mel jacobson on thu 29 dec 11
earl, your idea is perfect.
but, any non burning material like brick or block
works well. ( you know that, you are a smart guy.)
i like my kiln close to the floor...and i have a concrete
floor, so a few piled old brick work well. space them
a bit and plop your kiln on them.
for a wooden floor i would use some block
about nine inches off the floor and add a
piece of expanded metal. any kind including
aluminum from home depot...easy to cut in
a circle. if i was worried about heat...add a small
fan to blow air under the kiln. no worries then.
(i have never understood why people do not
use fans in the kiln room. keep that air moving.
and, it takes just a small summer fan to make
your room safe.)
the use of expanded metal for a fuel kiln base is
perfect...it lifts the kiln off the concrete block
and gives the kiln a breathing space.
many use hardi board....and that is ok, but
the kiln is stuck to the base and cannot
breath. it is a dead space.
the more the kiln breaths, the better it fires.
for an older electric kiln it might be useful to
slather the base with a high temp mortar and
add a layer of fiber. leave holes for the posts
for the first shelf. now you have a dandy base.
by the way, those metal kiln stands get rather
crusty after a few years....they rust and get weak.
that is when you switch to brick for your base.
mel
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
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