Advice on kiln for small projects involving glass fusing and enamelling.

Thanks for that, I am sure if it is a bit difficult to remove I could modify a tool in some way to help me lift it out safely. Yes, I am from Bristol in the UK.

Where did you learn how to enamel?

I think I am going to buy the Skutt HotStart Pro Kiln. It is specific to glass fusing and I am so excited that I am going to have to go with it I think. Will be ordering tomorrow so if anybody has any major reasons why I should or should not go for this one your advice would be appreciated. Bye for now Robyn

At home, I just bought the required stuff and did some reading then put it into practice. I already had a small front loading heat treatment kiln which was ideal for enamelling. I haven't done any recently having been doing more glassblowing and other things but I still have all the stuff for when I feel like doing some again. Where do you do the jewelry and other glass work. I do most of my blowing currently at

at Farleigh Hungerford south of Bath although I know of another studio I can hire nearby as well. LGC do courses for slumping, fusing, fused glass jewelry, glassblowing, but as you are local maybe you know them already.

As you said, this kiln is specific for glass fusing.

Having done a bit of enamelling, I can't imagine how one would ever use a top-opening kiln to enamel with. The danger of burning ones' self and the heat loss in repeatedly opening and closing a kiln top makes it a bit of an impossibility from where I sit. Lifting the lid to inspect your progress in firing is going to lose your heat. That's why enamelling kilns have "peep-holes" in the side door...

The firing times for enamelling are short. I don't know how a top-opening kiln could recover temp fast enough with any predictibility to ever give you any repeatability in your firing times.

What is your small front loading heat treatment kiln called? Was it new or second hand and where did you get it?

No, I don't know about the LGC so that is very useful info for me. I did a two day workshop with a glass artist in Bristol and that is it basically, also self taught. I am keen to do more workshops and there is 'Creative Glass' in Bristol that I could go to for courses but at the moment funds are low, especially if I am looking to buy a kiln.

thanks again

I get what you are saying, interesting, maybe I will just have to invest in another smaller kiln if I am keen on enamelling. Thanks anyway.

I think you will have problems with a top loading for enameling. Do this: Cut a cardboard box about the size of a kiln with a door hinged on one edge. Make a dummy piece with a pattern with salt, sugar, talc, or enamel on a piece of metal or thin cardboard. Try to set the piece into the box with the lid on top without disturbing the pattern. Then try to pick it up. While easy with a front opening with a metal spatula, it is much harder to get in and out with some kind of L shaped tool. I have tried doing this with fused glass bits and enameled glass and it is a real hassle.

I have no idea why no one else has suggested this... you have 2 uses for the kiln, fuse with it as a top loader, when you want to enamel, turn the kiln on it's side.

Nothing says you can't do it, you will have heat all around, you will need a

1/2 shelf to go from one edge to the other at the bottom of the parallel vertical sides, still want to have the little angles cut out so heat from the bottom can rise above the shelf area, need some sort of "catch" to keep the door closed, position the hinge up top.

This seems like an obvious idea to me, but maybe I'm twisted, or just cheap.