I enjoyed doing my fused glass class. A lot. And it would be nice to continue to be able to make such pieces. This, of course, requires a kiln... So here it is; The Beast, my own glass fusing kiln :-)
It is a Paragon CS-16D; 16 inches square and 6.5 inches deep (inside dimensions). This is big enough to make large dishes with, and the like.
Here it is with the body open. You can build items directly on the shelf this way.
Here are my first test pieces, on the shelf and ready to go.
A wider angle look at it, with just the lid raised this time.
The full fuse firing took a little over eight hours, and this picture shows the kiln at the highest temperature of 1492F (it was hovering +/-2F around the 1490 I programmed it to reach). The kiln will store four programs and run automatically. I've only programmed the fuse firing so far; in due course I will be slumping and doing other things, I am sure.
Although the kiln stops running after eight hours or so, it takes forever to cool those last few hundred degrees back to room temperature, so this was what I found the next morning. Fused pieces!
A closer look at the bubbles and frit. You make regular bubbles by taking two pieces of ribbed glass and fusing them at 90 degrees to each other. The orange frit in the brown piece was dropped into the grooves of another piece of ribbed glass, with the brown on top. Just to see what it would do.
So there you go... watch this space for Shiny Items!
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How do you like this kiln so far? I am looking to buy the exact same model and having trouble finding reviews from people who actually own it. Any options you would've changed? The controller (12 key vs 3 key), a fiber top vs brick? Any complaints? Does it come with a stand? Who did you purchase it from and, if you do not mind me asking, how much was the purchasing price?
ReplyDeleteSorry about a barrage of questions. :-) Hope it is OK.
Thanks for replying.
-Rita
Hi Rita,
ReplyDeleteThis is my first kiln and I am a total novice, so it's probably a little early for me to be able to answer your questions properly.
So far, I like the kiln. The brick top seems OK so far; it does drop a little dust down when you close the whole body but you can lift the lid and blow the dust off. I don't know if it is just because it's so new that there is some dust coming off, or if that gets worse over time, or what.
I didn't see any mention of a stand in the catalogue, so I went and bought a steel table to put it on. However it apparently does come with a stand; one was delivered to the shop a few days after the kiln. I confess it's still in the bubble wrap; it looks like some steel posts of L-shape cross section, that would stand about 2 feet high.
The 3-key controller seems fine; I guess it's easier to type numbers in with a 12-key one but the 3-key is not hard to use. It will store 4 programs. The manual is informative.
It came from http://www.austinbluemoon.com/ who will do a 10% discount on Paragon's published prices.
Hope this helps,
Jo
Jo,
ReplyDeleteThank you for replying and answering each question. Have great fun with that new blue monster!
-r