The lid from my kiln had seen better days, was cracked heavily, had been repaired before by previous owner(s), so I took some time to re-do it using some nice 3000 degree refractory I had ear-marked for another project I wasn't getting to
First step was to remove the old refractory -- sadly I don't have a before picture of that, only of the top 4" removed. Underneath was this fiber mat material that is perpetually 'wet' to the touch.
We made a wood apron for a form, and tamped in the new refractory. Note the bolts thread into the end where the hinges will go, and a steep pipe for the vent hole
So, let it setup over night, pop out the next morning and bob's your uncle, new lid! Uh, negative.
yeah, outer surface was 'hard' but underneath it was like pudding. When I tried to invert it, presto change-o, on the floor. Waste of good refractory. I did some tests using a tomatoe-can, and it needs to be baked.
So, second verse, same as the first! Tear open my last bag of refractory and start over
So how do you bake a 60lb lid without inverting it ?
you extend the kiln. My dad gave me a bunch of steel last time I was home, but he made me take his other junk including a steel 'shelf' that you can put under a washer/dryer. I gutted the insides, cut the front spar out, took out the drawer slides and presto-change-o I had a kiln extender
I closed off the front w/some scrap sheet metal, set it for 400F (remember, the apron-skirt is made of wood) and let it bake for 8 hours
And the final product!
I brushed on a coating of ITC-100 and it is ready for business.
Yes, the inside of the kiln is sketchy..... but it will never see ceramics, it's glory days of baking roosters is over. all metal, all the time.
First step was to remove the old refractory -- sadly I don't have a before picture of that, only of the top 4" removed. Underneath was this fiber mat material that is perpetually 'wet' to the touch.
We made a wood apron for a form, and tamped in the new refractory. Note the bolts thread into the end where the hinges will go, and a steep pipe for the vent hole
So, let it setup over night, pop out the next morning and bob's your uncle, new lid! Uh, negative.
yeah, outer surface was 'hard' but underneath it was like pudding. When I tried to invert it, presto change-o, on the floor. Waste of good refractory. I did some tests using a tomatoe-can, and it needs to be baked.
So, second verse, same as the first! Tear open my last bag of refractory and start over
So how do you bake a 60lb lid without inverting it ?
you extend the kiln. My dad gave me a bunch of steel last time I was home, but he made me take his other junk including a steel 'shelf' that you can put under a washer/dryer. I gutted the insides, cut the front spar out, took out the drawer slides and presto-change-o I had a kiln extender
I closed off the front w/some scrap sheet metal, set it for 400F (remember, the apron-skirt is made of wood) and let it bake for 8 hours
And the final product!
I brushed on a coating of ITC-100 and it is ready for business.
Yes, the inside of the kiln is sketchy..... but it will never see ceramics, it's glory days of baking roosters is over. all metal, all the time.
