Mark C.

kyanite is something I use in my home made ITC mix and comes in many mesh sizes. Does not shrink The crystals are long and its one of the strengtening things say in mulite kiln shelves It great stuff

My hoarding has paid off in spades so far. Out of Kingman feldspar after burning thru 3,000#s in 40 years now I'm using custar instead but have 1,000#s

Custar is back now Dick at least from Laguna locations

I bet they made some small hobby doll kilns and the like in the UK that ran on 120 like they did here

This is several solutions all in one from Jeff who I had the pleasure of meeting a few weeks ago. Dealing direct with the manufacture on seconds or even a pile of used ones is really a lead worth exploring . I know of several huge piles of them in my area from tow sources as most potters are long gone and the hoarders (I only have a small pile) do not know how to get rid of them here now. Rent a heavy dudy truck and go pick them up in MO or have them trucked to you from the factory. I have moved more hard brick in my life than I will ever need. I built several kilns with them ,my salt being the last.

I could have mailed those 4 #3 bricks to you from my hoarder fire brick pile.

If this is in the UK? then we need to know more on what the electrical voltage is in the UK. Maybe some UK potters can chine in with this tec info

I have seen lots of hard brick over the years on many sites from potters web to craigslist and others-search a thread here thats old on ceramic sites for sales ( not facebook marketplace) They make the bricks in the east where you live by the way.

also old mills that used bricks in say kiln drying or boilers can be a source.

classic fast firing with wet wares after you clean up the shards from kiln use a soft brush on a vacuum to suck small pieces from the element grooves -be gentle doing this.

Always my key tool with plaster is the jiffy mixer -also drop the bucket hard a few times to get the air bubble to rise to top before pouring also is a good tip

Laguna now sells a flameware body so you can get a 25# at Laguna/Aftosa location in Fl

I should add I put my large shallow porcelain sink and water setup with high ball valve pipe and hose setup in studio from a salvage yard in 1973. The sink is shallow but large.That was 51 years ago. Lot of water thru the screens since then.

I used 2 old fashion galvanized hoops with brass screens for decades with two sticks over a bucket until I bought a Talisman. Now I have three if them hanging -bought two used from other hobbyists who sold out. I have one for white glazes and one for dark and one that just hangs. Many people buy one and find their set up cannot clean them well. The trick is a tall faucet in studio with a rubber or in my case silicone hose as I can put a 5 gallon bucket in sing or spray out the sieve when done with it. Once you master the plumbing they work fine. in a small sink its to hard to clean them. I have been to NZ to the factory on the north Island in thge 90s and bought spare parts as well. I have about 30 years now in using them and never looked back. Now the other day I was doing smaller than 1000 grams and used one of the tiny smaller Talisman from Laguna clay baby sieves .These are made from PVC with stainless screen. I use an 80 mesh for all sieving as well no matter what the sieve. The Talisman is made for large batches like 5 gallon buckets or larger. I do not consider it a hobby size deal as its to big.

When I was a student I used a metal lunchbox-still have it.easy to clean and when open it was easy to access