1) You want to watch glass slump through a drop ring so you can manually turn off the kiln when the glass has perfectly slumped. Set the alarm for 100 degrees before the glass will begin to slump. When the alarm sounds, watch the glass through the kiln’s peephole.
2) Once you know the best shut-off temperature for a particular type of glass, you can program the kiln to automatically shut off at that temperature. But you have not quite perfected a glass fusing program and want to be near the kiln to turn it off. Set the alarm for around 100 degrees before you think the fusing will end. When you turn off the kiln manually, write down the shut-off temperature and program that into your next firing.
3) You have propped the lid of your kiln to vent fumes in a ceramic firing. Set the alarm to remind yourself to close the lid.
4) You are heat treating high-carbon tool steel. Set the alarm for the temperature at which you remove the steel from the furnace for quenching.
5) You are enameling on copper. Set the alarm for the enameling temperature. When you hear the alarm, you will know that the kiln is ready for your first enameling piece.
6) The witness cone on the shelf didn’t bend quite far enough in your last ceramic firing, so you added 15 minutes of hold time. Set the alarm for the cone temperature. When the alarm sounds, watch the cones through a peephole during hold. Make a note of the hold time needed to bend the witness cone. Program that much hold time for the next firing.
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