I'm Upgrading!

Yup, today I am going to order things!! It's exciting and nerve racking, and it's going to be a huge learning curve, I'm sure I'll be back at square one for a while getting used to all the extra heat and trying to figure out how in heck to program a kiln, but I'm dreaming of all things I'll be able to do that I can't do now -wooohooo!! Everything's coming from the folks at Artistry In Glass who I would recommend to anyone, great prices, wonderful service and normally orders ship very quickly. This one I'll have to wait a couple of weeks for because they'll need to get the kiln and oxycon in for me.

Here's what I'm ordering -



JenKen BK3 - I've heard good reports, it's a decent size and comes with the digital controller, it's got the bead door so I can anneal beads as I go or batch anneal if I prefer, it plugs into a 120 (regular) outlet. I did look into getting a kiln that would fire ceramics as well, but it would have meant having to move up to a 240 (stove/drier) plug which is just not feasible at the moment. This one is large enough so that I can experiment with some fusing and other projects if I want to. I know a couple of people with this kiln also so I can hopefully get some help setting up annealing schedules.

Nortel Mega Minor - Originally I was torn between the Nortel Minor and a Mini CC torch. The Mini CC sounded great but I was a little concerned because a lot of people were commenting that the knobs get hot, especially if it's being run on one oxycon. I got the feeling that to use this torch to its fullest capacity it would need tanked oxy or two oxycons. The Minor is a very popular alternative to the CC, many lampworkers use them, especially as their first oxy-propane torch. Then! Tadaaa! Nortel came out with a new torch! The Mega Minor - I read reviews and any info I could find on this torch, it is a step up from the Minor and from what I've read runs hot and really well on just one oxycon. Hot enough to do borocilicate glass! And it's RED! What more could you ask??



M15 Oxycon - There is a lot of discussion about what is best tanked oxygen or an oxygen concentrator or generator. I don't think there is much doubt that tanked oxygen is purer and can generate more heat. For me the thought of dealing with oxygen tanks and having to get them filled just did not work. I don't know why but I find the thought of a huge oxygen tank chained to the wall far more intimidating than a bbq tank of propane sitting outside my window. That said I had to figure out which Oxycon to go with. I chose this one because - it's what my supplier sells, so I can get it from within Ontario, but also this model has an oxygen booster available should I require one in the future if I upgraded to a really big torch ;o) ...no that's not on my radar at the moment, but looking at the charts for this model and the Mega Minor torch I should have more than enough heat to keep me happy for a long time! I know someone who's using this model and she's very happy with it.