neilestrick

Even if the materials aren't rated high enough, they shouldn't change the insulation factor all that much until they've really shrunk up. If you're getting gaps, then that could definitely be a problem, though. Only the hot face would be an issue, not anything above it. Looks like you could put another layer or two of blanket on the top.
Have you checked to make sure the burners didn't get some crud in them during the rebuild?

I would just leave the stuff on there and put it up under the kiln. It's really just there to hold the gasket in place while placing the cup. Once it's in place the gasket won't move. The heat of the kiln will likely dry it out over time, but even if it doesn't it shouldn't affect anything.

Glue will burn off. You can glue it on and then glaze it, and the glaze will fuse it in place, but only if it's a small piece and it will sit in place without any glue. If it won't wit in place then once the glue burns off and the glaze melts the piece will just fall off. It has to be able to stay put with just gravity.

I would just leave the stuff on there and put it up under the kiln. It's really just there to hold the gasket in place while placing the cup. Once it's in place the gasket won't move. The heat of the kiln will likely dry it out over time, but even if it doesn't it shouldn't affect anything.

Cones react to heatwork, which is temperature over time. But just because the cone melted doesn't meat your glaze will be happy, because firing too fast can cause problems. When glazes melt, they bubble up and then settle down and smooth over. If you're firing too fast they may not have time to smooth over, and they end up cooling with bubbles. You can also get bubbles from over- firing, however in my experience glazes are more likely to simply run when over-fired, unless it's an unstable glaze to start with, or two layered glazes that don't agree with each other. Warping can be caused by over-firing, but it could be related to the construction of the piece, thickness issues, etc.
Witness cones are the most accurate method of measuring heatwork, so trust what the witness cones say. The reason we use 3 is so we can see just how under- or over-fired it is. Was it a half cone or a full cone too hot? Having the next cone will help us answer that.

Cones react to heatwork, which is temperature over time. But just because the cone melted doesn't meat your glaze will be happy, because firing too fast can cause problems. When glazes melt, they bubble up and then settle down and smooth over. If you're firing too fast they may not have time to smooth over, and they end up cooling with bubbles. You can also get bubbles from over- firing, however in my experience glazes are more likely to simply run when over-fired, unless it's an unstable glaze to start with, or two layered glazes that don't agree with each other. Warping can be caused by over-firing, but it could be related to the construction of the piece, thickness issues, etc.
Witness cones are the most accurate method of measuring heatwork, so trust what the witness cones say. The reason we use 3 is so we can see just how under- or over-fired it is. Was it a half cone or a full cone too hot? Having the next cone will help us answer that.

The things being discussed here is are not necessary to good glaze formulation. I've been making durable glazes for 30 years without ever looking at a Stull chart or Katz's papers. Learning the basic of glaze formulation- fluxes, stabilizers, and glass formers- will serve you just fine, and allow for tweaking formulas to increase durability and adjust glaze fit for your clay body.
Commercial glazes are not necessarily any more durable. They all take testing as well. Clear glazes are generally quite safe if they're free of lead and cadmium, which most all glaze recipes being used nowadays are, and they don't have the heavy metals (colorants) in them that are likely to leach in a poorly formulated glaze. The benefits of mixing your own glazes are that they are much less expensive, and you can alter them as needed to fit the clay body you're using. If you know another potter that has a good clear glaze, by all means ask them for a recipe.

It's back from Evenheat with a SSR!

Glue will burn off. You can glue it on and then glaze it, and the glaze will fuse it in place, but only if it's a small piece and it will sit in place without any glue. If it won't wit in place then once the glue burns off and the glaze melts the piece will just fall off. It has to be able to stay put with just gravity.

Once long ago Etsy was a good place for people to find your work. Now there's so much stuff on there and so much of it isn't really handmade that it's nearly impossible for your work to be found unless you have a very specific niche that people can search for. If you simply make good work that doesn't have unusual search criteria, it'll just get lost in the mix. A search for 'blue mug' will result in thousands of options. But if you have a blue mug with a mouse on it, then people can find you. Etsy works well as a shopping page that you can direct people to, though. Their interface is pretty easy to use, and everything is secure, but you may need to use social media and other means to direct people there. You'll have to math out what their fees  will cost you vs setting up your own shopping site.

Also, pound the clay out into a slab until it is close to the thickness you need, then finish off by rolling. The less rolling you can do the better. Fire it on silica sand or on a waster slab. Firing on edge may or may not work depending on the type of clay you're using, especially in the cone 5 firing. For porcelain or other bodies that fuse pretty tight it's likely to warp.

Also, pound the clay out into a slab until it is close to the thickness you need, then finish off by rolling. The less rolling you can do the better. Fire it on silica sand or on a waster slab. Firing on edge may or may not work depending on the type of clay you're using, especially in the cone 5 firing. For porcelain or other bodies that fuse pretty tight it's likely to warp.

Once long ago Etsy was a good place for people to find your work. Now there's so much stuff on there and so much of it isn't really handmade that it's nearly impossible for your work to be found unless you have a very specific niche that people can search for. If you simply make good work that doesn't have unusual search criteria, it'll just get lost in the mix. A search for 'blue mug' will result in thousands of options. But if you have a blue mug with a mouse on it, then people can find you. Etsy works well as a shopping page that you can direct people to, though. Their interface is pretty easy to use, and everything is secure, but you may need to use social media and other means to direct people there. You'll have to math out what their fees  will cost you vs setting up your own shopping site.

