Doesn't it look all shiny and new. I have it resting on a patio stone and then on the fireproof bricks that were supplied. You can also see that I have the brick fitted into the bead door hole. I found a thread on the Wet Canvas glass forum that helped me understand the programming, which can be a complicated process for beginners and I was all set to go! Except I had to wait for Jane to arrive, she was part of the inaugural first firing party, I think even DH was a little excited. We did a countdown from 10 and I flicked the switch - woohoo, it did what a kiln is supposed to do and started heating up. I was stupidly thinking the temperature would skyrocket in there, which of course is just what annealing does not do, the kiln temperature rises very slowly so as not to shock the glass. It was exciting to see the digits creeping up and I began to realise how clever the controller is to be able to take charge of not only the temperature of the kiln, but also the speed at which it heats and cools, and how long it holds at a particular temperature. I was also expecting the room to get hot and for everything to smell bad but neither of those things happened so I was quite a happy camper.
It was bedtime before things were finished so I had to wait until this morning to check the insides
First load was fuglies, just in case something went wrong. I'm happy to report that every bead survived intact - how exciting :o)
Earlier in the afternoon I had heard a huge truck rumbling down our sleepy little street and jumped up to see it was the delivery company with the rest of my equipment!!!
I tell you - a girl could get used to having deliveries like this! The bottom box is
I haven't had time to take pictures of that yet, but I can tell you that by the time I'd unpacked it all I was feeling quite delirious with all the excitement and almost contemplated hooking myself up to the generator for a dose of oxygen!
The beads look really nice in YOUR kiln :-)
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