Jen ken airbath series

[Teppojutsu]

Hey guys,

Im finally getting geared up got some steel to play with.

I'm considering ordering a jen ken airbath 30

Anyone running these?.
Are they worth it?
the logic seems sound to me even though i dont believe they will prevent all warpage issues.

The main reason i want to go all out on a kiln is because shipping steel back and forth to and from Alaska just seems to cost and time prohibitive.

The way i see it it wouldnt take that many batches to peters heat treat to pay for itself....and the thought of making a design and being able to make it right now and not have to wait for the mail is huge.

I thought about the diy route and honestly id rather buy a tool from someone that has been in the buisness longer then ive been alive.

Im chosing the 30 because id like the option to do bigger blades and the nice gal told me the 30 has the option of pulling one of the element sets off as they are built in segments so it would be a 21 inch kiln at that point

No trouble shooting and factory support is worth it to me because i feel one of the more importants aspects is the heat .

Let me know what you think

Thanks,
Paul

 

[John mc c]

Another option between big bucks new and diy and which I did is go diy but get the controller and SSR off a local electrical engineer company that supplies them then just put it together and you have the professionals to help with any problems
I paid twice as much for the electonic bits compared to online but still great oven for peanuts in the end

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Nice HT oven. The situation one has with those is the vertical height means you have to build a small platform next to it in most cases. The other big issue is how to hang the blades. Many makers make a hole in the top and cover it with a piece of 2" thick inswool during HT. They hang the blades on 1/8" stainless wire hooks. These tall vertical ovens aren't really suited for doing many blades at a time. They also med a dedicated 30 amp circuit wired with heavy wire.

 

[Gene Kimmi]

I have the 21" Airbath. I haven't been around any other kilns to compare to, but I absolutely love the Jen-Ken.

I recently did a batch of AEB-L that included 5 that were .070" and over 13" long with no warps. I won't say the airbath completely prevents warps, as I have had trouble with thin 15N20 warping in this kiln.

The kiln comes with rods that set in the top shelf of the kiln, then you use supplied pins through a hole in the tang to hang them on the rods. They also supply springs to use, but I had one knife release from the spring and fall in the kiln, so I don't use them anymore.

Here's a picture of it in use. I've normalized and thermal cycled up to 12 knives at a time.

 

[Teppojutsu]

Awsome thanks!
Yea i think im going with jen ken

 

[Teppojutsu]

Nice HT oven. The situation one has with those is the vertical height means you have to build a small platform next to it in most cases. The other big issue is how to hang the blades. Many makers make a hole in the top and cover it with a piece of 2" thick inswool during HT. They hang the blades on 1/8" stainless wire hooks. These tall vertical ovens aren't really suited for doing many blades at a time. They also med a dedicated 30 amp circuit wired with heavy wire.

Thanks stacy.
Yea my shop is bare bones atm so im getting ready to wire and insulate this weekend hopefully.
But its own 30 amp is not a problem

I was actually thinking about cutting a section out of my shop (shed) floor to drop the oven into to lower it if it was too tall.

 

[Teppojutsu]

I have the 21" Airbath. I haven't been around any other kilns to compare to, but I absolutely love the Jen-Ken.

I recently did a batch of AEB-L that included 5 that were .070" and over 13" long with no warps. I won't say the airbath completely prevents warps, as I have had trouble with thin 15N20 warping in this kiln.

The kiln comes with rods that set in the top shelf of the kiln, then you use supplied pins through a hole in the tang to hang them on the rods. They also supply springs to use, but I had one knife release from the spring and fall in the kiln, so I don't use them anymore.

Here's a picture of it in use. I've normalized and thermal cycled up to 12 knives at a time.

Thank you i appreciate the feedback from an actual user!

Any reason you think as to why the 15n20 warped and the aeb-l did not?
I just made my first steel purchase and it was
Aeb-l, 15n20,and 80crv2.
Plan on ordering my jen ken at the end of the month or so, sucks its going to be 350 to ship it up here to Alaska haha

 

[jdm61]

Thanks stacy.
Yea my shop is bare bones atm so im getting ready to wire and insulate this weekend hopefully.
But its own 30 amp is not a problem

I was actually thinking about cutting a section out of my shop (shed) floor to drop the oven into to lower it if it was too tall.

