus8297 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      This is one of those things that CAN be deceptively dangerous...anyone who has experienced a campfire stone explode could attest to that.

  • @ThisGuyAd.
    @ThisGuyAd. 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love this because historically it was super significant. Bricks enabled people to build propper chimneys for the first time. It was game changing as it meant homes were suddenly alot safer, if not less smokey places to inhabit. Great video 👏

  • @brigitgoddess
    @brigitgoddess 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    That was fascinating! Thanks Jon and crew!

  • @samuelclaessens7699
    @samuelclaessens7699 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I hope one day you can make a permant house with maybe even two floors!!!!🤩🤩🤩🤩😍

  • @lynnie57
    @lynnie57 3 ปีที่แล้ว +42

    I should be grading papers right now...

    • @ethancardenas
      @ethancardenas 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      just give em As and be done with it!

    • @GerackSerack
      @GerackSerack 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I should be writing a paper right now...

    • @nessamillikan6247
      @nessamillikan6247 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@ethancardenas I was thinking Bs, especially for all of the kids named Rick.

    • @ek-nz
      @ek-nz 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Me too...

  • @Unit38
    @Unit38 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Mr. Townsends, after wading thru the detritus of society each working day, I love to watch your videos. It reminds me that there are far more decent folk, than not, in our country. Sir, never go away.

  • @Q-BinTom
    @Q-BinTom 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Awesome looking forward to see the build.. Thanks for taking us along

  • @jansenart0
    @jansenart0 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    "We have to make them so hot, they glow"

  • @pinterappl3491
    @pinterappl3491 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    the brick master makes more brick!

  • @kdavis4910
    @kdavis4910 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you Jon for all the valuable information and skills you display o n your channel during these troubled times. It's possible we will all be returning to the old ways way faster than we ever expected. I am building an earthen oven to be able to cook for my ailing parents and special needs niece no matter what happens in the world. How incredibly valuable to be able to make and fire bricks as well. I have purchased journals from you. You are an absolute gem.

  • @linw1486
    @linw1486 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    LOVE the guitar. Also like seeing the kids and the ladies. 😊

  • @thejasonbourne
    @thejasonbourne 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Well, this Townsends guy is a few bricks shy of a load. 😉 😂 #justkidding

  • @paveloleynikov4715
    @paveloleynikov4715 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    And how that primitive technologies tv series is going forward... I just had urge to rewatch his older videos

  • @twestgard2
    @twestgard2 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great concept! I’m going to try this.

  • @SarahM-lw2gd
    @SarahM-lw2gd 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Wow, this was so cool to watch. Thanks for showing us!

  • @LisaMarli
    @LisaMarli 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    And this is also why, some bricks are terrible. Quality control was not good. The result, brick buildings crumbling before their time. Some of the bricks in our 1920s chimney have needed replacement. The original bricks apparently had problems.
    At least you can make sure the quality is good.

    • @HLBear
      @HLBear 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Where I live, there are houses from the mid-1700s (Jon's favorite era) made from bricks that are still solid. They need upkeep and proper pointing, but a good brick can really last.

    • @jamessilberschlag1705
      @jamessilberschlag1705 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Our mid-1960's chimney is starting to crumble. Terrible bricks.

  • @Edcognito
    @Edcognito 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    WHO'S THE PUPPY!?!?!?

    • @rosemcguinn5301
      @rosemcguinn5301 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      That's Sophie the 18th c wonder dog!

    • @Edcognito
      @Edcognito 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@rosemcguinn5301 Thank you Rose! I loves the puppers!
      We have two English Shepherds and a Rottie!

    • @rosemcguinn5301
      @rosemcguinn5301 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Edcognito Although I currently have no pet, i loves the puppers too! Sophie always looks contented and happy in Jon's videos. Makes me smile

  • @businesschicken8699
    @businesschicken8699 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Awesome, congratulations. I can't wait to see the next step in the process for this place you all are putting together.

  • @SKEvolved
    @SKEvolved 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This has been a great series and I very much enjoyed it. Thank you!
    -Steve

  • @headlesshorseman900
    @headlesshorseman900 3 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    TH-cam: "Hey, you want to watch a man make bricks in the woods?"

    • @MonkBitz
      @MonkBitz 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      To which the answer is YES!

  • @danq.5140
    @danq.5140 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    I'm sure brick firing was one of the reasons why England has no trees.

    • @ptonpc
      @ptonpc 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      There are lots of trees in the UK. The biggest forests were cut down for farming and construction including ship building. More were cut down during the first and second world wars but we still have forests.

    • @Kai-xr6vs
      @Kai-xr6vs 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@ptonpc compared to us Canadians... no you don't

    • @davejette-gamsby5330
      @davejette-gamsby5330 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@Kai-xr6vs seulement 14% du territoire canadien est encore intouché. On n'a pas vraiment de mérite c'est des terroristes volé selon moi avec des traités envers les premières nations qui n'ont eux jamais été respectés...

    • @ptonpc
      @ptonpc 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@davejette-gamsby5330 Agreed

    • @ptonpc
      @ptonpc 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Kai-xr6vs Canada is big. The whole UK is much much smaller.

  • @signejeppesen2395
    @signejeppesen2395 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    This was such an amazing project, so happy the firing went well. Congratulations. Very excited to see what you build with them.

  • @stanvanmansfeld4694
    @stanvanmansfeld4694 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Such a joy watching you guys experiment... love it!!!