Building a raku kiln

[Kirakat]

I was planning on building top-hat raku kiln using an oil drum as the frame,but then I wondered if I'd I'd be better off using mesh.

The pros on using mesh (as I see them) is that it's lighter, and I'm wondering if it's less susceptible to rust. The reasoning is that with better ventilation the mesh won't trap moisture.

The pros of the oil drum is that it's more robust and better performance?

What are people's thoughts?

Also, how many firings would you expect to get from a 10kg bottle of propane, roughly?

Thanks

Kirakat

[Rex Johnson]

Top Hat, you mean one that lifts the barrel up with a lever or cable to access the ware?

I use a 50 gal drum cut down about 10" with 2" fiber blanket set on blocks and the lid mad from the cut-off piece with handles.

It allows for a 12-14" round shelf. Though I don't actually do raku it works well for quick saggar firings.

Pretty easy to build.

[Kirakat]

Hi Rex,

Thanks for the info.

Yes, I'm thinking on making one where the barrel lifts up.

Funny you mention about saggar firings as that's one of the things I want to try.

Regards

Kirakat