You don't have to mess with 3 different containers. Take 1 gallon, or whatever smaller amount you want to work with, add 4% silica and dip a tile. Add another 4% and dip a tile. Repeat up to 20% silica added. Personally, I'd use a quart and mix it with a stick blender with each addition. Just math out how much dry material is in that quart based on the size of the original batch, assuming you have precisely 5 gallons. Another way to do it is to weight the bucket of glaze, subtract out the weight of the bucket, then weigh 5% of that into a smaller container. Then take 5% of your original batch size and math out the 4% silica.

There's a reversing switch somewhere on the motor. It's a 3 position toggle, clockwise-off-counterclockwise. Make sure the power is off when you switch it.

That old Amaco is a cone drive. Under the wheelhead there's a large metal cone, and a small rubber wheel runs along the outside of the cone. The speed of the wheelhead is determined by the location of the wheel on the cone. Pretty simple design, and yes, they are heavy and noisy. The old Shimpo wheels were made the same way. They last forever, but if you get a flat spot on the rubber wheel it'll thunk every rotation, which is super annoying. If you want a heavy modern wheel get a Skutt with the built-in splashpan. They weight a ton and will run a lot smoother than the old Amaco, and they have a much larger splashpan and better speed control than Brent wheels.

Robin didn't do anything that fussy. It's probably just solubles creating halos.

You don't have to mess with 3 different containers. Take 1 gallon, or whatever smaller amount you want to work with, add 4% silica and dip a tile. Add another 4% and dip a tile. Repeat up to 20% silica added. Personally, I'd use a quart and mix it with a stick blender with each addition. Just math out how much dry material is in that quart based on the size of the original batch, assuming you have precisely 5 gallons. Another way to do it is to weight the bucket of glaze, subtract out the weight of the bucket, then weigh 5% of that into a smaller container. Then take 5% of your original batch size and math out the 4% silica.

Once long ago Etsy was a good place for people to find your work. Now there's so much stuff on there and so much of it isn't really handmade that it's nearly impossible for your work to be found unless you have a very specific niche that people can search for. If you simply make good work that doesn't have unusual search criteria, it'll just get lost in the mix. A search for 'blue mug' will result in thousands of options. But if you have a blue mug with a mouse on it, then people can find you. Etsy works well as a shopping page that you can direct people to, though. Their interface is pretty easy to use, and everything is secure, but you may need to use social media and other means to direct people there. You'll have to math out what their fees  will cost you vs setting up your own shopping site.

Once long ago Etsy was a good place for people to find your work. Now there's so much stuff on there and so much of it isn't really handmade that it's nearly impossible for your work to be found unless you have a very specific niche that people can search for. If you simply make good work that doesn't have unusual search criteria, it'll just get lost in the mix. A search for 'blue mug' will result in thousands of options. But if you have a blue mug with a mouse on it, then people can find you. Etsy works well as a shopping page that you can direct people to, though. Their interface is pretty easy to use, and everything is secure, but you may need to use social media and other means to direct people there. You'll have to math out what their fees  will cost you vs setting up your own shopping site.

Once long ago Etsy was a good place for people to find your work. Now there's so much stuff on there and so much of it isn't really handmade that it's nearly impossible for your work to be found unless you have a very specific niche that people can search for. If you simply make good work that doesn't have unusual search criteria, it'll just get lost in the mix. A search for 'blue mug' will result in thousands of options. But if you have a blue mug with a mouse on it, then people can find you. Etsy works well as a shopping page that you can direct people to, though. Their interface is pretty easy to use, and everything is secure, but you may need to use social media and other means to direct people there. You'll have to math out what their fees  will cost you vs setting up your own shopping site.

Once long ago Etsy was a good place for people to find your work. Now there's so much stuff on there and so much of it isn't really handmade that it's nearly impossible for your work to be found unless you have a very specific niche that people can search for. If you simply make good work that doesn't have unusual search criteria, it'll just get lost in the mix. A search for 'blue mug' will result in thousands of options. But if you have a blue mug with a mouse on it, then people can find you. Etsy works well as a shopping page that you can direct people to, though. Their interface is pretty easy to use, and everything is secure, but you may need to use social media and other means to direct people there. You'll have to math out what their fees  will cost you vs setting up your own shopping site.

Also, pound the clay out into a slab until it is close to the thickness you need, then finish off by rolling. The less rolling you can do the better. Fire it on silica sand or on a waster slab. Firing on edge may or may not work depending on the type of clay you're using, especially in the cone 5 firing. For porcelain or other bodies that fuse pretty tight it's likely to warp.

@tim209   220 doesn't really exist in the US anymore. Service voltage will be either 208 or 240. Residential voltage is 240V single phase. The kiln must be set up to run on the same voltage and phase. Typically you have to change the kiln elements to accommodate the different voltage. Also, kilns must be installed on a breaker that is 25% greater than the draw of the kiln, but no more than 50% greater. So a 24 amp kiln needs a 30 amp breaker, a 48 amp kiln needs a 60 amp breaker, etc. If your 50 amp circuit has the 6ga wire that it's supposed to have, then you can swap that breaker for a 60 if needed.
It sounds like a good polygonal (round) top loading kiln will work just fine for your needs. Don't limit yourself to a Cress, as there are other brands that will work just as well, and probably be easier to maintain. Skutt, L&L, Evenheat, Paragon, etc will all work just as well. Something in the 5-7 cubic foot range would be good.

Also, pound the clay out into a slab until it is close to the thickness you need, then finish off by rolling. The less rolling you can do the better. Fire it on silica sand or on a waster slab. Firing on edge may or may not work depending on the type of clay you're using, especially in the cone 5 firing. For porcelain or other bodies that fuse pretty tight it's likely to warp.