I thought that 30 amp was pretty much standard "household" 220.? The 220/20 amp that is used for the other ovens like my Paragon and my press is the oddball these days. It is the old window unit air conditioner plug. I had to have it installed in my shop because of the oven.. The only reason that I used it for my press was so that I didn't have to wire two different circuits on one wall.
On amore related note, I should go over to Lakeland and take a look at these ovens. That is only about 40 miles from my house.

 

[jdm61]

Do those ceramic rods lift right out? I am wondering because it sure looks like the opening that shelf is big enough on the long axis to get wider things like hawks in there. You would just have to figure out how to hang them.

I have the 21" Airbath. I haven't been around any other kilns to compare to, but I absolutely love the Jen-Ken.

I recently did a batch of AEB-L that included 5 that were .070" and over 13" long with no warps. I won't say the airbath completely prevents warps, as I have had trouble with thin 15N20 warping in this kiln.

The kiln comes with rods that set in the top shelf of the kiln, then you use supplied pins through a hole in the tang to hang them on the rods. They also supply springs to use, but I had one knife release from the spring and fall in the kiln, so I don't use them anymore.

Here's a picture of it in use. I've normalized and thermal cycled up to 12 knives at a time.

 

[Gene Kimmi]

Thank you i appreciate the feedback from an actual user!

Any reason you think as to why the 15n20 warped and the aeb-l did not?
I just made my first steel purchase and it was
Aeb-l, 15n20,and 80crv2.
Plan on ordering my jen ken at the end of the month or so, sucks its going to be 350 to ship it up here to Alaska haha

Most of the 15N20 I use is recycled band saw blades. I have heard other people say they have trouble with it warping also. The last batch I did I used new steel and had more warps than I have ever had. These were some chef knives at 2" wide and I even had a couple large diameter ( 1 1/2" - 2") bubbles in the steel after heat treat.

I'm not sure if they will do it again, but I ordered mine last year during Blade Show when they had it 25% off.

 

[Gene Kimmi]

Do those ceramic rods lift right out? I am wondering because it sure looks like the opening that shelf is big enough on the long axis to get wider things like hawks in there. You would just have to figure out how to hang them.

Yes, they do. I'd have to measure to be sure, but I'd guess it's roughly a 5" X 10" opening with the rods out.

 

[jdm61]

Hmmmm. Wonder if they cold supply say an insert that was 2 x 10 that sat on top of the main baffle? I would-be a tad worried about hanging something that weighed like 2 points on long skinny metal rods.

Yes, they do. I'd have to measure to be sure, but I'd guess it's roughly a 5" X 10" opening with the rods out.

 

[Teppojutsu]

I thought that 30 amp was pretty much standard "household" 220.? The 220/20 amp that is used for the other ovens like my Paragon and my press is the oddball these days. It is the old window unit air conditioner plug. I had to have it installed in my shop because of the oven.. The only reason that I used it for my press was so that I didn't have to wire two different circuits on one wall.
On amore related note, I should go over to Lakeland and take a look at these ovens. That is only about 40 miles from my house.

Ahh i wish i lived 40 miles away it would save me about 350 for shipping

 

[Teppojutsu]

Most of the 15N20 I use is recycled band saw blades. I have heard other people say they have trouble with it warping also. The last batch I did I used new steel and had more warps than I have ever had. These were some chef knives at 2" wide and I even had a couple large diameter ( 1 1/2" - 2") bubbles in the steel after heat treat.

I'm not sure if they will do it again, but I ordered mine last year during Blade Show when they had it 25% off.

Ahh makes sense i have read that as well about the bandsaw blades.

But the new steel you mentioned is concerning
Mine is from alpha is that where you got yours?

 

[Gene Kimmi]

Ahh makes sense i have read that as well about the bandsaw blades.

But the new steel you mentioned is concerning
Mine is from alpha is that where you got yours?

No, I got the new steel from NJSB. I was able to get most of the warps out during the temper cycles. I do all my grinding after heat treat, so anything left will clean up then.