The Paragon F Kilns For Annealing Beads And Glass, Glass Casting, Fusing, Sagging, And Slumping, LampWork, And Heat Treating.

Paragon F kilns are generally used for annealing beads, casting, fusing, moulding, sagging, and slumping glass, lampworking, and heat treating, although they have other applications. They're 925°C or 650°C kilns with digital programmers, in Paragon blue or customised black, blue, jade, navy, pink, purple, or turquoise. Learn about Paragon F kilns on this page.

What is lampworking? Very briefly, it's the traditional name for glasswork that uses a flame to melt glass rods and tubes. As the glass softens, it's shaped by turning and using tools.

Early lampworkers used an oil-lamp, and blew air into the flame through a pipe. Later, propane, natural gas, or butane torches replaced the lamp, although kilns are now increasingly popular, particularly for annealing.

There are four 925°C versions, in ascending order of internal size: the F120, F130, F200, and F240. They're square or rectangular, front-opening, table-top kilns with firebrick interiors, spring-assisted guillotine doors, punty-rod bead-annealing doors, adjustable bead-mandrel holders, and Sentry Xpress 3-Key programmers. In the US, the F130 is called the Elite.

And one 650°C version: the F500. It's a rectangular, front-opening, table-top kiln with a firebrick interior, a spring-assisted guillotine door, punty-rod bead-annealing doors, adjustable bead-mandrel holders, and a Sentry Xpress 3-Key programmer.

Prices here are transparent: they're for UK-EU voltage, CE marked, CL CSA approved, and TUV tested kilns, and include comprehensive instructions, UK VAT, and free continuing support from a top-tier international distributor.

For prices, trading terms, and secure on-line shopping, use the shop link below the menu bar near the top-right of any page. The order form is on the shop page, after the price list near the bottom.

Kilns that weigh more than 30kg can't be delivered by a regular parcel-service van: they need a tail-lift lorry with a hydraulic pallet trolley. GB-mainland delivery charges are on the shop page. For other locations, call or mail

If you want to look at specific F kilns and don't need to read any general introductions, compare or review the main features, or consider other kilns, use the button below to jump down the page. I'll start with the smallest.

The Paragon F Kilns For Annealing Beads And Glass, Glass Casting, Fusing, Sagging, And Slumping, LampWork, And Heat Treating.

Paragon F kilns are generally used for annealing beads, casting, fusing, moulding, sagging, and slumping glass, lampworking, and heat treating, although they have other applications.

There are four 925°C versions, in ascending order of internal size: the F120, F130, F200, and F240. They're square or rectangular, front-opening, table-top kilns with firebrick interiors, spring-assisted guillotine doors, punty-rod bead-annealing doors, adjustable bead-mandrel holders, and Sentry Xpress 3-Key programmers. In the US, the F130 is called the Elite.

And one 650°C version: the F500. It's a rectangular, front-opening, table-top kiln with a firebrick interior, a spring-assisted guillotine door, punty-rod bead-annealing doors, adjustable bead-mandrel holders, and a Sentry Xpress 3-Key programmer.

Paragon's US kiln names often include numbers to represent dimensions in inches, not mm, or features or version numbers. However, the system was started years ago and some kiln names are now inconsistent or inaccurate.

For the F kilns, the numbers 120, 130, 200, 240, and 500 don't represent any dimension: they're just model numbers. So rely on the descriptions here.

Every version is described in detail below so, although there's a comparative table and photos, I recommend that you set aside some time and read about them.

This internet resource is very comprehensive so is much easier to use on a computer than on a tablet or a phone. If you want to compare the different versions you could print the relevant pages. They should print correctly on A4 paper but check first in Print Preview so that nothing goes missing, particularly if you normally use wide margins. Fast or economy print will use less ink.

Yours can be in Paragon blue or customised berry, black, jade, navy, pink, purple, or turquoise: although customised kilns are made to order, so can't be returned if the colour isn't exactly as in the photo.

They normally have the popular Sentry Xpress 3-key programmer. Features include twenty-five free-to-set sequences, each one with up to twenty segments.

The Sentry Xpress 3-key can be upgraded to an enhanced Sentry 12-key. Features include thirty-five free-to-set sequences, each one with up to twenty segments, and automatic control over hardware options: an electric kiln vent, a gas injection system, and a USB computer interface. However, in my opinion, for these kilns it's more of a preference than a useful upgrade.

Alternatively, you can choose an advanced touch-screen Sentinel Smart Touch. Features include those of the Sentry 12-key and real-time displays of voltage and current, a novice mode with prompts, firing sequences presented graphically, and wifi connectivity: so a functional upgrade not just a design preference.

When the programmer turns the elements off at, for example, 700°C, residual heat will continue to increase the temperature briefly. A small kiln might overshoot to 715°C before dropping back down. A software modification slows down the heating just before the target temperature, reducing any overshoot and improving the accuracy.

Programmers allow you to set up sequences, each one with multiple heating, holding, or cooling segments: so you can choose the heating and cooling rates, target temperatures, and hold times, save the sequences, and re-use them.

