neilestrick

If the weight dropped and turned off the kiln, then it reached the proper cone at that point regardless of how long the firing took. When you restarted it, it fired beyond that cone and melted the cone. Depending on how badly the cone melted to the arms, you may be able to clean up the cone support arms with a Dremel, but if not you'll need to replace them.

The grooves are probably not the issue, and also probably not doing much to prevent warping.
Waster slabs can be very thin, and can even be broken/in pieces, but should fully support the piece on it. It's just something that will shrink with the tile and keep the tile from catching on the kiln shelf. Put some kiln wash or alumina wax on the slab so it doesn't fuse to the clay. Waster slab does not need to be bisque fired.
No guarantee it won't crack in the second low-fire firing, but it's worth a shot if you don't need the durability of cone 5.
It's also possible that your tile is cracking from cooling too quickly, and therefore unevenly, through quartz inversion. You could try a controlled cooling from 1100F down to 850F.

2% cobalt oxide is a lot. Even 2% cobalt carbonate is a lot for most glazes. I would definitely test lower amounts of cobalt and see if you can get away with less.
Most chrome-tin pinks (reds) use about 0.2% chrome, which is very little. I just tested a light pink that only uses 1/10 of that! Vey difficult to weight out for testing!

Doumbek and Udu drums both make great sounds.  Fountains can make for very soothing sounds. However I'm not at all a fan of ceramic wind chimes. The sound of ceramic pieces hitting each other is a very harsh sound. Plus as a potter that sound is disturbing, as we generally try our best to keep our pieces from banging into each other.

The grooves are probably not the issue, and also probably not doing much to prevent warping.
Waster slabs can be very thin, and can even be broken/in pieces, but should fully support the piece on it. It's just something that will shrink with the tile and keep the tile from catching on the kiln shelf. Put some kiln wash or alumina wax on the slab so it doesn't fuse to the clay. Waster slab does not need to be bisque fired.
No guarantee it won't crack in the second low-fire firing, but it's worth a shot if you don't need the durability of cone 5.
It's also possible that your tile is cracking from cooling too quickly, and therefore unevenly, through quartz inversion. You could try a controlled cooling from 1100F down to 850F.

2% cobalt oxide is a lot. Even 2% cobalt carbonate is a lot for most glazes. I would definitely test lower amounts of cobalt and see if you can get away with less.
Most chrome-tin pinks (reds) use about 0.2% chrome, which is very little. I just tested a light pink that only uses 1/10 of that! Vey difficult to weight out for testing!

Juried gallery exhibitions may get you one or two sales beyond the piece you have in the show, but mostly it's just a resume builder that may help you get into other galleries or build your social media account a little. Art fairs will definitely build sales, because you can show so much more work to so many more people.

Juried gallery exhibitions may get you one or two sales beyond the piece you have in the show, but mostly it's just a resume builder that may help you get into other galleries or build your social media account a little. Art fairs will definitely build sales, because you can show so much more work to so many more people.

Juried gallery exhibitions may get you one or two sales beyond the piece you have in the show, but mostly it's just a resume builder that may help you get into other galleries or build your social media account a little. Art fairs will definitely build sales, because you can show so much more work to so many more people.

Soda firing for over 20yrs now....and I have to agree with Neil on this one:
Like many of the "bendable" kiln rules out there....just because you CAN soda fire in a fiber kiln.....doesn't mean you SHOULD.
Anyone who has used kiln coatings in a combusting kiln will chime in and say that the upkeep is brutal...and, even with your best efforts, you will get flaking.
You're better off going with an IFB and a VERY thin high alumina wash. Bruce Denhert did that on Peter Valley's IFB soda kiln with over 50 firings on it...and it looks new. You simply have hit the chamber with a stiff bristled brush after each firing to gently remove and loose coating. If it looks good. Don't touch it. If it looks like it's compromised, apply a VERY light and thin coat - skim milk consistency. 
But Neil is right: There is a reason you have never seen a fiber soda kiln....and only VERY few soft brick soda kilns...

