Yes, yes, I know. Lets just move along, shall we?

I've just purchased a kiln. I didn't know I wanted one until I heard the price. Its used, of course, and rather worse for the wear. The boss was attempting to get the unused or unnecessary crap out of the shop and offered an old derelict of a kiln to me for 50 bucks. Suddenly crap looks better. But then, even though I make my living by casting jewelery, tatooing machine parts, and motorcycle gang memorabilia, how much would I honestly do at home? Also, if I procure a kiln, will I then have to purchase a vacuum table, centrifuge, vulcanizer, wax injector and other needful items? Thats a heck of a potential bill to pay. No thanks. There isn't much else one can do with a kiln without these items. Plus the pyrometer on the kiln is busted, meaning I can't even tell the temperature inside. Translation: useless piece of junk at best, or oven to incinerate money. Never mind. I'll pass thanks. Meanwhile, my brain is working on the topic. I mentioned the lack of a vacuum table to the boss. The vacuum table can do several things more than what I use it for. Mostly I do centrifuge casting, but the vacuum table also serves as a unit for vacuum casting as well as vacuuming air out of my investment. This means that I don't need to spend the money on a centrifuge. Very nice. The boss then offers to order me a vacuum table at his cost (plus a very small bit, to be sure) saving me hundreds of dollars. I still don't have the money, but we're getting closer. I'd also be a very bad caster if I didn't know other ways to make rubber molds without possessing a vulcanizer. One can use a standard kitchen baking oven if one is willing to make some creative use of basic garage tools to vulcanize rubber. Hmm. Better still. The working price of this junk box of a kiln is coming down. But there are still a few needful details to address. Such as the busted pyrometer. After a good deal of looking, I found a brand name on the kiln and plugged it into the internet to see what might come flying out of that wacky place. As it turns out, the company is still in business and still manufacturing the exact unit. More than that, spare parts are still availiable. Perhaps not amazingly cheap, but still a far cry from the $750 the unit sells for new. I can do another 70 bucks or so for a new pyrometer. But then, what will I use it for before I get ideas and many hundreds of dollars of vacuum table? I can anneal the living crap out of anything now. I can enamel. I can heat treat things, and heat harden them. Holy crap. $50 is cheap. I'll buy the stupid money pit. I should be feeling stupid just now, but somehow, I'm still excited. All is well.