Stephen Posted November 16, 2016 Report Share Posted November 16, 2016 OK in a hurry a couple of weeks ago unloading and setting up a new kiln, skutt 1027. I thought I was being pretty good centering the bottom on stand but it must have shifted a little, I'm getting ready to run the empty bisque before putting into service and when I measure the stand to the corners its a little less than a half inch shift (one set opposite corners the stand is 2" in and the other corners are just under 2 1/2" in) so not perfectly centered to the bottom. Pretty close but not dead on. Looking back I now realize it would have be so easy to just flip the bottom over and perfectly center then just use a sharpie to outline and when putting together could have made sure it stayed center. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, oh well. Anyway the entire kiln is all setup now with lid re-tensioned and shelves painted with kiln wash and loaded and I really, really,really don't want to tear it all down. The perfectionist in me says to redo and the practical side says its fine and it temp anyway and will be moved in a few months and just get it dead-on then. I know it should be perfectly center but is it OK running like this for a few months? I know when loaded 30-50 pots it will be a lot of weight but a 1/2" off on a 7 CF kiln seems OK... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted November 16, 2016 Report Share Posted November 16, 2016 for heaven's sake! do not worry. what could possibly happen? your imagination is running away with logic. do you picture the entire thing falling down over the stand and ruining everything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted November 16, 2016 Report Share Posted November 16, 2016 I think you are fine. I myself always put a full support under my skutt kilns. It always bothered me that the floor is not supported out to the rings. I have one kiln with a 1/4 inch plate of steel the other as aluminum diamond sheet 1/4 thick under it. I have seen floor cracks on these kilns over the years without better support.Its pet peeve with me about poor support from many kiln manufactures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyK Posted November 16, 2016 Report Share Posted November 16, 2016 1/2"....Seriously, Stephen, I thing you should get out your laser level and centering tool to make sure that sucker is dead on and if you live in earthquake country, you should bolt the stand to the floor and to the bottom of the kiln because we wouldn't want the kiln to walk off the stand in a 7.0 temblor, and the same would apply if you live near the coast in the event of a tsunami, and if you live in tornado country....well...you get the idea....live with the 1/2 inch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 16, 2016 Report Share Posted November 16, 2016 Chill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted November 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2016 Yeah I know , to my credit though I did tell myself I was being silly and it was fine, just needed you guys to agree with me :-) Mark I couldn't agree more. On the 1027 we bought over the summer I popped for the rolling stand and that one is really cool, it has huge iron bars that go all the way out and then bent up to essentially wrap the kiln in it. Makes it rool great but also really provides righteous looking support. After using that one this little stand looks way to small and flimsy to do the job. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted November 17, 2016 Report Share Posted November 17, 2016 speaking of this, I am thinking of getting a new stand for my humongous oval which would make it easier to move and roll up a 24' wide loading ramp.The oval is larger than 24" but I could have the wheel support where the outer circumference overlaps the rectangular cart. I like mark's idea is 1/4" thick steel base. Planning the impending move. Much to get done in 3 weeks. Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiselleNo5 Posted November 18, 2016 Report Share Posted November 18, 2016 I think you are fine. I myself always put a full support under my skutt kilns. It always bothered me that the floor is not supported out to the rings. I have one kiln with a 1/4 inch plate of steel the other as aluminum diamond sheet 1/4 thick under it. I have seen floor cracks on these kilns over the years without better support.Its pet peeve with me about poor support from many kiln manufactures. OH MY GOSH I didn't know it was an option. It drives me INSANE that my kiln stands only go under the brick. Can I just have a stand fabricated that is larger? Is that "allowed"? LOL But how do I make sure it's safe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted November 18, 2016 Report Share Posted November 18, 2016 I think you are fine. I myself always put a full support under my skutt kilns. It always bothered me that the floor is not supported out to the rings. I have one kiln with a 1/4 inch plate of steel the other as aluminum diamond sheet 1/4 thick under it. I have seen floor cracks on these kilns over the years without better support.Its pet peeve with me about poor support from many kiln manufactures. OH MY GOSH I didn't know it was an option. It drives me INSANE that my kiln stands only go under the brick. Can I just have a stand fabricated that is larger? Is that "allowed"? LOL But how do I make sure it's safe? Just have a fabrication shop make you a FLAT piece of steel 1/4 think the diameter of your kiln and place under floor-drill a hole for the floor vent if you use one in the steel I found the 1/4 inch aluminum diamond plate circle in a fab shop already made and never picked up so it was ON SPECIAL CHEAP. I put the diamond side up so it breaths a little. I have the 1/4 steel flat plate under my large skutt kiln.Now thew walls are supported from below-just another beef with cutting corners on costs for me with kiln manufacturers. Hey what a few bucks more for a real kiln bottom on the stand????Hope that skutt teck is still reading these posts??