Beginner for glass... dont judge too hard

[Adam Richards]

Like the title says im new. but i need some opinions. First, how do you guys feel about me making a homemade furnace/ kiln? and second, will my money come back to me after spending so much on supplies, torch, etc.?

[menty666]

You're not the boss of me! I'll judge!

Nah, welcome aboard. Do you have any past experience with glass? Electrical engineering? Metal working? If you can answer no to all of those, maybe buy some gear first before you go all DIY, though hey..I admire the ambition. Otherwise, hey, go for it.

Furnace work can be more expensive than lampworking because you pretty much keep that puppy hot 24/7 until it's empty and then some, so you if you're not making, it's just out there burning up your money. With the torch, it's heat when you need it. I like that. Not saying it's cheap, just that it's not 24/7 expensive, more like 12-18/7.

If you're totally new, you'll wind up wasting a lot learning, but eventually you can make some money if you hustle and don't mind some repetition to pay the bills.

Either way, welcome! Make sure you try the search function before asking something you might consider basic. Definitely check out the newbie room too for lingo and some of the common questions. Have a sense of humor about yourself and you'll get along fine.

[Meerkat]

Before I could afford a real kiln, I built a tool box kiln, I have no idea where the pics of it are anymore but it came out real nice and worked well. I am pretty sure I followed instructions on the net, but I can't find them through Google. I would his be built this around 9 years ago though.

Just do a google for "tool box kiln" and you can see lots of pics of ones and it is pretty easy to logically figure out how to build one. Most pictures show a temp control unit on the side, which is of course the better way to go, but because I was borne, I built my kiln using the coils from electrical floor heaters, and the insulated kiln made it very wam, I used an external temp probe stick in through a hole, so I could manually control the temp via the analogue dials for the floor heater coils.

It wasn't pretty but it was cheap and it worked

Mine looked most like this


http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/30-Jan-2009/27153-kiln_1.jpg