Making My Dustbin Raku Kiln.

OK here are all the elements needed to build the kiln.

I had some 3mm ceramic paper left over from building

my large gas kiln 2 years ago.

so I decided to line the dustbin with this first as an extra insulation layer.

and tied it in place with these ceramic buttons I made. and tied it with nichrome wire.

To cut out a base I sat the bin on the Ceramic fibre and pushed it down to make a circle of the perfect size. I then cut it out using a sharp knife.

a perfect fit.

I tied the top with the wire.

Then I cut out a hole for the gas burner.

This is the Ceramic Fibre.

Caution needs to be taken when handling this stuff.

I got some disposable plastic gloves from the local petrol station.

and put on a respiratory mask and goggles.

I had the idea, that if i wrapped the fibre around the bin and then cut it

it would fit.

It doesn't work.

It gave me enough for the inside and the lid.

I cut out a hole in the lid.

unfortunately not as square as i would have liked.

I fixed the fibre to the lid with the buttons.

and fixed the fibre in the bin with more buttons.

put some fire bricks in the base and a small 12" round kiln shelf.

I spent a couple of hours watching raku videos on You Tube yesterday morning

to give me a better understanding of the process.

But what worried me , was that most of the video's were titled

"Naked Raku"

I can tell you I paused for quite a while before clicking on the video.

you never quite know what's going to come up

with a title like that.

Luckily they all referred to the Naked flame.

This is the finished Kiln.

It took me about 2 hours to put all this together.