Being able to create, edit, and save your own programmes is important because, having experimented and diversified, most people fire materials, or combinations of materials, at different temperatures and for different times than are recommended.

The elements are in dropped recessed grooves in the firebricks. The kilns are fitted with a switch that cuts off power to the elements when the kiln is opened: a UK-EU legal safety requirement.

They have special-limit nickel-chromium K-type thermocouples. These respond quickly to changes in temperature, resist corrosion, and have an error margin of less than 0.4% instead of the typical 0.8%. However, for continual high-temperature high-precision professional use, these can be upgraded to platinum-rhodium S-types.

Some kilns are too heavy or too large for a regular table or worktop. If you can't find a strong table locally, Paragon makes a strong steel table, 768mm x 768mm x 718mm high, with two shelves for your accessories, tools, and work. The luxury version, with castors, is 63mm taller.

If you decide to buy on old wood table, or use a self-assembly table with screw-in legs, its rigidity is vital otherwise it might twist and collapse.

The US-international kilns don't come with a shelf or posts or kiln wash so, if you don't need a shelf, you won't have to pay for one. However, I've recommended pro kits because a durable heavy cordierite shelf resists thermal fracture, provides a smooth stable work surface, protects the floor of the kiln's interior from glass accidents, and helps to even out any small temperature deviations during annealing, enamelling, firing, fusing, and heat treating as the elements turn on and off.

For help, or in the unlikely event of a fault, you can mail or call an engineer in the UK. However, checks, adjustments, and repairs are simple, needing little more than a PosiDriv screwdriver: watch the on-line videos using the watch-videos link or read the help pages using use the help link, both below the menu bar near the top of any page. Alternatively, we can service the kiln in our workshop at Cherry Heaven.

The Paragon F Kilns For Annealing Beads And Glass, Glass Casting, Fusing, Sagging, And Slumping, LampWork, And Heat Treating.

You can use these kilns for annealing beads and glass, casting, fusing, sagging, slumping, dichroic glasses, fire polishing, glass art, lampwork, pâte de verre, and staining glass.

You can work with most popular small-scale materials such as Accent Gold, Art Clay metal clays, BullsEye glasses, dichroic glasses, enamels, GlasClay, Image Transfer Solution, Metal Clay Veneer, PMC silver clay, Prometheus bronze clay, ProCopper clay, and SilverEtch.
And an increasingly diverse range of other metal clays, such as Cinter, Clay Mania, Creative, Goldie, Hadar Jacobson, Metal Adventures, Meteor, Noble, and PMC Sterling.

You can make architectural parts, beads, bowls, candleholders, chandeliers, decorations, figurines, glass-art, jewellery, miniatures, model parts, necklaces, ornaments, pendants, plates, souvenirs, stained-glass designs, tableware, tiaras, and tiles, as unique hand-crafted pieces or repeatable stock for sale.

They're ideal for your arts centre, college, commercial glassworks, course venue, engineering works, glass studio, school, shared craft units, or technical facility, or university.

Is A Paragon F Kiln Going To Be The Best Long Term Choice?

The F kilns are hot enough to work with most glass processes, within their size and temperature limits. However, if you think that a top-opener, smaller, larger, or hotter kiln might be more versatile, here are some suggestions:

Bead-annealing kilns generally have a maximum temperature of 650°C. For these, look at the BlueBird. However, other kilns have bead doors: the small 1290°C Caldera B and 1095°C SC2B, the medium 1290°C Xpress E12B, and the larger 925°C Fusion 14B. These are all hotter than the BlueBird, so more versatile.

Glass kilns generally have a maximum temperature of 925°C. For these, look at the F Series, Fusion:CS Series, GL Series, or Pearl Series. These are not hot enough for ceramics and porcelain.

Jewellery, silver clay, and enamelling kilns generally have a maximum temperature of 1095°C. For these, look at the small SC Series or the medium Xpress Series. The SC series are not hot enough for ceramics and porcelain.

Vitrigraph kilns generally have a maximum temperature of 1095°C. For these, look at the small Caldera or the medium Vitrigraph.

Ceramics kilns generally have a maximum temperature of 1290°C. For these, look at the small Caldera Series and FireFly Series, medium Xpress Series, or large Janus Series, PMT Series, and TNF Series. These can also be used for glass work.

Heat-treating kilns generally have a maximum temperature of 1095°C or 1290°C. For these, look at the HT Series and PMT Series. Although they look similar, the HT has a bottom-hinged door and the PMT has a side-hinged door.

Knife-making kilns generally have a maximum temperature of 1290°C. The KM Series are made for depth rather than width. You can choose a guillotine, drop-down, or a side-hinged door.

The W Series have a top vent so are usually used for jewellery moulds and lost-wax burnout. For lost-wax casting there are optional wax trays. The small SC Series and most of the medium Xpress Series also have top vents.

To learn more about these and other kilns, use the appropriate links below the menu bar near the top of the page. And remember that each series has kilns of different sizes with different options.

The Paragon F120 For Annealing Beads And Glass, Glass Casting, Fusing, Sagging, And Slumping, LampWork, And Heat Treating.

