Kiln furniture supports ceramics and creates space for firing. Oven cabinets have a taper rating and should be arranged correctly to avoid damage. Shelves and stilts can be used, but damaged furniture should not be used.
Kiln furniture is equipment that is used within a kiln to support the ceramic and create more space for firing. When an oven is delivered, the space inside is completely empty. It is up to the potter to organize the oven furnishings inside for each firing to accommodate pieces of various shapes and sizes. Most oven manufacturers ship their products with a basic cabinetry kit and are usually happy to add additional components upon request. Extra furniture can also be ordered or purchased independently.
Not all oven cabinets are created equal. The companies that make it give it a taper rating, indicating the temperatures in which it can be used safely, and safety can be dictated by composition, thickness, and even shape. It’s important to use the right oven cabinets, as problems with the cabinets could ruin an entire bake. As many people have learned to their disappointment, a single mistake can be highly destructive, as seen when something explodes in the kiln and damages nearby pieces.
The shelves are the basic unit of the oven furniture. They are designed to be set up with supports of variable height. People can stack shelves and stands in many different configurations to house a fire. It is important to think about the heat distribution in the oven and the types of items being fired to ensure that the oven cabinets are arranged correctly from the start. Correcting errors during kiln loading can be time-consuming, and it’s easy to create a snowball effect when it comes to rearranging and rebalancing a kiln during the loading process.
In addition, stilts can also be used. Stilts are designed to keep glazed pieces away from kiln sides and kiln cabinets. Dripping glaze can potentially merge with counter tops, stands and parts of your oven, making a big and potentially expensive mess. Stilts are used to stabilize and support the pieces with specialized glass to avoid this problem. Typically small marks are created where the stilt arms contact the piece, but these can be removed after firing.
Periodically, the furniture in the oven can fail. It could break if it gets too hot or if it is dropped, and it can be damaged by drops of glaze and explosions inside the oven. It’s not a good idea to use damaged oven cabinets, as it could create problems during cooking.
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