Well the kiln is now complete!

This wondrous day was reached on the 1st of July 2006.



The final details that I had to do were the ventilation holes for the kiln's power housings (there are two, one on the main body, the other on the lid).

After this was done, I moved the kiln, OK, we moved it, I had help, the thing weights in at just over 200Kgs! So I like to build things solid, I know that the base is over engineered, but the insulation could be a little better, I might have to put a layer of 100mm thick fibre glass insulation around the outside of the kiln, just a hunch, but I think it will make a difference....

Here is the kiln in it's final home.



So now what to do? Well I had been discussing the making of large cellular mirror blanks, but to do a huge blank as a first thing for a new kiln is a bit silly, so why not do a smaller cellular blank, say the secondary mirror blank? Well this is what I decided to do.

Here is the pattern, silicone mold, and the wax for making the refractory mold to do the actual casting.



Here is the refractory mold.



I actually made three. Here they are loaded with scrap glass (a known type) in the kiln just prior to power up.



And now for the risky shot! This was taken at the start of the first phase of the cool down cycle, when things aren't too critical, the temp at this point was 1680'F (@910'C) and being dropped rapidly.



There won't be any more pics until the kiln is at room temp some time around three days from now, all things being equal....

I will post an update when things are all cooled down.

Next the results.

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