The Paragon F120 is a 925°C, square, plug-in, front-opening, table-top, firebrick kiln, with a ramp-hold Sentry Xpress 3-key programmer. Choose Paragon blue or customised berry, black, jade, navy, pink, purple, or turquoise.

Paragon uses inches, not mm. However, for the F120, the number 120 doesn't mean it's 120 inches anywhere. It's just a version number, so rely on the description here. It's about 11 inches wide, 11 inches deep, and 7 inches high inside.

The UK-EU kiln is rated at 230V-240V 1680W, so can use a regular mains socket. It's fitted with a switch that cuts off power to the elements when the kiln is opened: a UK-EU legal safety requirement. However, never get careless: kilns are very hot and connected to the mains.

The external dimensions are 521mm x 584mm x 508mm high. The case has slots for air circulation and an integral stand with four rubber feet. The base and mandrel holder is a separate part, shown in the second photo. The vertical-drop door is spring-assisted for easy opening. The shipping weight, including the crate, is about 57kg.

The door includes a 203mm x 50mm, outward-opening, letter-box style, punty-rod door with magnetic catches. The rods can extend outside the kiln through the gap under the door, allowing the door to remain closed. The punty-rod door is backed with 50mm of rigidised ceramic-fibre to minimise heat loss.

There's a seven-place mandrel holder, which can be adjusted horizontally and vertically, or removed, using wingnuts, and a firebrick ledge that extends past the punty rod door making a handy working surface.

The firing chamber measures 273mm x 279mm x 178mm high, and heats from the top, with the elements in dropped recessed grooves in the 76mm thick bricks. The kiln has an electro-mechanical relay and a nickel-chromium K-type thermocouple.

The programmer's electronic display prompts for heating rates, target temperatures, and hold times, making it easy to set up and re-use accurate heating, holding, and cooling sequences.

The options, upgrades, and accessories for this kiln are in the on-line shop:

Reviews And Opinions.

The F120 is a 925°C kiln ideal for a bead shop, course venue, commercial glass studio, or engineering workshop: it's robustly made, fully-programmable, and hot enough to work with many other materials and processes within its size and temperature limits.

Make sure that it's tall enough inside and that an F130 Elite wouldn't be better. The F130 Elite is 1.85 times taller inside.

Finally, a quote from a user: I use this kiln about 4-5 times a week. I love its build-quality and the fully adjustable mandrel holders. The insulated guillotine door is spring-assisted on both sides for easy one-handed opening, with the hot side facing away from you. It actuates a switch that cuts off power to the elements when the kiln is opened.

The Paragon F120 Kiln Furniture.

The US-international kiln doesn't come with a shelf or posts or kiln wash so, if you don't need a shelf kit, you won't have to pay for one. However, there's a recommended kit, not included in the price: one durable 254mm x 254mm x 12mm cordierite shelf, four 12mm shelf posts, and 450gm of kiln wash.

The pro shelf resists thermal fracture, provides a smooth stable work surface, protects the floor of the kiln's interior from glass accidents, and helps to even out any small temperature deviations during annealing, enamelling, firing, fusing, and heat treating as the elements turn on and off.

Depending on the material or process, and the sizes of your pieces, stacked shelves will hold more work, free up your time, and reduce the unit firing cost, so there's an extra kit, not included in the price: one 254mm x 254mm x 12mm shelf and four posts. This kiln has room for two shelves so you can choose 12mm, 25mm, 50mm, 75mm, 100mm, or 150mm props.

Our pro shelf kit has 12mm-high posts. If you need a little extra height, just put the shelf in without the posts. Remember to use kiln wash on the shelf: but not on the side walls and elements.

A UK reseller recommended using one shelf on three 50mm posts, not four 12mm. 50mm posts waste internal space and the shelf, with your work, balanced on three posts might tip: there is a reason why chairs and tables have four legs.

The kiln is large enough to accommodate a 1-litre charcoal-filled stainless steel container needed to fire some makes of bronze clay and copper clay, both described on this internet resource.

The lost-wax burnout tray for this kiln measures 178mm x 178mm x 25mm. There are two parts: a stainless steel tray and a raised metal mesh that fits into the tray. The melting wax drops into the tray instead of onto the floor of the firing chamber. The mesh can also be used for supporting beads, enamelling, and fusing glass.

The Paragon F130 For Annealing Beads And Glass, Glass Casting, Fusing, Sagging, And Slumping, LampWork, And Heat Treating.

The Paragon F130 Elite is a 925°C, square, plug-in, front-opening, table-top, firebrick kiln, with a ramp-hold Sentry Xpress 3-key programmer. Choose Paragon blue or customised berry, black, jade, navy, pink, purple, or turquoise.

Paragon uses inches, not mm. However, for the F130, the number 130 doesn't mean it's 130 inches anywhere. It's just a version number, so rely on the description here. It's about 11 inches wide, 11 inches deep, and 13 inches high inside.

The UK-EU kiln is rated at 230V-240V 2400W, so can use a regular mains socket. It's fitted with a switch that cuts off power to the elements when the kiln is opened: a UK-EU legal safety requirement. However, never get careless: kilns are very hot and connected to the mains.

