Hi Everyone,
I was bidding on a lvoely second hand one of these on ebay but it went over my budget - boo!
I have found a website that sells one of these new and including the bead door and postage it is £467.23. Is this about the right price for a new one?
Does anyone know of anywhere that I could get one 2nd hand or cheaper than that?
Must sound like a right old cheapskate!
Take care,
KJ
£467.23 does sound very cheap KJ, check that there's no VAT to add on to the final price ;)
They do pop up on Ebay very occasionally but don't normally go for much under the new price when you add the carriage - and there's no warranty if anything goes wrong. There's a few suppliers of new ones, they're usually around £550-£600 though. Good luck! :)
Sounds like an excellent price to me too!! I do hope it doesn't have the VAT to add. The best price I could find was £485+vat. http://www.hobbyceramicraft.co.uk/sc2kiln.html (http://www.hobbyceramicraft.co.uk/sc2kiln.html) ::)
Thanks loves, I will check about the VAT. It was on warmglass.co.uk.
At the bottom in small print it says
Note:
Prices are excluding VAT. Quantities and sizes can be altered at any time from the order summary page.
:(
Still might be a good deal though compared to other places.
I am also thinking about getting a kiln and was thinking of the bluebird due to its wide size for getting loads of beads in, but lots of people seem to have the SC2 so I am not sure how.
:'( :'( :'(
I hadn't noticed that, I got sooooo excited, my mum is going to buy me the kiln as long as I 'mortgage' the next few Christmases. Perfect plan!
The other place I have seen is on ebay.
Do you know if anyone offers extra warrentees on top of the manufacturers year one?
KJ
Kerensa.
My kiln arrived from Quinton yesterday. I urge you to talk to him before you make a decision ;D
will do lovely thanks for that. ???
What a lovely Mum! ;D
I know, she looked after me for a week when I had an absess under a broken tooth too, she is fab!
As my 2 year old daughter says.....
"ahhh Mummy Cuddles"......
;D
I bought an SC2 from these guys, I just had a look, and they seem to have got a couple of tiny kilns now. They sound very basic, and I might be being an idiot, but if they can manage glass fusing (which they claim to do) which involves glass softening temps and cooling down slowly enough not to break, then surely they could do small batch annealling? ???
http://www.electrickilns.co.uk/ (http://www.electrickilns.co.uk/)
Hi
I looked at the mini-kiln, and it does say somewhere in it, that although its not fully programmable (like the Paragon SC2), you can control the ramp speed with a series of key presses- but I *think* you have to manually hold the temperature once its there, so you would have to pretty much baby sit the kiln for fusing or bead annealing (I know nothing about the latter).
To be honest, I wouldn't want to go far with a programmed kiln anyway, especially in the kitchen, but I think it would mean that you watch your kiln ALL the time, timer in hand - which might not be a problem.
I bitterly regret not getting a programmable kiln. I have a Paragon Caldera with a bead door, so that I can do lots of different things with glass. But it does take some intensive babysitting. I'm now looking at buying an external controller, but they cost loads, so I'll need to save up.
I'd urge anyone considering a kiln to save up hard for a programmable one rather than regret it later!
Definately talk to Quinton - not only does he know loads about them, he also has some very good deals. If I'd known Q before I biught my kiln, I'd be much happier!!!
Hazel
I love my SC2. I fill it up early evening, set it going and then by morning everything is done. Got mine from Paragon in Corfe. They had the best price I could find at the time, and delivery was really next day too.
Sorry to butt in, but because nobody replied to my message about kilns.....does anybody use their SC2 for fusing/slumping/PMC as well? I know I'd want to try that sooner or later.....*sigh* why can't I just have one obsession? ::)
Not PMC, but I've done fused cabs, and I slump in mine too. It's a good wee kiln!
