Customer Reviews

Microkiln, Medium (Microwave Kiln)

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4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this product 3-4 months ago and followed their instructions step by step. Even bought a new microwave at their recommendation of 1000 watt. Have only had a few piece actually come out ok. These were thin dichro with thin clear on top. The other several dozen broke in process or burnt. No repeatability and 10 seconds could mean the difference between a good fuse and a burnt piece. Also is layer specific, meaning that the thickness of the glass plays a role and how long to fuse it. In the same batch you could have pieces that didn't fuse or pieces that burnt. I should have saved my money for the purchase of an actual kiln. Not worth all the time, experimentation, and glass.

My husband bought be this, the larger version of the Microkiln, which is available both here and widely online. We planned for this to be a temporary kiln, something I could use to make dichro pendants, tiny slumped glass pieces and PMC jewelry. (The packaging says it will do all of these things, plus small ceramic pieces) My dear SO bought me the kiln kit, glass, kiln paper, all the goodies. Because the kit lacked any sort of real instructions, just a faintly copied sheet of "Engrish" suggestions, I got very detailed instructions online (microwavekiln.com) and forged ahead.

The kit recommended a dedicated microwave oven, which adds about $100 to the cost of the kit. You can't use any old cheap microwave either, since it must be 1000W or more. Fortunately, I managed to scrounge an extra microwave from one of the relatives, which is about the only cost-saving measure I managed to do during this experiment. I cut the glass, put it together exactly the way the directions said and fired away, my fingers crossed and my hopes high.

No luck. The piece burned and looked like h*ll. My kitchen smelled bad. I blamed myself and tried again.

and again.

and again.

After four tries with slightly different but equally crummy results each time, I realized it wasn't just me. I manage to make loads of other crafts without problem, and putting together complex items without directions is usually fun. This stuff was coming out so badly that I felt bad for the wasted materials.

I put this back in the box, because I want my hobbies to be relaxing, not impossible. I am going to try and return this piece of junk. (I didn't even mention the almost unusable, tiny area for firing. (And this is the larger version! The tiny version must make postage stamps or something) You can make small, flat pendants in this. That's about all that fits in there.) There is no peephole to see how you are doing, and I think the biggest problem is that there is no way whatsoever to control temperature. The twenty-minute cooldown is far too short, but the kiln lacks enough insulation to allow for a longer, more controlled cooldown.

It finally hit me: this kiln is to a real kiln like an Easy Bake Oven is to a real oven. I cannot imagine trying to cook a turkey dinner in an Easy-Bake Oven, and I cannot imagine trying to fire real pieces of jewelry in this little guy. My apologies to the Easy-Bake Oven. I loved you when I was a kid, but now that I am an adult, I can cook on a better stove than one powered by a light bulb. That being said, this is not a toy kiln for a kid, either. I cannot think of any group of people who would be able to benefit from this kiln.

So, please -- save your money. There are better kilns to be found for just a tiny bit more money. I feel foolish for buying this one and assuming it wasn't completely useless.

You just need to go for small periods of times, 30 seconds, take a peek, then another 30 seconds etc...do not be in a hurry. I followed the instructions and I have made dozens of fused glass pieces. Very happy with this product!