The external dimensions are 559mm x 660mm x 730mm high. The case has slots for air circulation and an integral stand with four rubber feet. The vertical-drop door is spring-assisted for easy opening. There's a five-place rod warmer on the top. The shipping weight, including the crate, is about 100kg.

The door includes a 203mm x 100mm, outward-opening, letter-box style, punty-rod door with magnetic catches. The rods can extend outside the kiln through the gap under the door, allowing the door to remain closed. The punty-rod door is backed with 50mm of rigidised ceramic-fibre to minimise heat loss.

There's a seven-place mandrel holder, which can be adjusted horizontally and vertically, or removed, using wingnuts, and a firebrick ledge that extends past the punty rod door making a handy working surface.

The firing chamber measures 279mm x 279mm x 330mm high, and heats from the back and both sides, with the elements in dropped recessed grooves in the 76mm thick bricks. The kiln has a long-life mercury relay and a nickel-chromium K-type thermocouple.

The programmer's electronic display prompts for heating rates, target temperatures, and hold times, making it easy to set up and re-use accurate heating, holding, and cooling sequences.

The options, upgrades, and accessories for this kiln are in the on-line shop:

Reviews And Opinions.

The F130 is a 925°C kiln ideal for a bead shop, course venue, commercial glass studio, or engineering workshop: it's robustly made, fully-programmable, and hot enough to work with many other materials and processes within its size and temperature limits.

Compared to the F120, its 1.85 times taller inside, and has a double-height punty door, a long-life mercury relay, and a tilted programmer for easier use. However, make sure that it's wide enough inside and that an F200 wouldn't be better. The F200 is 2.28 times wider than the F120 and F130 and has a nineteen-place mandrel holder.

The Paragon F130 Elite Kiln Furniture.

The US-international kiln doesn't come with a shelf or posts or kiln wash so, if you don't need a shelf kit, you won't have to pay for one. However, there's a recommended kit, not included in the price: one durable 254mm x 254mm x 12mm cordierite shelf, four 12mm shelf posts, and 450gm of kiln wash.

The pro shelf resists thermal fracture, provides a smooth stable work surface, protects the floor of the kiln's interior from glass accidents, and helps to even out any small temperature deviations during annealing, enamelling, firing, fusing, and heat treating as the elements turn on and off.

Depending on the material or process, and the sizes of your pieces, stacked shelves will hold more work, free up your time, and reduce the unit firing cost, so there's an extra kit, not included in the price: one 254mm x 254mm x 12mm shelf and four posts. This kiln has room for three shelves so you can choose 12mm, 25mm, 50mm, 75mm, 100mm, or 150mm props.

The Paragon F200 For Annealing Beads And Glass, Glass Casting, Fusing, Sagging, And Slumping, LampWork, And Heat Treating.

The Paragon F200 is a 925°C, four-sided, wired-in, front-opening, table-top, firebrick kiln, with a ramp-hold Sentry Xpress 3-key programmer. Choose Paragon blue or customised berry, black, jade, navy, pink, purple, or turquoise.

Paragon uses inches, not mm. However, for the F200 the number 200 doesn't mean it's 200 inches anywhere. It's just a version number, so rely on the description here. It's about 25 inches wide, 15 inches deep, and 24 inches high inside.

The UK-EU kiln is rated at 230V-240V 4800W, so it needs a 20A minimum wired-in power supply. It's fitted with a switch that cuts off power to the elements when the kiln is opened: a UK-EU legal safety requirement. However, never get careless: kilns are very hot and connected to the mains.

The external dimensions are 914mm x 711mm x 610mm high. The case has slots for air circulation and an integral stand with four rubber feet. The vertical-drop door is spring-assisted for easy opening. The shipping weight, including the crate, is about 127kg.

The door includes two 267mm x 50mm, outward-opening, letter-box style, punty-rod doors with magnetic catches. The rods can extend outside the kiln through the gap under the doors, allowing the doors to remain closed. The punty-rod doors are backed with 50mm of rigidised ceramic-fibre to minimise heat loss.

There's a nineteen-place mandrel holder, and a firebrick ledge that extends past the punty rod door making a handy working surface.

The firing chamber measures 635mm x 381mm x 203mm high, and heats from the top, with the elements in dropped recessed grooves in the 76mm thick bricks. The kiln has two electro-mechanical relays and a nickel-chromium K-type thermocouple.

The programmer's electronic display prompts for heating rates, target temperatures, and hold times, making it easy to set up and re-use accurate heating, holding, and cooling sequences.

The options, upgrades, and accessories for this kiln are in the on-line shop:

Reviews And Opinions.

This kiln is ideal for a bead shop, course venue, commercial glass studio, or engineering workshop: it's robustly made, fully-programmable, and hot enough to work with many other materials and processes within its size and temperature limits.

Some kilns are too heavy or too large for a regular table or worktop. If you can't find a strong table locally, Paragon makes a strong steel table, 768mm x 768mm x 718mm high, with two shelves for your accessories, tools, and work. The luxury version, with castors, is 63mm taller.

If you decide to buy on old wood table, or use a self-assembly table with screw-in legs, its rigidity is vital otherwise it might twist and collapse.

