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Re: Ovens.



On Fri, 29 Mar 1996 Neonmc@aol.com wrote:

> I've worked with several ovens when I was blessed enough to be teaching at
> Penland with Jacob.  During the last workshop I think we had four ovens going
> at once (it's great that you can be heating / outgassing in one location and
> "pumping" right beside it).  The oven I have and use now for single electrode
> stuff was made by David Wilson and is similar to some drawings that Jake has
> (I don't know if they are copywrited or not). 

The drawings I have are manufacture specs for oven construction.  I will 
scan them and post them later next week along with some photos.  David 
made 2 very neat discoveries. 1. Fire bricks take drywall screws very 
well. 2. Visions cookware makes for great windows into ovens. 


> Having worked with several
> ovens now, here are some tips:  bigger is better (in fact Ed Biggers brought
> his biggest oven to the workshop - maybe 3' by 5' inside - )  it doesn't cost
> that much more to heat big areas than smaller areas;  use 120 V electricity:
>  you're sticking your hands inside this box with power wires running all over
> the outside and inside - 120 V hurts,  220V can very easily kill you  (these
> heaters are vailable through elec.stove repair places),

Sorry to disagree with you, but either voltage can kill you.  Actually 
it is the amperage that will do you in.  Not wanting to sound morbid, 
the threshold of death is about 100 milliamps.  I have seen some ovens 
that have electrical cut-off switches that turn off the elements when 
the door is opened.  A good idea.  Also Ed's last name is Biggar.

> if you think you're
> going to need a large oven,  think about making it so that you can lift the
> top off with some kind of cable thing, and let the glass lie on some
> non-moving table.

Typical scientific glass annealers (lehrs) have a bottom covered with 
vermiculite.  This has insulation value as well as some cush.

>  Try to think (plan) how you are going to be able to get to
> each electrode to heat it with your inductive heater  (how about access
> pannels?) (remeber how much it hurts to stick your hand inside an oven).
> I think there are some great theoritical benifits of oven pumping.  In real
> life,however,  alot of it doesn't seem to work out as well as normal
> bombarding though; but for real low production/one offs I think it's how I
> would go (and obviously the only way to go with single electrode stuff).  

More to come, Jacob
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