Kilns - Any Reccs?

dimples · #1 2006-10-04, 1:50pm

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping on buying a kiln sometime in the near future, but aren't sure which would be the best one (I know that I'd want one that is brick-insulated). Canuck lampworkers in particular - where did you buy yours, cause I don't even want to think about the duties on something like this LOL.

Thanks,
Susan

tgslampwork · #2 2006-10-04, 1:57pm

Not a Canuck...and neither is my kiln dude - but he is the best...www.theglasshive.com

Emily · #3 2006-10-04, 2:48pm

Depends on what your budget is, how many beads you make during a session, and what you want to do with a kiln besides annealing.

I have an Aim 84BD, which is a small (8x8 interior) firebrick kiln. It's a top loader, but has a bead door. You can fire PMC in it and fuse small items -- jewelry-scale, really. For fusing/slumping anything larger than a soap dish, you'd need a bigger kiln. I'm an evenings and weekends beadmaker, and have no problem with the capacity of the kiln. If you're planning on working long days and make sets with a lot of small beads (in other words, many many many many mandrels in a kiln at once), you might want one of the very long rectangular kilns. If you're just starting out, though, I think you'd be pleased with the kiln. I like mine. I have a Fuji controller. My only complaint about it is that it holds only one program at a time, which means that any time you want it to do something different, you have to enter a program from scratch. If I had it to do over again, I'd choose a controller that stores more than one program, so I could enter programs for the things I do reasonably regularly and just choose the right one when I needed it. Still, it's a fairly minor hassle. You can get the Aim kiln with different controllers. It's not like it's the Fuji or nothing.

The Aim has the heating elements recessed into grooves in the side of the kiln. If you use the bead door when you're putting mandrels in the kiln, you can't hit a heating element with a mandrel. Some kilns (the Arrow Springs kilns and some others) have the elements encased in quartz for an additional safety feature. The Aim kiln doesn't, but I'm comfortable that because of the location of the bead door I'm not going to hit an element with a mandrel so I'm OK about that.

Dennis Brady just posted that he has some Aim kilns for sale with digital controllers at a very good price. He has the 84BD and another model that I'm not familiar with. He's in Victoria. Here's the link.

http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...light=aim+kiln

Another place to look if you're interested in an Aim 84BD is eBay. Kilnwest, an authorized Aim distributor, sometimes lists on eBay for a good price. If not, try their website.

Another kiln that I haven't used, but that looks great from the specs (and that I've read good things about) is the Skutt GM10F. It's more expensive, but seems like a really nice kiln. It's a front-loader, which is nice if you plan to get into fusing or enameling, but also has a bead door. If you're interested in that kiln, do some price shopping on the Internet. I noticed some places selling it for a good bit off list price (which is pretty high).

Jayne · #4 2006-10-04, 2:58pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgslampwork

Not a Canuck...and neither is my kiln dude - but he is the best...www.theglasshive.com

What she said! I've got one and LOVE it!

tiggybubba · #5 2006-10-04, 10:51pm

Victorian Art Glass, Dennis Brady has a fantastic price on the Aim 84BD!

http://www.victorianartglass.biz/

Flamechick · #6 2006-10-05, 9:52am

I have an Arrow Springs with 2 tall double bead doors. Can't remember the number. AS1813 possibly. The inner dimension is 12 or 13 by 8.5, I think. (Sorry, numbers are not my thing). It's firebrick, with a detachable digital controller. I love it.

Hayley · #7 2006-10-05, 5:05pm

I am with tgslampwork - love my kiln from Michael Crowley at the Glass Hive even though I have only had it for a month. Michael is great to deal with. Like you, I did extensive research on forums and internet and finally decided on The New Fuswer Bead Kiln Annealer with Fuji Digital Controller PXR3. This is not the only Emily has on her AIM (I assume) since I can input 2 programs - one for batch annealing and one for garage annealing.

Here are the reasons I chose this kiln over the others, e.g. AIM, Paragon, etc.
1) It has an interior dimension of 4"H x 18"W x 6"D – the width allows me to put lots of mandrels in (the ends stick out under the door(s) and sit on an exterior shelf) without bead rack
2) The 2 (you can get just 1) side-by-side 4" x 10" bead doors give me plenty of space to put larger beads and small sculptural beads in. I personally think a 2" high door is too small
3) Michael builds each one himself so if you have any questions or problems, he knows exactly how to help you. My thermalcouple got losen during shipping and the kiln had an error indication. He called me back early the next morning (I emailed him the evening before) and walked me through step by step how to fix it.
4) It does fusing (small) and PMC3 too in case I want to get into that later!

Hope this helps.

Hayley

Emily · #8 2006-10-05, 5:44pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by hht

Fuji Digital Controller PXR3. This is not the one. Emily has on her AIM (I assume) since I can input 2 programs - one for batch annealing and one for garage annealing.

Right. The model of Fuji controller I have is the PXV-3, which is an older model, and I'm not sure it's on the market any more. It's been replaced by a different model. I don't know anything about the newer Fujis.

KEW · #9 2006-10-05, 9:09pm

Arrow Springs.

Karen Richard · #10 2006-10-06, 7:07pm

cdvkilns.com. I have what they call a Jenn-Ken Maxi-fuse and I LOVE it.

bead crazy · #11 2006-10-06, 7:21pm

I have a Jenn-Ken I looked and www.twolassieglassclasses.com or the same name on ebay has the best prices that I found I got mine for $489 and if you email them they will give you that price too. But I heard that they will not ship out of the country
Lori

Frostfire · #12 2006-10-13, 9:06am

Vote #4 for GlassHive. Mike's kilns are da bomb!

beadysam · #13 2006-10-13, 9:37am

I've got a Jen-ken and love it!

dimples · #14 2006-10-20, 1:33pm

Thanks for all the replies; some great info here.

Dennis Brady · #15 2006-10-20, 1:56pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emily

Right. The model of Fuji controller I have is the PXV-3, which is an older model, and I'm not sure it's on the market any more. It's been replaced by a different model. I don't know anything about the newer Fujis.

On all AIM lampworking kilns you have the option of a Fuji or Bartlett controller. We sell a LOT of kilns and haven't yet found anybody that wants a Fuji.

RSimmons · #16 2006-10-21, 6:29am

Check out the Skutt GM-10 front-loader with a bead door. It's got a digital controller and it fairly easy to program. It will also hold multiple programs for different jobs. Top temp is 1800. It's firebrick and moderately heavy, but can be moved by one person.

Robert