Drop Ring - Kiln w/o a peep hole

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Hannah Love
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 15, 2011 8:03 pm

Drop Ring - Kiln w/o a peep hole

Post by Hannah Love »

I'm preparing a project to go through a drop ring mold. The mold is a circle and I'm planning to use a clear base, clear topper and the middle layer if six pieces of colored glass that form a ciricle when pieced together. I've found a schedule to try but most of what I'm reading has folks looking through a peep hole. My Paragon kiln doesn't have a peep hole (16 x 16 x 6.25).

At what point do I open the kiln and I"m presuming I"m going to just lift the lid as little as possible see if I've dropped low enough and then shut the kiln back. If it's not dropped far enoug do I give it 30 seconds more, 1 minutes or what's a good time to check again?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
jolly
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:44 pm
Location: Port Townsend, WA

Re: Drop Ring - Kiln w/o a peep hole

Post by jolly »

Depending on your style of kiln, you will lose heat when you open it so it will take time to get back up to heat so the glass can slump some more. It will be tricky to learn that through trial and error. You could just make a peephole in your kiln. Just get a plug from a pottery supply or from the place you bought your kiln so you know what size hole to make. Make a hole in your kiln in a good location for peeking. Since it is a Paragon you could email them and ask what their recommendations are for location of the hole.
There is more to life than increasing its speed.-Mahatma Gandhi
Terry Curtis
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Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:26 pm
Location: Goffstown, NH
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Re: Drop Ring - Kiln w/o a peep hole

Post by Terry Curtis »

I do a lot of drop rings lately and my peep hole doesn't give me a good enough view so I always open the lid to check. The temp drops when I do it so I don't start timing when to look again until it has risen back to processing temp. As to how long to wait...mileage varies depending on too many factors to give you any recommendation for your particular project.
Terry Curtis
Kevin Midgley
Posts: 773
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 11:36 am
Location: Tofino, British Columbia, Canada

Re: Drop Ring - Kiln w/o a peep hole

Post by Kevin Midgley »

Wear a kitchen timer.
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