A DIY Project Burnout Oven and/or Kiln

Building A Burnoutoven/Kiln – For anyone interested in a DIY project.

Building a burnout oven/kiln is quite rewarding, for anyone with the interest, time, and minimal skills
required. It can also be quite cost effective. With this approach, you end up with something new,
compared to  - maybe - a good quality used unit,  if you can find one that comes close to this cost.

I found the “Handbook of Lost Wax or Investment Casting”,by James E. Sopcak, a good reference and
guide in the construction of a small (benchtop sized) burnout oven - or in my case, a 2000F kiln.

It is a 60 page booklet, published in 1986 by the Gem Guides Book Company, and repackages a series of
'How To' articles Mr. Sopcak authored, that appeared in Gem & Minerals magazine in the 1980's. While
out of print now, it is available as a used book from various Amazon.com used book retailers for about
$5.00:

Chapter 2 - “How to make a burnout oven” - includes the complete schematics for a small 1000w oven,
and a bill of materials for it, along with guidance for assembly and points for consideration as you build it .

I took this plan as a starting point for a kiln - as I wanted one which would heat up to 2000F. I also
made mine slightly bigger than that detailed in the book, and I will end up with a cavity 8” w x 12” h x 8”
deep, made from a combination of 2800F firebrick for top, bottom, back, and front bricks; and then used
the 2500F refactory mortar to cast the side bricks.

The cast bricks I made included channels for the 3/8” ni-chrome heating elements on either side of the
kiln, and proved easier to make than cutting channels into the harder 2800F brick with a diamond blade in
a circular saw. The "cutting the channels" approach is do-able, if you choose to go this route using a
circular saw or tile saw. You should be able to pick up a cheap diamond blade for a tile saw, for about
$10.00. I used a 5" blade in a circular saw for example. This option will let you forgo the cost of the
refactory mortar, but require buying two more bricks.

I used higher temperature brick than specified in the plans, to accomodate the planned higher
temperatures I wanted. My finished kiln is intended to run off of 115/120v AC on a 15 amp circuit – and
plug into a benchtop outlet. I specified the circuit requirements when I chose the ni-chrome heating
element I'm using, and used an element length of 18” per side, which was calculated as part of the
exercise. The ni-chrome has a maximum temperature of 2150F.

My materials list to date:          QTY &   COST

Qty: 4 - 12”hx12”w x2” thick Firebrick (2800F)                                      $24.00

        1 - 36” x 3/8” diameter coiled ni-chrome

              element wire + ceramic element bushings                              $46.00

        1 - bag of 50lbs of castable refactory mix (2500F)                       $35.00

        1 - Type “K” (2350F) pyrometer/ probe + connecting wire          $14.00

        1 - piece of 26 ga. cold rolled steel (36”x24”)

             for outside metal “shell” (plus self-tapping screws)                $20.00
        1 - Omega Engineering type CN7800, 8 step programable
             controller                                                                                   ~$125.00

                                                                                                                $264.00 Total Outlay

At this point I'm awaiting delivery of my controller, before I can finishing wiring, assembly and power up.
But based upon my construction experience to date, I'll likely tackle some of the other equipment projects
he covers in the book, including how to build a vacuum investment mixing system, a wax wire extruder,
and a wax casting injector. Other chapters provide procedural operations and information for making and
using wax patterns; investment casting; as well as making and using rubber molds.

One final note: as the book declaims - this information is presented for interest only, and the author (and
I) bear no responsibility/liability for anyone attempting to fabricate anything based upon this information.