oldlady Posted December 31, 2015 Report Share Posted December 31, 2015 when my camera was stolen, it contained a number of photos i was going to use to make a raku kiln just like the one used at the demo at highwater clay in florida. i know its construction is simple enough that i can just do it but i wonder if anyone has seen the plans for it online somewhere. the design was worked out many years ago so i am sure there are bits of info somewhere. the end product is a metal trash can lid wired to 2x4 inch lightweight fencing material. the fiber is inside the wire and attached with wire held by ceramic buttons on the inside. a hole is cut near the bottom and a weed burner used to provide the flame. a 20 lb propane tank is attached to the weed burner. the lightweight kiln rests on a stack of firebricks that also support pots to be warmed for the next load. lifting the lid removes the entire kiln so it can be moved out of the way when it is time for reduction. the whole arrangement is the simplest one i have ever seen and i LIKE simple. my pictures showed details like the thickness of the fiber, the height of the wire fencing, the number of firebricks used, etc. firing took about 20 minutes once the kiln was hot. and that only took about 20 minutes. the impetus for this came when i was wandering around a big box home center and found 31 gallon metal trash cans. there were only 7 cans but 13 lids. the manager agreed to sell me 2 of the lids for $1 each!! WOOPEE!!!! that lid had been the hard part as far as i was concerned. now i can go ahead and do it. except : do i buy 1 inch fiber or 2 inch fiber? is the wire fencing 24 inches high or 30 or 36? is the guage of the wire known so i can keep the whole thing light enough to lift with welders gloves? just details.......................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted December 31, 2015 Report Share Posted December 31, 2015 I get my 8# 1 inch fiber on ebay. 50 sq. ft. You can also get anthill <- auto correct KANTHAL wire from Archie Bray Clay business good prices. here is some basics for construction of a raku kiln. http://www.marciaselsorstudio.com/raku.html You could make it any size or shape. I recommend the shape of the buttons. If you make buttons with 2 holes, they tend to crack after a while. You can use a thicker wire fence metal if you desire. Best wishes, Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rakukuku Posted December 31, 2015 Report Share Posted December 31, 2015 well, like Marcia i really need to reorganize my work space and get rid of junk that does not need to be there. recycle the old half dried out clay and get rid of the many useless containers i have saved up. also want to start doing some larger hand built jars that I used to do years ago. thats the plan. rakuku Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rakukuku Posted December 31, 2015 Report Share Posted December 31, 2015 oops, replied to the wrong topic, sorry. rakuku Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted December 31, 2015 Report Share Posted December 31, 2015 I like high temp on eBay for that fiber it's in Portland and the 8# as Marcia says is best I use #15 gauge in high temp kilns and make my own buttons from porcelain .that side wire is a bit harder to work with but holds up well. You can source it on google I tend to have plenty around always so I cannot say where I bought my last bunch 2 decades ago. Marcia does lots of raku firing and has made plenty of kilns so what she says will help best as far as I.m concerned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted December 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2015 thanks everybody, i found it. under brackers raku kiln something or other. exactly what i wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Longer Member Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Did you build it yet? I've done both the can and 2x4 duck wire and would prefer the can. (That being said, she told me the next one I build needs to be a straight sided "top hat".) IMO the wire comes out sloppy and I'm really good at fabricating things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted January 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 not started yet, has been cold here and i have been making a few empty bowls for the clay center in st pete. i know why i gave up using red clay years ago. now i have to clean the entire studio because i used some abandoned stoneware left at the clay center. yuk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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