Make sure that it's the right proportions inside and that an F240 wouldn't be better. The F240 has a smaller floor area but is 1.86 times taller inside.

The Paragon F200 Kiln Furniture.

The US-international kiln doesn't come with a shelf or posts or kiln wash so, if you don't need a shelf kit, you won't have to pay for one. However, there's a recommended kit, not included in the price: one durable 559mm x 279mm x 25mm cordierite shelf, four 12mm shelf posts, and 450gm of kiln wash.

The pro shelf resists thermal fracture, provides a smooth stable work surface, protects the floor of the kiln's interior from glass accidents, and helps to even out any small temperature deviations during annealing, enamelling, firing, fusing, and heat treating as the elements turn on and off.

Depending on the material or process, and the sizes of your pieces, stacked shelves will hold more work, free up your time, and reduce the unit firing cost, so there's an extra kit, not included in the price: one 559mm x 279mm x 25mm shelf and four posts. This kiln has room for two shelves so you can choose 12mm, 25mm, 50mm, 75mm, 100mm, or 150mm props.

The Paragon F240 For Annealing Beads And Glass, Glass Casting, Fusing, Sagging, And Slumping, LampWork, And Heat Treating.

The Paragon F240 is a 925°C, four-sided, wired-in, front-opening, table-top, firebrick kiln, with a ramp-hold Sentry Xpress 3-key programmer. Choose Paragon black or customised berry, blue, jade, navy, pink, purple, or turquoise.

Paragon uses inches, not mm. However, for the F240 the number 240 doesn't mean it's 240 inches anywhere. It's just a version number, so rely on the description here. It's about 18 inches wide, 18 inches deep, and 13 inches high inside.

The UK-EU kiln is rated at 230V-240V 4800W, so it needs a 20A minimum wired-in power supply. It's fitted with a switch that cuts off power to the elements when the kiln is opened: a UK-EU legal safety requirement. However, never get careless: kilns are very hot and connected to the mains.

The external dimensions are 737mm x 876mm x 737mm high. The case has slots for air circulation, four lifting handles, and an integral stand with four rubber feet. The vertical-drop door is spring-assisted for easy opening. The shipping weight, including the crate, is about 126kg.

The door includes two 191mm x 100mm, outward-opening, letter-box style, punty-rod doors with magnetic catches. Flexible gaskets under the doors help to retain the heat. The rods can extend outside the kiln through the gap under the doors, allowing the doors to remain closed. The punty-rod doors are backed with 50mm of rigidised ceramic-fibre to minimise heat loss.

There's a fourteen-place mandrel holder, which can be adjusted vertically, or removed, using wingnuts, and a firebrick ledge that extends past the punty rod doors making a handy working surface.

The firing chamber measures 457mm x 457mm x 330mm high, and heats from the back and the sides, with the elements in dropped recessed grooves in the 76mm thick bricks. The kiln has a long-life mercury relay and a nickel-chromium K-type thermocouple.

The programmer's electronic display prompts for heating rates, target temperatures, and hold times, making it easy to set up and re-use accurate heating, holding, and cooling sequences.

The options, upgrades, and accessories for this kiln are in the on-line shop:

Reviews And Opinions.

This kiln is ideal for a bead shop, course venue, commercial glass studio, or engineering workshop: it's robustly made, fully-programmable, and hot enough to work with many other materials and processes within its size and temperature limits.

Some kilns are too heavy or too large for a regular table or worktop. If you can't find a strong table locally, Paragon makes a strong steel table, 768mm x 768mm x 718mm high, with two shelves for your accessories, tools, and work. The luxury version, with castors, is 63mm taller.

If you decide to buy on old wood table, or use a self-assembly table with screw-in legs, its rigidity is vital otherwise it might twist and collapse.

The Paragon F240 Kiln Furniture.

The US-international kiln doesn't come with a shelf or posts or kiln wash so, if you don't need a shelf kit, you won't have to pay for one. However, there's a recommended kit, not included in the price: one durable 432mm x 432mm x 15mm cordierite shelf, four 12mm shelf posts, and 450gm of kiln wash.

The pro shelf resists thermal fracture, provides a smooth stable work surface, protects the floor of the kiln's interior from glass accidents, and helps to even out any small temperature deviations during annealing, enamelling, firing, fusing, and heat treating as the elements turn on and off.

Depending on the material or process, and the sizes of your pieces, stacked shelves will hold more work, free up your time, and reduce the unit firing cost, so there's an extra kit, not included in the price: one 432mm x 432mm x 15mm shelf and four posts. This kiln has room for three shelves so you can choose 12mm, 25mm, 50mm, 75mm, 100mm, or 150mm props.

The Paragon F500 Kiln For Annealing Glass Beads, Decorations, Figurines, Glass, Ornaments, And Tableware.

The Paragon F500 is a 650°C, four-sided, wired-in, front-opening, table-top, firebrick kiln, with a ramp-hold Sentry Xpress 3-key programmer. Choose Paragon black or customised berry, blue, jade, navy, pink, purple, or turquoise.

Paragon uses inches, not mm. However, for the F500 the number 500 doesn't mean it's 500 inches anywhere. It's just a version number, so rely on the description here. It's about 24 inches wide, 18 inches deep, and 22 inches high inside.