Letting the kiln cool at its normal rate will not affect the the shelves. Doing something extreme like cracking the lid to increase the cooling rate could be an issue. Like Hulk said, use the heavier shelves in the middle to help even out firings.

Most buyers of used studio equipment are hobby potters, and people looking for a used slab roller are looking for a deal. Unfortunately Brents are not one of the more desirable models due to the way you have to add or remove boards to adjust the thickness of the slab. It's also a very long, which can be difficult to fit in a lot of home studios, and the cable system is not fun to replace when they wear out. There are good new slab rollers with infinite dial adjustments and a smaller footprint like Shimpo or Northstar that sell for $1000-1500, so I think that realistically you need to come in under that.

112 should work well for it, especially since you're used to working with it.

Letting the kiln cool at its normal rate will not affect the the shelves. Doing something extreme like cracking the lid to increase the cooling rate could be an issue. Like Hulk said, use the heavier shelves in the middle to help even out firings.

I recently sold some Brent parts in the classified here. It was a complete motor controller foot pedal setup. It just needed the wheel frame and wheelhead and large pulley .(This sold with days o posting.)
I also listed it on a few of the ceramic sales sites on facebook for national coverage.
Long story short is a fellow full timer had been lugging a Early Brent frame around for decades with everything on it but what I was selling.
I shipped it to him in the SF Bay Area and within days it looked like this and is again a fuctional wheel.
This is the same very early 1969-1972 flat top formica Brent wheel that I to own-Mine looks justslike this one except the formica is a bit more worn from use. Its got a 14 inch wheelhead
These wheels do not have the flange that holds the splash pan down. ( I put an new wheelhead with flange on mine two or three decades ago) but this one is still orginal.
These wheels are built with thicker metal parts (the deck) and ground flat with grinders to the formican situation s flat and are a bit heavier than the modern ones from the mid 70s on except for the CXCs which for some  early years was also made with theis extra steel (my 1982 CXC is really heavy.
Just seeing this wheel takes me back as a kid to 1970 when I went to a converted 3 bedroom house in Santa Monica to buy my wheel from Robert Brent.. The garage was full of guys weilding stands and grinding them flat  outside..
Robert Brent had a small bedroom as an office and did my paperwork-in one converted bedroom was a room full of motors and the other rooms had the electronics and an assembly bedroom. No one lived in this house as it was all manufacturing.. From there they moved North to Healdsburg Ca. in Sonmoa County. Since I moved north myself to Humboldt county in 71 I used to stop all the time at that facility to buy clay as they expanded to clay making as I drove north and south  many times every year.. They fixed my wheel for free or low coast as well. I have some great stories as well about that place but they are or another time. When Brent sold out to Amaco some of the folks moved with them and I knew them for decades until they retired. Those folks sent me a  replacement motor or example to test out for free (still using it) as they where trying it out and needed it tested . They did not use it on any production wheels it turns out. Its now a new day and all the old timers are gone.I miss those folks and how they ran a great business and took care of customers like me.
 

Most buyers of used studio equipment are hobby potters, and people looking for a used slab roller are looking for a deal. Unfortunately Brents are not one of the more desirable models due to the way you have to add or remove boards to adjust the thickness of the slab. It's also a very long, which can be difficult to fit in a lot of home studios, and the cable system is not fun to replace when they wear out. There are good new slab rollers with infinite dial adjustments and a smaller footprint like Shimpo or Northstar that sell for $1000-1500, so I think that realistically you need to come in under that.

Most buyers of used studio equipment are hobby potters, and people looking for a used slab roller are looking for a deal. Unfortunately Brents are not one of the more desirable models due to the way you have to add or remove boards to adjust the thickness of the slab. It's also a very long, which can be difficult to fit in a lot of home studios, and the cable system is not fun to replace when they wear out. There are good new slab rollers with infinite dial adjustments and a smaller footprint like Shimpo or Northstar that sell for $1000-1500, so I think that realistically you need to come in under that.

