ASC Masonry Students Participate in Seminar

Alfred State College's
senior masonry students and seven local professional masons participated in a
day-long seminar dealing with Rumford fireplace design and construction. 
The seminar included lecture and hands-on laboratory experience on the School
of Applied Technology campus in Wellsville.  Attendees were instructed in
proper Rumford fireplace design and construction; they built actual mock-ups of
fireplaces, and they gained information to assist them in passing a
certification test. Dana Martini, tech representative, Superior Clay Corp.,
Uhrichsville, OH, discussed the efficiency and beauty of properly built Rumford
fireplaces.  Superior Clay Corp. makes throats, smoke chambers, and other
accessories for Rumford and the components for masonry bread ovens.  Robert
Rucker, president, CMS Industries, Inc., Orchard Park, discussed the various
refractory cements to use in hi-temperature situations.  Proper fireplace
design, construction, and code issues were discussed by both reps.  After
lunch of pizza (made by the culinary arts/baking, production and management
students of Alfred State College) baked in an oven built by ASC masonry
students by area participants moved to the masonry lab where they created mock
ups of various fireplaces, including a 36", 48", and 60" Rumfords, a 36" see
through, and a 24" bread oven.  In 2007, Superior Clay donated enough
fireplace and bread oven parts to fill half a tractor trailer, giving ASC's
senior masonry students a bountiful amount of material to use in their
studies.