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stainless steel screws in a raku kiln

updated mon 6 feb 06

 

Mark Griffith on fri 3 feb 06


I am building my first Raku kiln. Is it possible to use stainless steel
screws to hold my Koawool blanket to the can? I have read that the melting
point of stainless is 2550F. Thanks for helping a newbie! Have a great
weekend.

Mark Griffith

Richard White on fri 3 feb 06


My first guess is that if it really is that simple there is probably some
other good reason why nobody does it. My second guess is that the screw head
probably isn't big enough to hold the fiber securely and it will just pull
through. A third guess is that the screw with exposed head on the inside
will provide a direct heat path to where it is screwed through the outside
can, probably not a good idea.

One thing I have seen in some DIY directions is to use a short, small
diameter carriage bolt (with the nut on the outside) that has a small piece
of extra fiber wool wrapped over the head on the inside. You have to be sure
the fiber is wrapped over the edge of the bolt head all the way around so
there is no metal exposed, and then just tighten the nut from the outside to
cinch the fiber tight to the can at that spot.

dw

Paul Gerhold on sat 4 feb 06


Mark,
Stainless will absolutely not stand up to the temperatures you are talking
about. Bailey has four and six inch Inconel Anchor studs which is the top of
the line method of anchoring fiber blankets. Inconel will last almost forever
in this type of application.

Paul

William & Susan Schran User on sat 4 feb 06


On 2/4/06 8:23 AM, "Paul Gerhold" wrote:

> Bailey has four and six inch Inconel Anchor studs which is the top of
> the line method of anchoring fiber blankets
Here's a link to another source of similar material:
http://www.thermalceramics.com/upload/pdf/514-1105.pdf

-- William "Bill" Schran
Fredericksburg, Virginia
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu

Ken Kang on sat 4 feb 06


Mark,
I use stainless steel 1/4 inch bolt and a 1 1/2 inch fender washer to hold
the fiber on my raku kiln. It has lasted 10 years and many firings, and
still going strong.
You can see a picture of the kiln in Robert Piepenburgs second edition Raku
Pottery book on page 119.


----- Original Message -----
>I am building my first Raku kiln. Is it possible to use stainless steel
> screws to hold my Koawool blanket to the can? I have read that the
> melting
> point of stainless is 2550F. Thanks for helping a newbie! Have a great
> weekend.
>
> Mark Griffith
>

Snail Scott on sun 5 feb 06


At 01:45 PM 2/3/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>I am building my first Raku kiln. Is it possible to use stainless steel
>screws to hold my Koawool blanket to the can?


Yes, stainless will work. Don't rely on just the
heads of the screws to hold the fiber, though; it
will tear through easily. Make 'fender washers'
out of high-fired clay to use with the screws.
Some folks also make 'buttons' out of clay and
attach them with stainless wire, 'sewing' through
the kaowool. For raku temperatures, even exposed
wire will last a while where it sticks through the
buttons' holes. You can also make shank style
buttons (with a stem on the back to 'sew' through),
which keeps the wire protected behind the kaowool.
This is unnecessary for raku, though it's a popular
method for high-fire fiber kilns, and a raku kiln
made this way will hold together better than one
with exposed metal attachments. Even stainless
will degrade and fail and need replacing regularly.
Kanthal or nichrome wire will last longer.

-Snail

Jeff Guin on sun 5 feb 06


Mark,
I haven't heard of using stainless steel screws before. Interesting idea. I
just finished building my first raku kiln and have pictures posted on my
blog, link is below. I made a bunch of ceramic buttons but found it much
easier using a piece of fiber board. I cut the board in 1-1/2 in squares and
used High temp wire to secure the fiber in place. It was quick and easy. I
fired the kiln yesterday and it worked great. I used 17 guage High Temp Wire
made by Kemper. I think 10 feet of it was less than 5 bucks. Good Luck.
Jeff Guin
Coon Valley, WI

http://mudwerks.blogspot.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mudhead99/




>From: Mark Griffith
>Reply-To: Clayart
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: Stainless steel screws in a Raku kiln
>Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 13:45:21 -0500
>
>I am building my first Raku kiln. Is it possible to use stainless steel
>screws to hold my Koawool blanket to the can? I have read that the melting
>point of stainless is 2550F. Thanks for helping a newbie! Have a great
>weekend.
>
>Mark Griffith
>
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