The UK-EU kiln is rated at 230V-240V 6850W, so it needs a 29A minimum wired-in power supply. It's fitted with a switch that cuts off power to the elements when the kiln is opened: a UK-EU legal safety requirement. However, never get careless: kilns are very hot and connected to the mains.

The external dimensions are 889mm x 737mm x 965mm high. The case has slots for air circulation, four lifting handles, and an integral stand with four rubber feet. The vertical-drop door is counter-balanced for easy opening. The shipping weight, including the crate, is about 279kg.

The door includes two 267mm x 100mm, outward-opening, letter-box style, punty-rod doors with magnetic catches. Flexible gaskets under the doors help to retain the heat. The rods can extend outside the kiln through the gap under the doors, allowing the doors to remain closed. The punty-rod doors are backed with 50mm of rigidised ceramic-fibre to minimise heat loss.

There's a nineteen-place mandrel holder, which can be adjusted horizontally and vertically, or removed, using wingnuts, and a firebrick ledge that extends past the punty rod door making a handy working surface.

The firing chamber measures 610mm x 457mm x 565mm high, and heats from the back and the sides, with the elements in dropped recessed grooves in the 76mm thick bricks. The kiln has a long-life mercury relay and a nickel-chromium K-type thermocouple.

The programmer's electronic display prompts for heating rates, target temperatures, and hold times, making it easy to set up and re-use accurate heating, holding, and cooling sequences.

The options, upgrades, and accessories for this kiln are in the on-line shop:

Reviews And Opinions.

This is a very big, robust, professional kiln, so ideal for a busy commercial bead or glass studio. Just remember, at 650°C, it's classed as an annealing kiln, whereas the F120, F130, F200, and F240, at 925°C, are classed as general glass-work kilns.

Some kilns are too heavy or too large for a regular table or worktop. If you can't find a strong table locally, Paragon makes a strong steel table, 768mm x 768mm x 718mm high, with two shelves for your accessories, tools, and work. The luxury version, with castors, is 63mm taller.

If you decide to buy on old wood table, or use a self-assembly table with screw-in legs, its rigidity is vital otherwise it might twist and collapse.

The Paragon F500 Kiln Furniture.

The US-international kiln doesn't come with a shelf or posts or kiln wash so, if you don't need a shelf kit, you won't have to pay for one. However, there's a recommended kit, not included in the price: one durable 508mm x 508mm x 15mm cordierite shelf, four 12mm shelf posts, and 450gm of kiln wash.

The pro shelf resists thermal fracture, provides a smooth stable work surface, protects the floor of the kiln's interior from glass accidents, and helps to even out any small temperature deviations during annealing, enamelling, firing, fusing, and heat treating as the elements turn on and off.

Depending on the material or process, and the sizes of your pieces, stacked shelves will hold more work, free up your time, and reduce the unit firing cost, so there's an extra kit, not included in the price: one 508mm x 508mm x 15mm shelf and four posts. This kiln has room for three shelves so you can choose 12mm, 25mm, 50mm, 75mm, 100mm, or 150mm props.

Kilns, Digital Programmers, Kiln Furniture, Options, Upgrades, Firing, Kiln Logs, Accessories, Materials, Parts, Processes, Repairs, And Tools.

The remaining sections are recommended reading, unless you're already using kilns successfully.

Cherry Heaven has been a Paragon distributor since 2002, and commended every year for outstanding performance. Paragon kilns are good value: buy Paragons and you could save enough to treat yourself to a luxury five-star weekend break.

Anyone can buy a kiln to resell and call themselves a specialist, but a top-tier distributor understands all the kilns, options, and upgrades, will stock spares, offers free competent technical support, can help you repair your kiln, provides on-line repair videos, has a repair workshop, and can access Paragon's extensive knowledge-base.

If you need help, you can mail an experienced technician or call . Alternatively, to learn more about how your kiln works, use the help link below the menu bar near the top of the page.

What Is Glass?

The main component of glass is silicon dioxide, often called silica: found naturally and plentifully as sand. When it melts, at around 1700°C, it's like syrup on a cold day. When it cools, it forms a rigid brittle glass called quartz glass.

To lower the melting point, and reduce the cost of melting, chemicals are added: typically sodium carbonate and calcium oxide. Other chemicals, and different heating and cooling processes, produce a range of colours and mechanical properties.

Chemically, glass is defined as an amorphous solid but, as it's heated, it becomes softer allowing it to be blown, cast, coated, decorated, engraved, heat-treated, moulded, poured, pressed, sagged, and slumped.

A form of glass occurs naturally within the mouth of a volcano when the intense heat of an eruption melts sand to form Obsidian, a hard black-to-brown glassy type of stone, shown in the photo. Although it was used decoratively, when it fractures it has very sharp edges, many times sharper than a steel knife-edge, so was also used for tools and weapons: and the pitiful rituals of circumcision and female genital mutilation.

What Is Annealing?

Very briefly, annealing generally involves heating glass or metal to it's annealing point, maintaining a specific temperature for a set time, and then cooling it to room temperature.

