Then my finger trembles while the wheel is turning and the shining
liquid pours over the lump of clay -
Unconsciously I press the soft clay into calyces like the flowers of
the meadow and thin and slender swells aloft the neck like a bird
flying upward whistling in the sky. In the sprightly whirls I
musingly make, hover butterflies in silent talk, while finally under
my fine pencil I steal the blue shade of the sky.

Only when the finished pot stands before me in all its refinement - Alas,
then I think of the master and his advice.

Designing and Constructing an Electric Kiln -- for less than $120
by John Gregg.

Two years ago, for a thesis on a Fine Arts Course at U. B.C., 1

built an electric kiln which could be fired to cone 8. I wanted a top
loading kiln to get around the door and hinge problem and I thought
that a round kiln would eliminate bending elements through sharp
angles, Tentatively I planned each ring as twelve 9" firebricks with
their corners cut, strapped in a circle of inside diameter 24", The
elements would fit in each ring, there would be eight rings and the kiln
would be adjustable to a variety of heights. Then I found out a little
about the electrical part of the kiln and I realized that I had been plan-
ning a sculpture out of firebrick rather than an operable kiln.

Glenn Lewis, my pottery instructor, introduced me to Michael Kemble
who showed me the kiln that he had built and loaned me his kiln build-
ing pamphlet -- Pamphlet EVL-S-1008 by the Kenthal Corporation,
Bethel, Connecticut. This contains the formulae for the kilowattage
per cubic foot of kiln, wire diameter, and size of mandrel to use when
winding the elements. I had to change my design as 220 v. would not
heat the chamber to cone § The kiln was now re-designed as 6 rings
high with an element in each ring.

For less than $120 I purchased 125 of the best firebricks, 410 ft. of

#17 A-1 wire, one carborundum disc (blade), borrowed 6 ft. of 3/16"
cold rolled steel for a mandrel and rented a table saw. This last was
my first blunder as a table saw does not give enough blade clearance

so that one has to make two cuts whereas an overhead radial arm saw
oO.