What Kiln!! (for a beginner!! ;o) )

[Gayle]

Hey Guys

Ive been thinking about starting to work with PMC but dont know which Kiln would be best.

Can you fire this stuff in a HotPot microwave Kiln. Im a beginner so that may have been the most crazy question you've ever heard!! Hey I have may!!

Can you also recommend a good beginners Book for PMC working. Im going to do a jewellery/metal work course in march so I can feel an addicttion forming!! Im already addicted to gemstone jewellery making!!

Thanks

Gayle xxx

[paintboxcrafts]

Hi,
When I started I used a butane torch to fire PMC silver. There is a good section for beginners on the metalclayacademy.com website.
I can't post you a link I'm afraid because I haven't posted enough on this forum yet to enable that option.

Cathy

[snow_imp]

I fire my PMC and Art Clay pieces on my gas hob - you are restricted in the size and thickness of pieces that can be fired in this way but that doesn't worry me as I'm happy only to be making charms for now.

[Kwant]

I had not heard of a Hotpot microwave kiln till your post and having looked at them and read a bit, frankly they would scare me to death. One website I looked at warned of the possibility of sparking (turn microwave off immediately) and of damage to the interior of your microwave by excess heat escaping from the inspection hole in the top of the Hotpot.

So as a beginner I would stick to a torch as has been mentioned, they are not so very expensive and are quite easy to handle with a bit of practice, or the stove top as Ann talked about. The advantage with a torch is that it will serve you for other jobs too, like soldering bails onto your pieces and balling wire etc.

As to books, there is a bewildering array of titles available, Amazon have a fair few and a number of them have the "look inside" feature which lets you see a representative portion of the book to allow you to make a better decision.

Personally I preferred to type PMC/Artclay into youtube and watch some of the many and varied tutorials there.

[Gayle]

Aw thanx for your replies guys. Metal clay guru is a good site too.

xx