During annealing, fabrication stresses are relieved as the molecules cool and arrange themselves into a regular stable matrix. Successful annealing is the key to creating work that will remain attractive and durable. It can be quite a long process, and involve multiple phases, so a kiln with an automatic comprehensive programmer is essential.

A Bead Annealing Guide.

You can download, and print, a Bead Annealing Guide. Paragon created it in 2013 so it's only a guide, not a contemporary definitive document. Click here. It's a pdf file, but your device should already have a pdf viewer.

Glass scraps, with optional bubble powder, are put in a tray or a mould and heated. As the temperature increases the glasses begin to bubble. The bubbles mix the colours and give a natural organic appearance. The glasses need to be compatible as different colours and expansion coefficient might not work, so the boiled glass technique needs experiment and practice.

You increase the temperature at about 300°C per hour to 925°C with no bubble squeeze and soak for 10–15 minutes. Then allow the kiln to drop the temperature as fast as possible to about 815°C and soak there for around 30 minutes to allow the little bubbles to rise to the surface and burst. Then reduce to the annealing temperature and soak for the thickness you calculated in preparation for the firing.

What Are Cubic Zirconia.

Cubic Zirconia is the most popular substitute for a diamond because they look almost dentical. Cubic Zirconia or CZ, is made from zirconium dioxide which comes closer than any other gem to matching the characteristics of a diamond. It's not quite as hard as diamond and is slightly less sparkly but displays more prismatic fire with more colour sparkles within the gem, especially if metal oxides are added during the production process.

Caring for CZ is important because they are more brittle than diamonds and susceptible to wear and tear such as chipping and scratches over time.

What Are Decals?

A decal or transfer is an image or pattern printed on a ceramic, cloth, paper, or plastic substrate that can be moved on to another surface, usually with the aid of water and heat.

A wet decal can be slid into position, allowed to dry, and then heated in a kiln. Most ceramic decals come with a cone number for easy firing, typically cone 022. The programmer on the Paragon Fusion 7XL has pre-set cone numbers as well as the normal ramp-hold options used for general glass work.

Decals are a quick and fun way to decorate bottles, glasses, and vases, as most low-fire ceramic decals and low-fire glass decals will work very well, even on float glass.

What Are Diamonds?

Diamonds are not a form of glass: they're naturally occurring gems composed of carbon atoms arranged in a very regular pattern.

Between 1 billion to 3.3 billion years ago, simple carbon containing trace minerals was transformed into diamonds by heat and pressure at depths of over 100 miles below the earth’s surface. We can’t mine down far enough to reach the earth’s mantle but fortunately volcanic eruptions brought the diamonds closer to the surface. They're extremely hard and until recently were regarded as the world's hardest natural material.

Although diamonds are extremely expensive, their price is governed by carat, cut, colour, and clarity. It’s very rare to find a diamond that doesn’t contain flaws: however the impurities, and internal refraction and dispersion of light, give diamonds their brilliance.

Synthetic diamonds are manufactured and are identical in hardness, dispersion, gravity, refraction and chemical composition to the highest quality mined diamonds available. Whereas a one-carat top quality diamond would cost thousands of pounds to buy, the same quality man-made diamond could be made for less than £5.

This will obviously have a huge impact on the diamond industry over the next few years as when comparing a cultured and mined diamond side by side they are virtually undistinguishable. A bit like pearls, they can be grown from a single crystal using chemical vapor deposition.

What Are Dichroic Glasses.

Dichroic glass has two different colours: a transmitted colour and a reflective colour, both of which change depending on the angle of view. For example blue-red will be blue in transmission and red in reflection.

During manufacture, quartz and metal oxides are vapourised onto the surface of the glass using a vacuum deposition process, forming a multi-layer crystal structure.

What Is Enamelling?

Enamelling involves applying a glass paste to metal and then heating it to fuse it to the surface. The finish of the enamel can be translucent or opaque depending on the temperature used to melt the glass. Higher temperatures result in a more transparent and durable enamel whilst lower temperatures give a more opaque and fragile surface. Dyes and pigments can be included to produce any colour.

The Paragon SC2 is ideal for enamelling, although other kilns are fine. So click the sc2-sc3:jewellery link below the menu bar near the top of the page. The SC-2W and SC-3W doors include a 50mm x 50mm heat-resistant glass viewing-window in the centre of the door, allowing you to take a quick peep at china paints, enamels, glass, and glazes to check on their progress

What Is Fire Polishing?

To fire polish glass, return the items to the kiln and melt them just enough to give a smooth polished appearance. It needs a temperature of around 700°C, and is often used to round the edges of glass after fusing.

Fire polishing already-slumped items is more difficult because the polishing temperature is close to the slumping temperature and it can distort the appearance of the piece. So it generally works best for flat items, rather than slumped ones. It has the slight limitation that the part of the item that touches the kiln shelf won't polish.

What Is Glass Fusing?

If two or more pieces of glass in contact are heated, they begin to soften and fuse together. With careful heating and cooling, the separate pieces of glass become one.

If glass is put on a mould and heated, it begins to soften and collapse, or sag, onto the mould: a common technique for making bowls and plates.

