Can I add a bead door to my Jen Ken Kiln?

[Refined with Fire]

Hi all--

I have been using a top-loading Jen-Ken kiln for the past year.
Mostly I do "batch annealing" and place the beads in cold and ramp it up slowly. However, I just started to do larger beads and some sculptural beads that do not like being put in a fiber blanket! (They crack!) So I want to put them in my kiln, but I cannot do it w/ my top-loader...I have burned myself MANY times trying and it just isn't worth the hassle!

So, here is my question, can I buy a ring with a bead door for the kiln that I already have and replace the center ring? If so, where do I find one and what is the approx. cost? I would reather do this if possible then invest in a brand new kiln!

Thank you!


--Teresa Marie

[EvanH]

Teresa -

I just went through a long discussion on the same topic with Mark Wilson. Ultimately I took his suggestion that instead of adding a door to my top loading kiln, I'm going to invest in a long pliers to gently set the beads down inside my toploader. You should be able to pick up a set of really long needlenose (Long Pliers (http://www.mytoolstore.com/sk/sk03186.html ) about $30.00 new) to set the mandrel down with, but handle securly.

Evan -

[encantado]

I use those long hemostat things to put my beads in! Also, it might be cheaper to get the pliers and the heat resistant gloves? good luck