New Kiln

Look how small the old bead kiln is compaired with the new one!

 

When I started working in glass I got myself a little second hand kiln so I could anneal my beads so they wouldn't explode as they cool.  When I say second hand I think I might be its third or even fourth owner, but it doesn't matter - it works. 💜

 

But it is tiny.  After all it's just for beads.  But I do sometimes use it for fusing glass.  If I want to do this I can do one coaster sized thing at a time (or more smaller things).  Which is a pain if you want to do a set of coasters. 

 

Then at the end of last year I received a bonus at work!

I could finally buy a bigger kiln!

But I couldn't quite bring myself to do it.  I don't have a lot of space in the studio so everything has to pull its weight, and I don't do that much fusing so was it really worth it?  And even with a bonus it was still a lot of money.

 

I liked the idea but kept putting it off. 

Then I started taking pottery classes which got me thinking about doing some pottery at home.  Could I use my little kiln to fire clay?  No.  Clay fires much hotter than glass does, even when casting.

Anyway, long story short, I found a kiln designed to do both glass and clay!  Wow.  It's a Kilncare IKON V46.

So after a lot of thinking I ordered one.  It's not that much more than a kiln just designed for glass and the ability to do both things makes it feel like a better resource.

Don't worry I'm keeping the little bead kiln.  I don't think beads would work that well in the new one, but it's great to have a few more options.

 

It does mean a bit of a reorganisation in the studio, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.   Watch this space to see what happens next!