File:Clamp in Tharandt 021.jpg

English: For assembling a charcoal clamp, the burner builds on a flat ground the quandel, a squared shaft. Around this quandel he stacks split oak, beech, or maple logs in the shape of an igloo. To avoid empty spaces, he sets the logs closely together. Then he covers the clamp with branches of fir needles, leaves, soil, and coal slack. To set the clamp afire he brings glowing pieces of wood down the quandel. For regulating the flow of air inside the clamp the charcoal-burner pierces holes into the covering and seals them when the burning gets stronger and the temperature rises. He must climb up to three thirds of the pile. This work is dangerous because the clamp can generate a heat inside of 520 up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit. By colour and smell the charcoal burner can perceive if the carbonization proceeds properly. The Tharandt clamp uses 1000 – 1500 cubic feet of timber and yields about three or four tons of charcoal. The burning takes three or four weeks depending on the sort of wood and the size of the clamp. During the smouldering, the charcoal-burner attends the clamp consistently at any time of the day or night. He builds a round cabin like a tent and covers it with pieces of bark. It is called “Spitzköte”, i.e. tipped hut. When the carbonizing ends, the charcoal burner chills the clamp with water. Then he takes the coating away with rakes and shovels. The finished coal is sieved, weighed, and filled in sacks. Producing charcoal by clamps is very seldom in Germany because kilns took the place of clamps. Annotation: In other parts of Europe, the clamp is coated with a thick paste of charcoal grindings, ash, and water.