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Turbo Top Kiln
for Lampworking, Glassblowing and Beadmaking
| Item | List Price | Our Low Price |
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Turbo Top Kiln (Item #KILNTT) |
$300 |
$270  |
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Turbo Lift for the Turbo Top Kiln (Item #KILNTTL) |
$550 | $495 |
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Click Here for Crucibles!
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| Click here for Wholesale Customers |
One of our greatest challenges was to innovate ways for glass artists to use the vitrigraph process in their own studio to quickly make the products and shapes needed for their design work.
So, we experimented with building custom kilns, applying external heat (much as they had done with the bead torch) and with various firing schedules. Larr’s swap meet habit and his background as an aerospace engineer propelled the conversation past, “If it could be done, wouldn’t someone already have done it?” The experiments began paying off in rapidly produced, very diversified Vitrigraph stringers and sculptural pieces, multi colored “pulls” and rapid re-seeding of the crucible. We too learned along the way, many missteps, much time and a great deal of glass later, the Turbo Top was born, built, tested and refined. The final design for the Turbo top contains 10 rows of coils, mounted in a lid and suspended with high temperature ceramic rods to add additional heat directly above the glass in the crucible. In 2010 we added an additional safety feature, a Kill Switch to turn off the electrical power any time the Turbo Top is raised above 7 degrees.
What were the benefits?
First, with the coils directly above the glass and not on the sides therefore, the radiant heat from the top (2600 deg F) goes directly into the glass heating it up to 400% faster. With the Turbo Top, we can load our glass in the crucible and 1 hour later be pulling stringers, leaves or any design we want. Essentially, the Turbo Top made it possible to pull more glass, more quickly and with greater control and responsiveness! We have pulled 25 pounds in a single day out of one pot.
Which brings me to the Second advantage.
With the Turbo Top hinged to our existing kiln, we can re-seed the pot with more glass and be pulling glass in an hour. Try that with your studio kiln!!