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiselleNo5 Posted November 18, 2016 Report Share Posted November 18, 2016 I think you are fine. I myself always put a full support under my skutt kilns. It always bothered me that the floor is not supported out to the rings. I have one kiln with a 1/4 inch plate of steel the other as aluminum diamond sheet 1/4 thick under it. I have seen floor cracks on these kilns over the years without better support.Its pet peeve with me about poor support from many kiln manufactures. OH MY GOSH I didn't know it was an option. It drives me INSANE that my kiln stands only go under the brick. Can I just have a stand fabricated that is larger? Is that "allowed"? LOL But how do I make sure it's safe? Just have a fabrication shop make you a FLAT piece of steel 1/4 think the diameter of your kiln and place under floor-drill a hole for the floor vent if you use one in the steel I found the 1/4 inch aluminum diamond plate circle in a fab shop already made and never picked up so it was ON SPECIAL CHEAP. I put the diamond side up so it breaths a little. I have the 1/4 steel flat plate under my large skutt kiln.Now thew walls are supported from below-just another beef with cutting corners on costs for me with kiln manufacturers. Hey what a few bucks more for a real kiln bottom on the stand????Hope that skutt teck is still reading these posts??? So I can just place this on top of the existing stand? Yeah I find it so confusing. "Don't put anything on the kiln lid, you'll crack the bricks. But the whole weight of the kiln and all the shelves and stilts and all the work inside on the bottom which is exactly the same .... that's fine." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted November 18, 2016 Report Share Posted November 18, 2016 They say diamonds are not very rare or valuable but the Jewelry mogals back in the day convinced the world they where. Same deal with those cheap stands with no support. The only difference is the lid does get moved every cycle whereas the floor just holds all the weight relatively unsupported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted November 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2016 I would just say that at first blush the skutt rolling stand seemed expensive but once I got it I thought it was worth it. Not as cheap as one you can make yourself but probably close to or even cheaper than having on fabricated at a shop. Money is tight so I can buy one right now for this one but It still bugs me every time I look at the kiln. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 18, 2016 Report Share Posted November 18, 2016 The frame type stands that most manufacturers use (Skutt, Olympic) support the floor where it needs it most- where the shelf supports/posts are, and close enough to the edge to support the weight of the kiln walls. It's not ideal, but it works just fine. As long as everything is level/even so that the floor can't rock, it will be fine. There are hundreds of kilns out there that are decades old and still have good floor slabs. A metal plate is better, of course, because it provides more support. This is why L&L makes a full metal stand for their kilns. That said, even with a metal plate the floor can crack if it's not level/even. And even then you will get some cracking due to the weight of the shelves and pots, and the expansion of the brick during firings. If you use a steel plate that's not treated against corrosion, it's a good idea to mount the vent cup to the side of the kiln on the bottom ring (it will vent just as well there), or cut a hole in the steel plate that's large enough for the entire vent cup to fit through to that the cup is contacting the bricks. Otherwise the steel will rust out under the cup. There's a lot of moisture drawn through the vent system. Setting things on the lid of the kiln is a different situation because the lid is only supported at the edges, and putting something heavy in the middle will cause it to bend and crack. If you set something out near the edges it's not such a problem, but it's good practice to just never set things on the kiln, period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted November 19, 2016 Report Share Posted November 19, 2016 With a rolling stand you could spin the kiln near highest melt temps for some spinning looking glazes .Maybe put it on a lazy susan and get it going fast just before shut down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted November 19, 2016 Report Share Posted November 19, 2016 Spin Art????? Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted November 19, 2016 Report Share Posted November 19, 2016 spin art-its at every event for kids -paint on spinning paper plates-same idea on ceramic wares in spinning kiln on lazy susan spinning at cone 6. Back in the 80's when I had a glaze fire going and the earthquake hit -a 7 and the glaze was at cone 10 and the load went over-I had a few plates that cooled at about a 45 degree angle and the glaze was spectacular. same idea on a rolling electric kiln Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.