Cool.......better start saving. I'll have to go down the drastic route of paying for it with whatever money I get for selling beads and jewellery, so it'll be some time :)
I've fired PMC in my SC2, just the once, but it counts ;D
;D ;D ;D I know I could fire it with my torch, but that sounds scary :)
I do pmc on my gas stove top - I won't even bother putting it in the kiln, it's so easy.
Hmmmmmm.....does it work with electric cookers too? ;) ;D ;) ;D ;) ;D There is, strangely, a 'microwave kiln' on ebay at the moment, which looks very tempting (not for beads, though!)
I saw that Sabine while I was looking for an SC2!
Hi all,
I am also sorry for butting in too!
However I am saving up for a kiln and am looking at the Paragon Bluebird and the SC2. I was thinking of the Bluebird for the space it seems to offer for getting loads of beads in to batch anneal. I know people also get loads in their SC2, but I can't imagine how people stack the mandrels/beads in their kilns. Does anyone have any photos of their SC2 or bluebird loaded and ready to go?
I might be persuaded to get the SC2 over the bluebird if I can visualize how I would use it.
Thanks
Carrie
This isn't quite loaded up, but you get the idea. It's perforated steel, bent to shape. I can get two rows of beads unless i'm doing big stuff, and once they've been in there a bit I can just pile them up on one side, if I need more space (unless they are fritty or rubino, they can stick).
Oops, Photobucket's not available at the mo, I'll come back to add the picture!
Thanks for trying to upload the photo Mary, it should really help me see how the kilns are used.
DD and I are off to "Gym Tots" for 2 year olds, our first time. Should be a riot! :o
Will be back online early afternoon. (If I am not asleep from running round a Gym!)
the bluebird has far more space for beads and has two bead doors.. the new bluebird xl is firebrick lined and can do fusing and slumping - but it is lower inside than either the sc2 or the sc3.. to be fair, and in our opinion, the price difference between the sc2 and the sc3 is quite low - and our advice has been to push a little for the sc3 if possible as the greater size and volume of the chamber is much more stable temperature wise as well as being able to take larger pieces..
the caldera with a bead collar is also a very cost effective way to do both fusing/slumping and bead annealing - and has the benefit of being a top loader - and also the base is separate so you can place your items and drop the kiln down over the top.. i can post pics if anyone thinks they will help?..
;)
Have fun Carrie-Jane!
Hi Q,
yes, please, whenever you're not too busy with the crowd in your barn :D As I said in my other post on the other thread, I'd rather save a bit longer and get one that'll do everything I want...........sooooooo.....SC3 or Caldera with bead collar (mental note).....will go hunting for prices!
Okay, here's mine!
(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o297/weemaryanne/Mylampwork092.jpg)(http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o297/weemaryanne/Mylampwork093.jpg)
And if you batch anneal, do you just thread loads of beads onto each mandrel? (sorry about the many silly questions!)
I don't batch anneal, but yes, that's how I used to do it. Bead kebabs! I trimmed some bent mandrels to fit in the chamber with the bead door closed (I usually have it ajar with the mandrels sticking out).
Probably a stupid question......
but if you thread loads of beads onto one mandrel then I am assuming that you have to get the mandrels perfectly level using your metal bracket holder thingy when loading otherwise the beads will just slide into each other and stick together?
???
Thanks in advance Q, piccies would be a great help. :)
I appreciate you posting them, especially with your busy schedule!
I found the following site with all the kilns listed including the BLuebird XL.
http://www.paragonweb.com/Glass_Kilns.cfm (http://www.paragonweb.com/Glass_Kilns.cfm)
I notice on the Bluebird XL the max temp is shown as 926oC as opposed to 1093oC
Would that extra bit of temperature up to 1093 make much difference when doing other stuff apart from bead annealing?
The Bluebird XL is hotter at 926 than the old one (648).
???
Carrie-Jane, I don't batch anneal now, but when I did I used to use my shelf supports to prop my mandrels on. You can supposedly just pile them on the floor, or in a pan of vermiculite, they shouldn't stick at annealing temps. Just watch rubino and some frits, I'm told they can leave "kiss" marks.