heat treat with a Kiln

[SVander]

I am doing my own heat treating in a home made kiln. The kiln is 18"X6"X6" and can achieve 2000 degrees using a pottery kiln style controller. Is anyone else trying this and can you give me any pointers. I would like to make my own mistakes instead of copying other peoples.
Steve

 

[Kit Carson]

Probably the best advice is to insure that the temperature reading is accurate. An inexpensive way is by using a Tempil stick, available at MSC, Travers Tool, and most metal supply places. It looks like a big crayon that you rub on a piece of steel then heat. It is designed to melt at a given temperature and comes in a wide variety of temperatures. It will get you into the ballpark, within a few degrees.