Show me your rack!

ellyloo · #1 2007-11-29, 9:25am

Hee.

Your kiln rack!

I don't want to put my beads bare on the floor of my kiln, I have the perforated bent 'rack' thingie...I have a short jenken kiln--How can I make the most of my space?? I HATE my beads touching/kissing... I tend to put them in just as they're losing their glow, so chances of dents/rash/kiss flakes are high.

Hayley · #2 2007-11-29, 9:31am

I put 1" kiln posts all lined up on the back of my kiln and just rest the tip of the mandrels on them. I do use a rack on one end for smaller beads. My kiln is 18" wide.

ellyloo · #3 2007-11-29, 9:33am

You have more space than i have.

Kiln posts! good idea!
I can't fit long mandrels in my kiln. (10" is cozy)

menty666 · #4 2007-11-29, 10:04am

I have a piece of fiber blanket on the bottom of my kiln, just make sure you let the surface of your bead tack up before you set it down or you get an ugly imprint. But, the blanket keeps things from moving, and I don't scratch up the brick with the tip of the mandrel.

Wonker · #5 2007-11-29, 10:14am

take some clear rod and melt a couple of little V's then weld a bar at the tops...and you have a little glass sawhorse looking thing. you can make it any size you need.

playswithfire104 · #6 2007-11-29, 10:19am

My kiln is tiny. It dosn't have a bead door either. I can't fit a rack in it. Well maybe I could put a rack in it but I couldn't put mandrels in the rack. I can't use mandrels any longer than 9 inches and I have to lay them diagonally in the kiln. They won't fit sideways or straight in.

I used a rod holder as a rack a while a go but I thought it just got in the way.

Listenup · #7 2007-11-29, 10:42am

Quote:

Originally Posted by menty666

I have a piece of fiber blanket on the bottom of my kiln, just make sure you let the surface of your bead tack up before you set it down or you get an ugly imprint. But, the blanket keeps things from moving, and I don't scratch up the brick with the tip of the mandrel.

This is what I do, but I go one step further. The fiber blanket is cut out where the bead sits so the beads don't touch anything. Actually, it's not cut out cuz my kiln is large enough I can just pull it away from the wall enough that the beads don't rest on anything (I have a Scutt 10 kiln), but for a smaller kiln you can get the same effect by cutting the fiber blanket away.

rainygrrl · #8 2007-11-29, 11:08am

Wonker, that is a great idea! Especially perfect if the little sawhorse is made of boro and you work with soft glass.

ellyloo · #9 2007-11-29, 11:24am

Ohhh... i 'm going to have to buy some fiber blanket.

Carolyn M · #10 2007-11-29, 1:50pm

I posted this in the Garage Sale section yesterday. I have the same kiln as you,

"I have a slightly cheaper, but not as pretty option if you can't find this. I went to the dollar store and got a BBQ vegetable griller, you know the ones that have two wire grids held together at the handle. Cut off the handle, and you have two wire grids. I prop mine against a kiln brick, and it has worked for me for years now."

joebirder · #11 2007-11-29, 5:54pm

Shoot... I thought I was going to see everyone's racks!!!!!
I guess this is not the thread I thought it was. I'll check another room!
Joe

Glasstastic Treasures · #12 2007-11-29, 7:13pm

Cheeky!!

What....? Kiln wrack?

haha *embarassed* I use a fiber blanket on the bottom of my kiln. then I put more fiber on those rods and pile more beads on.

I'm cheap!!

ellyloo · #13 2007-11-30, 8:43am

SOme GREAT ideas.
I'm off to the dollar store, AND to get fiber blanket.
(DUh.. Layering in between blankets! DUH)

earth*monkey · #14 2007-11-30, 9:12am

I have a Jen Ken Beading/Fusing kiln. My husband cut some iron gate stuff and it wedges across the middle.

I put the mandrels in from the beading door in the front spaced pit across the grill. The ends stick out of the front of the beading door 3 inches. (total length of mandrel is 12in.) I can get between 30 and 40 beads in spaced pretty carefully.

I think the total cost of the grill was a few dollars. You can cut multiple pieces out what you get from the hardware store. The iron does flake a bit from the heat of the kiln especially in the beginning. I've never noticed that affecting the beads at all.

ellyloo · #15 2007-11-30, 9:55am

Oh, I hate using my bead door--so awkward --but i love the grill.
I wonder if i could cut a few small squares and put them on 3 walls (below the elements) --and then layer my beads that way...

Hmm.

earth*monkey · #16 2007-11-30, 10:10am

Awkward? How so?

Teague · #17 2007-11-30, 10:39am

How do you keep it from chewing up the fiber in the bead door? Whenever mine stick out, they get stuck in the bead door fiber.

Teague

earth*monkey · #18 2007-11-30, 10:43am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teague

How do you keep it from chewing up the fiber in the bead door? Whenever mine stick out, they get stuck in the bead door fiber.

Teague

Hmmm... I don't really have that problem. The ends of the mandrels stick out beyond the lip of the bead door. They don't catch in the fiber blanket. Maybe your mandrels need to be longer? Or wait... maybe my mandrels are 15 inches long. I'll have to check. My husband cuts them for me, so I'm not really sure.

There is some wear on the door fiber, but it's not bad. I expect I may have to replace the fiber at some point, but I think that is a couple of years down the road.