Heat treatment kiln

I am a guy that will use a pro to do HT, but I have a question. I have seen daisy chained O2 concentrators, with refreshed molecular sieve used to fire ceramics. Is anyone using that technology for HT knives?
 
Looks like it comes with a decent PID/controller that could allow you to set and vary ramp and soak times. Top loading is a bit of a pain for getting blades in and out while the kiln is hot, but it's doable. Like JT said, that thing is gonna take a while to come up to temp, including ramping operations. It's hard to say what the temperature swings will be as well, as it's heating and trying to maintain heat. I would assume with modern PID's, it should hold within a pretty tight window, though I don't think it's as critical with pottery and ceramics as it would be with steel. I'd budget quite a bit more for your monthly electrical bill either way. That thing pulls quite a but more juice than your kitchen toaster oven.

All that said, plenty of guys have used pottery kilns (and still do) to heat treat knives, so it can be done. Is it the best option out there? Not by a long shot, but then again, it's not exactly the worst either, especially if you're "geographically limited" on certain resources. I'd still encourage you to do the math on everything you'd need to properly treat the number of blades you plan on heat treating and make sure it'll be worth it in the long run. I'm not sure about your area, but around here, those pottery kilns often go for pennies on the dollar for resale value, so it's hard to make your investment back if you decide it's not going to work out in the long run.
 
Drew Riley said:
Looks like it comes with a decent PID/controller that could allow you to set and vary ramp and soak times. Top loading is a bit of a pain for getting blades in and out while the kiln is hot, but it's doable. Like JT said, that thing is gonna take a while to come up to temp, including ramping operations. It's hard to say what the temperature swings will be as well, as it's heating and trying to maintain heat. I would assume with modern PID's, it should hold within a pretty tight window, though I don't think it's as critical with pottery and ceramics as it would be with steel. I'd budget quite a bit more for your monthly electrical bill either way. That thing pulls quite a but more juice than your kitchen toaster oven.

All that said, plenty of guys have used pottery kilns (and still do) to heat treat knives, so it can be done. Is it the best option out there? Not by a long shot, but then again, it's not exactly the worst either, especially if you're "geographically limited" on certain resources. I'd still encourage you to do the math on everything you'd need to properly treat the number of blades you plan on heat treating and make sure it'll be worth it in the long run. I'm not sure about your area, but around here, those pottery kilns often go for pennies on the dollar for resale value, so it's hard to make your investment back if you decide it's not going to work out in the long run.
Click to expand...
Around here people just about can’t give them away lol. I had thought about converting one to a batch over. Add a slot to the lid that would allow me to suspend foiled blades connected to a wire on a retractable lift.
 
Yes I do have 3phase, and the amount of electricity it takes, it's not the problem, will it HT the steel if the time and temp are ok?
 
So.... yesterday I was exceptionally LUCKY!!!!! I found a used but in a very good condition KILN!!!!! YEAH!!!! It's a BIFATHERM brand, that goes up to 1200°c/2192°f... and today I ran a short test. Everything is working fine, all heating elements are good, no cracks inside, it is an analog temperature regulator, so I put in a digital one to compare, and there is no difference . so a ran it until 1090°c/1994°f and it's working and holding the temp for 1 hour. So now i can do my research and my own HT!!! Thanks guys for all of information ! I really appreciate it..
 
I would have to look at the specs, but most analog controls are just on/off ratio timers. At LO or "1" it is off 90% and on 10%, at "9" it is off 10% and on 90%, at HI it is onn all then time. That is fine for burnout and glass working, but for knife HT the temperature usually slowly climbs … especially at the upper settings. You have to monitor it and adjust up and down as needed to hold a specific temperature for longer than 15 minutes.

Make/buy a ramp soak controller for it and plug/connect the kiln into the controller (setting the kiln on HI or MAX all the time). Put the controller TC in the top of the kiln. The controller will do the work from there. You will now have two TCs to read the temperature, which is nice.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I would have to look at the specs, but most analog controls are just on/off ratio timers. At LO or "1" it is off 90% and on 10%, at "9" it is off 10% and on 90%, at HI it is onn all then time. That is fine for burnout and glass working, but for knife HT the temperature usually slowly climbs … especially at the upper settings. You have to monitor it and adjust up and down as needed to hold a specific temperature for longer than 15 minutes.

Make/buy a ramp soak controller for it and plug/connect the kiln into the controller (setting the kiln on HI or MAX all the time). Put the controller TC in the top of the kiln. The controller will do the work from there. You will now have two TCs to read the temperature, which is nice.
Click to expand...
Hey, yes I already have the controller. Tomorow my electrician guy will check everything and we will make it more "wise"..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top