The Kiln

Justin W.

Justin W.

Well-Known Member
Hey what’s up guys I have a huge opportunity that has just presented itself to me! A customer that I was making two hunting knives for messaged me the other day and he asked if I’d be willing to trade the two knife for this pottery kiln! (So I said yes contingent on it working lol) I’m super excited to add this thing to my shop and start getting more precise heat treatment F51AB703-B2B3-4FFC-973A-F6DDE14A9FC2.jpegF3AE20C7-B9D5-4516-85B1-FC95DFC7A923.jpegif you guys have any experience using this style of kiln and have any advice for me please let me know. Thanks for checking it out!
 
Justin , I think you need to look at the control system , this looks to me like it operates off a cone system . A small ceramic cone is used to hold a switch open , the cone is on the inside of the kiln and these cones are made to fail at a given temp thus ending the burn cycle.
I don't know how well this will work for heat treat.
 
Fred is on top of it! That kiln would need an entire new control system to be effect for a knifemaker's needs. By the time you spend the money on a control system, you'd likely spend enough to purchase a new unit.

I'd pass..... then use the money for the knife sales to purchase a kiln that would work for your needs.
 
EdCaffreyMS said:
Fred is on top of it! That kiln would need an entire new control system to be effect for a knifemaker's needs. By the time you spend the money on a control system, you'd likely spend enough to purchase a new unit.

I'd pass.
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Ed, I see a ton of those for sale around here how hard and expensive would it be to put a control system on it that would work?
 
I think one needs to look what the kiln is designed to do and that is to fire pottery .The other item to look at is the energy use , you have a large volume to heat
 
Just curious, I HT with a forge and am happy with my results. I see people use these though but I know nothing about them. They are large though
 
how hard and expensive would it be to put a control system on it that would work?
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If you're going to do it, do it right and use a digital control system..... for those you are looking at in the $500-$800 range for the control system. You may also need additional senors and/or modules depending on the kiln you are retrofitting. How hard it is...... depend on one's electrical skills.

Fred makes a very valid point about the large volume, which equates to EXTENDED heat up times..... which, in turn, eats up lots of energy (as Fred spoke of). There's a reason you see a lot of them around/for sale....they are "cheap" as far as kilns go, and are the bottom end type that are BARELY adequate for firing pottery...... when compared to actual kilns designed/built for heat treat blades, they are nearly useless to a knifemaker.

I personally think that by the time you purchased one, purchased all the parts needed, and then spend your time (and likely frustration) getting it retrofitted...... you'd be money ahead to save your pennies and purchase one of the kilns that Tracy offers.
 
I would agree with the comments to pass. Save the money and put it towards a proper knife oven. Also it loads from the top, that may not be an issue for some but it would be for me.
 
I thought about these also. More so to dismantle and use the fire brick to build a smaller more conventional heat treating oven. Thing is the bricks get brittle with the heating cooling cycles and with all the angles in the brick to cut off it would be a pain.
 
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I was in the pottery business and had a friend give me one of these , it was about 5 ft tall . I cut it down to 18'' , pulled the heating coils out , cut a hole in the side and stuck a aspirating burner in the side and what did I have ,a Forge. Used it for some time, it would heat up very fast.
 
You guys are lifesavers! Just thank you so much. Sure I’m a bit bummed but not as bummed as I would’ve been after I went through with the deal!
 
Freds Edge said:
I was in the pottery business and had a friend give me one of these , it was about 5 ft tall . I cut it down to 18'' , pulled the heating coils out , cut a hole in the side and stuck a aspirating burner in the side and what did I have ,a Forge. Used it for some time, it would heat up very fast.
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Now that was a good idea.
 
I agree with the other guys here saying it's not going to be good for knifemaking. I built my own, I think with steel for the casing, fire bricks, elements, pid, solid state relay and a box to house the electronics I paid around $650. Not an easy build but it works great for the last couple years
 
JeremyBartlett said:
I agree with the other guys here saying it's not going to be good for knifemaking. I built my own, I think with steel for the casing, fire bricks, elements, pid, solid state relay and a box to house the electronics I paid around $650. Not an easy build but it works great for the last couple years
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I’ve thought about making my own but I just don’t have it in me to take on that kind of project lol
 
JeremyBartlett said:
I agree with the other guys here saying it's not going to be good for knifemaking. I built my own, I think with steel for the casing, fire bricks, elements, pid, solid state relay and a box to house the electronics I paid around $650. Not an easy build but it works great for the last couple years
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Jeremy what did you use for a control??
 
I had some one offer me one of those for free years ago, I declined for two reasons.
It has a giant foot print in the shop and when you open it you get blasted with all the heat, then, how long does it take for a friggin beast like that to come back to temperature ?
 
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