I'm ready to give up!!

Starlia wrote:

Not to be nosy or anything but your hubby can cool the beads in
vermiculite.
However, the beads won't be annealed until you have kiln. I do wish you
the
best in your search.

We're looking at that, as with anything it will take some time before he
produces things that will require a kiln, I would imagine.

We have a diesel-fired stove in the front of the boat that heats the whole
boat during the winter, and we're giving some thought as how to use it. I
wonder if we'd have the first diesel-fired kiln!

As for the best wishes, many thanks. We'll just keep looking and doing
research until we find what we need.

-Su

--
My Floating Needle blog at:
http://www.floatingneedle.co.uk

Kalera wrote:

Maybe you can contact EK Miller? WHen I bought my kiln from them they
were talking about making one for their German customers, so maybe they
have a distributor there?

I checked their website and no mention of anywhere in Europe as yet.

I did find one place in the UK that said they're planning on importing kilns
soon. I'd love something nice and compact but even a small kiln would be
too much for my sister to bring over in her carry-on luggage.

Eventually we'll get all the supplies in one place. Many thanks for the
help in finding sources.

-Su

--
My Floating Needle blog at:
http://www.floatingneedle.co.uk

Looking at this link:

http://www.potterycrafts.co.uk

Their small glass kiln looks wonderfully-built, and I bet you could call
them and talk them into building one with a bead door.

But you're right, unless you're selling them, a kiln is not essential. I
would simply not worry about it yet and focus on making cool beads. You
can always anneal them later, and then by the the time you make the
investment in a kiln you'll also have had enough practice to make
salable beads.

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Su/Cutworks wrote:
Shirley wrote:
I just typed hobby kilns in the search engine and it brought several

hits.
Here is some that may help you.


Thanks!

I've also been in contact with a place in Stourbridge that will be importing
kilns from the US soon. We were told that a kiln is good but not vital when
you're starting out. A crock pot with vermiculite seems to be a decent
alternative for beginners without being horribly expensive. Fortunately, my
husband is more interested by the day so it looks as if I've found something
to catch his imagination. He's been surfing today getting some more
information and we're waiting on a few catalogues before making the leap.

My thanks to you and everyone who has been so helpful.

-Su

Kalera wrote:

Looking at this link:

http://www.potterycrafts.co.uk

Their small glass kiln looks wonderfully-built, and I bet you could call
them and talk them into building one with a bead door.

I'm saving this all up and keeping the info in a file.

But you're right, unless you're selling them, a kiln is not essential. I
would simply not worry about it yet and focus on making cool beads. You
can always anneal them later, and then by the the time you make the
investment in a kiln you'll also have had enough practice to make
salable beads.

That's what I thought. We're pretty well up on things as we have propane in
quantity as that's what we cook with on the boat, so spare canisters of that
are easy to come by. We're also looking for an oxygen concentrator thingy
(technical term, of course!) and waiting on catalogues from several places.

It all comes to those who wait. It's just hard to wait until it all
arrives.

Thanks again.

-Su

--
My Floating Needle blog at:
http://www.floatingneedle.co.uk

Kathy wrote:

Su, you always confuse me. All the names of towns you list are local to
me,
even though I'm not in Britain. Stourbridge is the one that always trips
me
up, because here it's spelled Sturbridge. (can you tell I live in New
England?)

I grew up in the Midwest, which is as full of names from the UK as the East
Coast is. It's funny to go from Manchester Indiana to Manchester England if
you know what I mean.

We were told that a kiln is good but not vital when
you're starting out. A crock pot with vermiculite seems to be a decent
alternative for beginners without being horribly expensive.

Whoever told you that is wrong. Crockpots do not anneal anything, and
your
beads would still be prone to breakage. Vermiculite is dangerous to the
lungs when inhaled. I wouldn't do it - even if it meant I had to wait.

They didn't say it would anneal anything, but that it would be good for
holding beads while learning.

One good thing is that if kilns are that hard to find in Britain,
they should be easy to resell for what you paid.

This is why I'm not turning as pale at the cost as I could be. We're
reading up too as much as we can.

Stourbridge is apparently one of the main glassmaking centers or even
centres of the UK, it looks like a very interesting place to visit, so when
we do get down there I'll have to take pictures and do a trip report.

-Su

--
My Floating Needle blog at:
http://www.floatingneedle.co.uk

They don't have much info on their website, and it's not up to date...
you'd actually have to email or call them and ask. The kiln I bought
(The Fusebox 10) was developed for sale in Germany, but I don't know if
they were selling diectly or if they had a reseller over there.

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Su/Cutworks wrote:
Kalera wrote:


Maybe you can contact EK Miller? WHen I bought my kiln from them they
were talking about making one for their German customers, so maybe they
have a distributor there?


I checked their website and no mention of anywhere in Europe as yet.

I did find one place in the UK that said they're planning on importing kilns
soon. I'd love something nice and compact but even a small kiln would be
too much for my sister to bring over in her carry-on luggage.

Eventually we'll get all the supplies in one place. Many thanks for the
help in finding sources.

-Su

Kalera wrote:

They don't have much info on their website, and it's not up to date...
you'd actually have to email or call them and ask.

I did see that the kiln has an option for a UK plug. Now, I just have to
see if the shipping is ruinous. :-/

The kiln I bought
(The Fusebox 10) was developed for sale in Germany, but I don't know if
they were selling diectly or if they had a reseller over there.

Have you found the kiln to be suitable for your needs?

-Su

--
My Floating Needle blog at:
http://www.floatingneedle.co.uk

I absolutely LOVE IT. I've had three kilns so far and I wish I'd bought
this one first. It's just perfectly designed for beadmaking, and still
an excellent fusing kiln if I wished to use it for that (but #1 of the
three kilns is still around in fusing capacity so I don't).

-Kalera
http://www.beadwife.com
http://www.snipurl.com/kebay


Su/Cutworks wrote:
Kalera wrote:


They don't have much info on their website, and it's not up to date...
you'd actually have to email or call them and ask.


I did see that the kiln has an option for a UK plug. Now, I just have to
see if the shipping is ruinous. :-/


The kiln I bought
(The Fusebox 10) was developed for sale in Germany, but I don't know if
they were selling diectly or if they had a reseller over there.


Have you found the kiln to be suitable for your needs?

-Su