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Question:

I want to build a glass furnace, how do I proceed?

I want to build a SMALL glass furnace. I'm not working with glass as a business or even as an artist (yet!!!) I want to teach myself to blow glass as a weekend hobby. I've researched the subject extensively and the more I do, the more I want to learn. Yes, I've looked into getting lessons from a professional in my area, it just isn't feasible for me.I can weld (several types), I'm good with electronics (both use and construction thereof) and I have access to all of the tools I could ever need and I can get parts as easy as that.Thank you so much.

Answer:

You are probably tired of looking through stacks and stacks of projects on woodworking in magazines and books of all kinds for some instructions on how to do a certain project.
Lindsay okorder / You'll probably find more than you're looking for. It's an awesome resource.
You will need Kiln brick and kiln brick mortar, you will need a gas burner with jets, a gas hook up, the bricks will have to have a suitable size hole in them to insert blown glass (whatever size you work with), a plug of some size, and a pot large enough for the glass mix, with high enough melt temp that glass will melt at a considerably lower temp...glass can be fluxed to melt at , say cone 04 or so, therefore the oven must withstand cone 10 for safety. This is an intensive project to undertake! You may want to take some courses in glass and glass blowing at a college before deciding to jump into this...for it will be very expensive for the tools (tungsten) the kiln parts (even the kiln brick is very expensive, and is very delicate...then the cost of running a gas line, etc! You do NOT want to set this up in a house without a serious hood that vents to the outside. CO emissions from open flame gas burners can be very dangerous. Happy holidays and good luck
Small Glass Furnace
Safely isolating the temperatures you will need to melt glass and maintain a molten 'puddle', is not a high-school level DIY project. You will be working above the temperature range of most commonly available heating elements and controls, and would need to design refractory elements to limit case temperatures to a safe level. This is not something to try to 'eyeball engineer'. FYI: Even small pieces made from molten glass can contain dangerous levels of hidden stress.

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