How do you load thro' the bead door

[Billie]

I like this system because I can easily place the beads deep in the kiln, and my hand stays cool, although I have to be fairly swift.  I can take pictures of this if anyone's interested.

*Edited to add:  What I'd really like to have along the back of the kiln is a bent piece of expanded or perforated stainless steel. I've been intending to get that piece of metal for 5 years now. I'm so organized.

Can I see a picture?  I have a caldera and am using shorter mandrels that sit inside the kiln but need to rig something up to sit internally 

[Sherry Bellamy]

Okay, I finally took some pictures!

The first one shows the pliers....poorly, I'm afraid. David put them in a bench vise to secure them, and used a drill to drill straight down the jaws, so each side has a lengthwise half-round groove. This involved a lot of swearing.



The next shows how I grip the end of the mandrel with the pliers. It's very secure, even with my big heavy beads.


This is how the mandrels rest inside the kiln; you can see my little bricks with the grooves carved out. There's about an inch of space between the end of the mandrel and the door.


This is what my bench looks like, in all it's messy splendor, lol.