Marcia Selsor

i had 2 rolls from Texas and didn't bring my old pulley kiln from Texas. A few years before  I left Texas I built 2 new oil drum kilns, one for me and one for a friend. That is still in good shape. And my little demo 19 lb kiln that I built for my online course to demo firings is still fine. I used that in the park in July to demo Obvara. 

I needed to build a new pulley (top hat) kiln to fire larger saggers and horse slabs. After all the snow last Fall, Winter and Spring, I decided to build an indoor raku facility. While building the top hat, I figured there was enough left over fencing for a frame for a cylinder kiln a little larger than an oil drum diameter plus just enough fiber. I ended up using all but 2 feet of the 2 12.5 ft. rolls and about 3 ft of fencing now around a tomato plant protecting it from deer and magpies. I now have 4 raku kilns and 3 electrics that will be housed in my new kiln shed extension. The 3 electrics are in the wooden part, the extension will be all steel with 2 barn doors, clear story windows and exhaust fans.

I may start offering workshops!!! The top hat is upside down in this photo and the cylinder is sitting on cinder blocks. I will permanently locate them in the shed on fire brick bases.My oil drum kiln I bought from Texas is under the bucket in one photo and under plastic behind the new cylinder kiln below.. I fired it yesterday and will fire more today. 

Awesome Marcia!

You are accumulating, quite the collection of kilns!

Indoor Raku firing.  That sounds like a great idea, especially with your Winters.

It seems, that every time I do one, either with students, or at home, it's either too hot or too cold.  Though mid-Fall tends to be just right, where I live.

I have fired my Raku kiln, in my garage, when it was cooler out, and I was having issues, with a form continually cracking.  It's not something I've ever done again, and my garage has high ceilings, so it was safe.

You sprayed the whole inside with rigidizer? I just did around the base rim , where the top sits. This is my first raku kiln- I guess if I have to do it over, at least the basket is good. Should I go get more rigidizer to spray the whole inside? Plus, I have burner problems- see my update. I'm learning the hard way. Much of my stuff is recycled. The insulation blanket was recycled & dusty. I picked up the burner that a drill crew left behind from a job. The bricks at the base were recycled from an old kiln, etc. I probably have to get a better tiger torch tomorrow.