Olympic Kiln

JGguns

JGguns

Hobbyist here to learn
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Hey guys, I have a chance to 2 buy this kiln with a Bartlett 6 key controller for a really great price.

Even heat an paragon are always the ones i here come up when people talk about heat treating. But I figured this is worth checking out because it’s such a great deal. From what I have read this should do the job for me.

I was recently deciding if I should go with a VFD or oven and at this price pint I can get Both.

http://www.greatkilns.com/139fle.html

Thanks for the help.
 
At 9" deep it doesn't have much room for anything but small knives. The Evenheat KH418 is a little bit more, with the rampmaster controls, but is 18" deep.
 
But it's 12.5 wide... you could do a lot of work in there. Better be cheap, though. I made do with a $100 kiln off of Craigslist that would only fit a 7.5" blade before I was able to upgrade. If it's more than a few hundred, hold off and get what you need later.
 
I have one just like it. It was my first kiln and I used it exclusively for a couple years until I purchased a larger evenheat. Now it is my tempering oven. The controller is nice and simple to use.
 
Jarrett Fleming said:
I have one just like it. It was my first kiln and I used it exclusively for a couple years until I purchased a larger evenheat. Now it is my tempering oven. The controller is nice and simple to use.
Click to expand...

Does yours have the 3 key controller on it?

As for the size I don’t make many knives over 10” and if I do I can always out source those.

I guess my question would be despite the size, is there anything as far as performance or ability that I am not gonna have going with an Olympic vs an evenheat?

I appreciate the input thus far everyone.
 
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Those are what are called "studio kilns", and are used primarily by glass and jewelry artists. It will work for smaller knives. It will dump the heat fast when opened, but that isn't a big problem when doing single blades. It is best not to put a blade closer than 2" from the coils.
 
JGguns said:
Does yours have the 3 key controller on it?

As for the size I don’t make many knives over 10” and if I do I can always out source those.

I guess my question would be despite the size, is there anything as far as performance or ability that I am not gonna have going with an Olympic vs an evenheat?

I appreciate the input thus far everyone.
Click to expand...

Mine has the same controller as the one pictured in the link. The size of the evenheat is the main advantage IMO and it gets up to heat a bit quicker. Like Stacy mentioned you don't want any part of the knife to be too close to the coils 2" minimum. I mostly make small to medium sized knives, but I would still always turn them sideways in the olympic.
 
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Sometimes it's hard to see into your own knifemaking future. Of course you can get by with the Olympic or whatever works for you now. Maybe you are only making smaller knives currently. But if the widest part of the Olympic is 12" and you shouldn't get closer than 2" from the coils, now you are down to 8". What if you want to make some stainless knives? Well, you have to put those blades in foil envelopes so you have to factor that in. Only you know what you need now and what you are likely to need in the future but whatever you get try to get the biggest one you can afford.
 
One other caveat is these ovens are not door protected in the stock configuration. It is sold as an expensive add-on. However, it is easy to add yourself for about $10. I myself prefer the coils to be de-energized when reaching in the oven.
By placing the blade diagonal, you should be able to do 10" carbon blades and 8" stainless blades.

120V at 1800 watts is enough to do knives, but will be slower than a 220V oven at 2200 watts.

That is a brick and shell type construction. Nothing wrong with that but the outside will get hot, especially at tempst for stainless blades.
 
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