Multi piece assembly tips?

[Cerberus]

I want to move up into multi piece assemblies; sherlocks, hammers, etc and wondering how to keep from bench cooling cracking. I also see a lot of pics of various components saved for future work still attached to blow pipes and punties. I have been kiln annealing all my stuff but early on i did not, used vermiculite successfully on small items but usually my bench cooling pieces all cracked.
My kiln is side swing front door so leaving open for garaging is not an option in my mind. I can see "finishing" a piece, annealing, then reheating for use it but i don't really want to wait until tomorrow. All the videos i see use bead doors.
How does one anneal stuff for later (garage), minutes or hours, without a bead door?
Not sure about adding some knd of curtain or flap to my kiln but mabe i could come up with something. Maybe i'm overthinking it?

[Emmett's Glass]

Upgrade your kiln with a door modification
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[Shattered Dreams]

whats with the notches in the door, for blowtubes?
seems like you might as well make that into a bead door, and problem solved.

[Emmett's Glass]

whats with the notches in the door, for blowtubes?
seems like you might as well make that into a bead door, and problem solved.

The kiln pics are of my kiln that has been modified several times, I used a sawsall to make the cuts, setting up the guillotine system was a little tricky but it works awesome! total workhorse of a kiln!
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[Emmett's Glass]

whats with the notches in the door, for blowtubes?
seems like you might as well make that into a bead door, and problem solved.

The kiln pics are of my kiln that has been modified several times, I used a sawsall to make the cuts, setting up the guillotine system was a little tricky but it works awesome! total workhorse of a kiln!
E

[Cerberus]

Clever, thank you for the inspiration and example! What I have is a small heat treating oven about 9x9x9 inside but the door has some kind of spring loaded inner insulation panel so I don't know if cutting the door is an option. Maybe adding a heavy blanket or door "insert" would work. I'm not sure I want to destroy the kiln i have but I will investigate tonight.
Right now I think I would rather buy a homefill than another kiln but i'll add it to the wishlist as my skills improve. If someone has a little old bead door kiln (chilipepper?) for sale cheap let me know.
Thanks again for input.

[Emmett's Glass]

Check Craigslist! I saw a my same kiln go for $100 last week. I also check garage sales, I found a Homefill that worked for 6 mo for $100 a yr or so ago!
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[STROKER]

So a little concerning the original question of multi seal work.
It is hot as fuck these days in my shop and I try to leave my kiln off as much as I can or as long g as I can during a build.
You need to spend time with clear and work your seals properly.
Learn to use an annealing flame and get a bunsen.
With that you can use your kiln until you get one that is easy entry.
I keep a fiber blanket around and wrap my complex pieces in them while they cool and use a bunsen to bring it back up to temp.
I'm not saying you don't need a kiln, you do but if you build it correctly you should be able to bench cool most anything.
This little double jesussealrecycler has not been in a kiln yet. I know my seals are good and I used an annealing flame after I finished assembly up to here. Then I actually did just bench cool it but fiber blanton vermiculite would have been safer. It is so small I knew I could get away with it.
Seriously though as much as we all love color, it sucks when we are learning multiple seal works. At first you need to see the inside as much as the outside of your welds.

[Cerberus]

Thanks for the input Stroker. I'm definitely starting with all clear, and really could simplify "multi piece" to simply say "tubing work". My oven does indeed have a spring loaded door panel so cutting the door is not an option. The fiber blanket will be my path, pretty cheap and i may be able to fab up a simple "bead door" that will just hang like a curtain over the kiln opening. If that doesn't work i will just fold it on my bench as you describe.

[hglasswell]

When bench cooling just make sure you've flame annealed... I do it all the time when it's just parts but I've done whole bubblers when my kiln was being fixed..

[brads]

So a little concerning the original question of multi seal work.
It is hot as fuck these days in my shop and I try to leave my kiln off as much as I can or as long g as I can during a build.
You need to spend time with clear and work your seals properly.
Learn to use an annealing flame and get a bunsen.
With that you can use your kiln until you get one that is easy entry.
I keep a fiber blanket around and wrap my complex pieces in them while they cool and use a bunsen to bring it back up to temp.
I'm not saying you don't need a kiln, you do but if you build it correctly you should be able to bench cool most anything.
This little double jesussealrecycler has not been in a kiln yet. I know my seals are good and I used an annealing flame after I finished assembly up to here. Then I actually did just bench cool it but fiber blanton vermiculite would have been safer. It is so small I knew I could get away with it.
Seriously though as much as we all love color, it sucks when we are learning multiple seal works. At first you need to see the inside as much as the outside of your welds.

^^^ x2 on everything STROKER said, particularly flame annealing, and clear vs. color when learning.

Also, buying or building yourself a polariscope will go a long way towards helping you understand where and how stress can concentrate in your work. Here's (http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?61862-Cheap-polariscope-at-WallyWorld&highlight=polariscope) a cheap and easy way to make your own. My second post in the thread explains things. But don't miss my post after that either - it's important if you go the DIY route.

[hglasswell]

Another way to get polarized lens is out of the 3d glasses you get at the movies that's how I made mine at least...

[Cerberus]

In fact i have two old tablets i was about to donate, i will repurpose one tonite and see what happens. All my sunglasses are polarized already. Great stuff here, thank you!