Pot Melt on Kiln Floor

Judd · Post by **Judd** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 11:13 am

As January approaches, I am preparing myself for some down time (aka, have fun and not worry about producing so much stuff).

I really like the pot melt idea, but have a small kiln, and as a result, my shelf is ultra small. I have been using the floor of my kiln to tack fuse pendants, and have had success in fusing there as well (doubling my load capacity).

Plan A: I was wondering if I could simply drop the melt on my kiln floor? My thought was to put extra kiln wash on the floor (using Bert's 80% alumina 20% kaolin solution), a layer of talc, then a piece of iridized clear (iridized down). The pot melt would land on the clear, and all would be sweet... right? I understand my annealing time will be longer, but my kiln floor should be alright. Right?

Plan B: I could roll out a slab of clay (1/2" thick), dry it, fire it, then put it on the floor of my kiln (or raise it a bit on posts if necessary). However, this would require more time in rolling out the clay, drying the sucker (and hoping it dries without warping), firing it in a separate firing... ok, so I am impatient.

Thank you in advance for any responses,
Judd

Patty Gray · Post by **Patty Gray** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 1:48 pm

Hi Judd,

How about using fiber board? Brad sells some and you can cut it easily. That way you know you are protecting the kiln floor and you can make sides too just in case it gets bigger than you think. Ceramic fiber would work also but it breaks down after one use.

What size kiln? What size pot are you going to use?

Good luck.

Patty

Judd · Post by **Judd** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 5:29 pm

My kiln is 9" X 11" by about 11" in height (actually 9" in height, the roof is pitched, it looks like a dog house). It is an Olympic front-loading kiln, with elements on the left, right, and back wall. It can reach 2300 Fahrenheit. I had to have one that used 110 because I found out that to get 220 in my garage would require me rewiring my entire house - over $10,000 worth of work. So, considering my limitations, I bought a kiln that was as big and hot as possible.

Oh, and I wanted a rectangular pot melt about 10" x 9" - as big as possible.

I'll check Brad's fiber boards the moment after I post this response.

Thanks,
Judd