It's odd to have a gap between sections like that. It could very well be the cause of the problem down there, or at least a partial cause. There are ways to fix that with some work on the bricks, but the easy solution would be to lay a thin layer of fiber under the bottom row of bricks, to seal up any gaps. Lay it all the way around, full width of the bricks, and set the ring on it. It'll compress where the bricks fit tight, and fill gaps where they're not. I would not try to mortar the gap.
Smear some mortar in the floor cracks. Not a big deal.
Did you have a shelf at the bottom? You need one down there, up on 1/2" posts. Otherwise the bottom will definitely run cold.
When you load the kiln, at the bottom you should put low mass pots like bowls or tall pieces, pack the middle section really tight, put whatever's left at the top, preferably semi-tight.
Also check your elements with a meter to see if their resistance is correct. Could be the bottom is worn more than the others, which is not uncommon.

Unless you're really set on building your own, I would keep a lookout for a decent used kiln. From a time and money standpoint it would be the best way to go, even if you have to drive a bit to get it. The most difficult part is cutting the grooves in the bricks. Brick dust chews up anything it gets into, so know that any power tools you use may be sacrificed. Build the controller box so it can be wall mounted, not mounted to the kiln. Have a jumper cord coming off the kiln that plugs into the control box. The boxes I've built run about $200 for a 50 amp kiln, including everything but the controller. For a 20 amp kiln you could drop $30-40 off of that since you'd only need a small relay, outlet, etc. You can get a good 3-button kiln controller for $200.
The big questions are how much work do want to do, and how quickly do you want to be firing? Building your own electric kiln is about 10 times as much work as a small gas kiln. There are a lot of little parts needed to make it work. A control box alone uses about 20 different parts if you count wire as one part. There's also all the little terminal ends, screws, nuts and bolts, etc. I'm not trying to discourage you, I just want you to realize what you're getting into. I'm assuming you know enough about electrical systems to do it all safely? Start making a list of everything you need. It will be lengthy, and sourcing all those parts in small quantities can get expensive.

What have you cleaned with this? Your floors? Your walls? I'm thoroughly confused about this. Sounds to me like you have a sewer gas leak. 

What have you cleaned with this? Your floors? Your walls? I'm thoroughly confused about this. Sounds to me like you have a sewer gas leak. 

What have you cleaned with this? Your floors? Your walls? I'm thoroughly confused about this. Sounds to me like you have a sewer gas leak. 

What have you cleaned with this? Your floors? Your walls? I'm thoroughly confused about this. Sounds to me like you have a sewer gas leak. 

Serial plate is showing max temp of 2000F so it should be able to do cone 04. I have no idea how long the elements should last in that situation, but if it's similar to firing a cone 6 kiln to max temp then maybe 50 firings. It's a lot cooler than cone 6, though, so they may last longer. I really don't have any experience with maxing out low fire kilns.

You'll have to use witness cones and turn it off manually. Not the safest system in the world.
With a meter you can check the element resistance and see if the elements are still good.
You can replace the switches with general purpose infinite switches.
120 volts, 30 amps with two power cords is a really strange configuration, and may or may not meet current code requirements. I'm assuming the 30 amp draw on the serial plate means the total draw of both sections since the other box doesn't have a serial plate, so to make it work you'll need two separate 120 volt circuits with 20 amp breakers. Each section will pull 15 amps, but code requires that kilns be on breakers that are 25% greater than the draw, but not more than 50% greater, so 20 amp breakers. So you can't just plug it into both sockets of a duplex outlet because those will be on the same circuit and overload it. You need two outlets on separate circuits right next to each other. Extension cords are not allowed. If it were my kiln, I would rewire it for 120/240 volt service with one 4-wire power cord that would be on a 240 volt 20 amp circuit, but that would require a new control box on the kiln or connecting the two boxes with conduit. It's an odd duck for sure.