# Homemade Kiln for bowl drying



## doug1980 (Mar 28, 2011)

I've had several inquires about my kiln, so I thought I would just make a post. I needed a way to dry bowls a bit more rapidly than the paper bag and sawdust trick. My neighbor made his kiln using an old upright freezer, but that is a bit too big for my shop. Luckily I live and work on a Military base and have access to stuff they are going to throw away. I was able to score this cooler. It's metal inside and out with 2" solid foam insulation. I bought a small fan to circulate the air, put in a 250w heat lamp and drilled holes in the lid. I'm still fine tuning the method of drying. I have had some warping and checking on my Birch bowls, so I had to change my approach. Now I put the bowls in for 24 hours with just the fan on, no heat. Then I turn the heat on for 12 hours with the fan, then just the fan for 12 hours. On day three it's 24 hours heat and fan, and done. I've found the more bowls I have in there at one time the better result I get. Since I mainly use Birch I'm not sure how this method will work for Maple, Cherry etc. I do know that Spruce rarely warps or checks no matter how fast I dry it. As with everything else, there is still room for improvements. I am going to stand it upright and put wheels on it. Then I can build shelves it there and have the heat and fan on the bottom. I think it will work more efficently that way.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

I've heard of people doing similar, just using a regular 60watt bulb. This way it doesn't get too hot inside the box.


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## MidGAOutdoor (Apr 7, 2011)

250watts is a bit steep on the lightbill. i have a dead chest freezer and u rekon it would work for drying small planks?


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## doug1980 (Mar 28, 2011)

MidGAOutdoor said:


> 250watts is a bit steep on the lightbill. i have a dead chest freezer and u rekon it would work for drying small planks?


Currently we don't pay for utilities. :thumbsup:


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## MidGAOutdoor (Apr 7, 2011)

doug1980 said:


> Currently we don't pay for utilities. :thumbsup:


oh ok well do what u need to then lmao. anyway how effective is it.


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## doug1980 (Mar 28, 2011)

MidGAOutdoor said:


> oh ok well do what u need to then lmao. anyway how effective is it.


So far so good. Dried 30 bowls in a week. Once I got the "science" or "art" of it down, very little warping and checking.


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## MidGAOutdoor (Apr 7, 2011)

doug1980 said:


> So far so good. Dried 30 bowls in a week. Once I got the "science" or "art" of it down, very little warping and checking.


nice, ive not had time to work on the freezer.


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