Sagging and slumping are often thought of as being the same. Correctly: during sagging, heated glass, supported at its edges, sags down in the middle to conform to a mould; during slumping, heated glass, supported at its middle, slumps down at its edges to conform to a mould.

What Is Lampwork?

Lamp-working is the traditional name for glasswork that uses a flame to melt glass rods and tubes. As the glass softens, it's shaped by turning and using tools.

Early lampworkers used an oil-lamp, and blew air into the flame through a pipe. Later, propane, natural gas, or butane torches replaced the lamp, although kilns are now increasingly popular, particularly for annealing.

Beads are usually made on steel rods, or mandrels. When the beads are finished, the rods are removed leaving holes for threading the beads. Cold working techniques can be used, such as etching, faceting, polishing, and sandblasting.

What Is Lost Wax Burnout And Casting.

Lost-wax burnout starts with making a wax shape and then making a mould of the shape. When the mould is heated in a kiln, the wax melts out through channels, usually over a burnout grate and into a tray. The shape is then cast in glass or metal from the mould.

It's important to prevent wax or carbon sticking to the elements, so burnout kilns have a top vent to release the fumes. Carbon build-up inside a kiln conducts electricity and can cause the elements to short circuit.

I've written some general instructions here but, as always, making anything successfully needs critical research and frequent tests, especially as things that work for your friends and teachers might not work in the same way for you. It's also very important to learn how to creatively use unexpected effects.

The most popular kilns for lost wax processes are the Paragon W series: the W13, W14, and W18. Learn about these by using the w:lost-wax-burnout link below the menu bar near the top of the page. Wax burnout trays, glare-resistant glasses, and heat-resistant gloves are in the on-line shop.

How To Do Lost Wax Burnout And Casting.

1 : Place a metal tray inside the kiln on a few 12mm posts. Place the mould on a grate on top of the tray. The mould’s sprue holes should face down. The tray will catch melting wax as it drips from the sprue holes.

2 : Keep the kiln’s vent hole open during wax elimination. If the kiln has no vent hole, leave the door open 12mm. This allows fumes to escape from the kiln. Heat the kiln to 148°C and hold it at that temperature for at least one hour. Do NOT heat the wax above 148°C.

3 : During this hour, the wax will melt from the mould and drip into the tray. If the kiln gets hotter than 148°C, the wax may smoke and deposit carbon inside your kiln, causing expensive damage.

4 : After one hour at 148°C, open the kiln. Remove the mould and wax tray. Pour the wax from the tray and leave the tray out of the kiln until your next wax elimination. Don't leave the tray in the kiln.

5 : Harden the mould to the temperature recommended by your mould material manufacturer.

6 : Finally, adjust the temperature to the casting temperature of the glass or metal. Hold at that temperature until you are ready to begin casting. Remove the mould with tongs. Wear protective gloves and safety glasses.

Over time, a small amount of carbon can form on the firing chamber walls as any wax residue left in the mould burns off. So I recommend that you periodically open the vent or leave the door open 12mm, and fire the kiln empty to 815°C at a rate of 166°C with a one hour hold.

What Is Moissanite.

Moissanite is another diamond substitute which is a rare mineral found naturally in small quantities, although Moissanite for jewellery is artificially made. It’s made from Silicon Carbide which means it’s able to withstand high temperatures and is very hard.

Moissanite is noticeably much sparklier and displays more prismatic fire than a diamond which is noticeable even to an untrained observer. Moissanite does have inclusions like a diamond and it may also have a greenish tinge to its colour.

What Is Pâte De Verre?

Pâte de verre involves making a glass paste, applying it to a mould, firing it, and removing the piece from the mould. The glass paste is usually made from glass powder, a binder such as gum arabic, distilled water, and colouring agents or enamels. It allows precise placing of colours in the mould, whereas other techniques often result in the glass straying from its intended position.

I think, currently, Daum is the only large commercial crystal manufacturer using the pâte de verre process for art glass and crystal sculptures.

What Is Glass Slumping?

This a simple technique but it requires good ideas. A bottle, such as those used for wine, beer, cola, or champagne, is softened in a kiln so that it begins to flatten out or conforms to a mould. There are too many moulds to stock here but there are lots available on line. Or make your own from clay.

The bottles need to be clean and dry, with all paper labels and tops removed. Put them in your kiln on a shelf, either with shelf paper or kiln wash to prevent the glass sticking to the shelf.

Paragon makes a kiln designed for this: the Trio. So click the trio link below the menu bar near the top of the page. It's wide enough for most bottles but can still use a regular socket.

What Is Stained Glass?

Stained glass is glass that has been coloured by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. The coloured glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, traditionally held together by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame. Painted details and yellow stain are often used to enhance the design.

The term stained glass is also applied to windows in which the colours have been painted onto the glass and then fused to the glass in a kiln.

It requires artistic skill to conceive an appropriate and workable design, and engineering skills to assemble the piece. A window must fit snugly into the space for which it is made, must resist wind and rain, and also, especially in the larger windows, must support its own weight. Many large windows have withstood the test of time and remained substantially intact since the Late Middle Ages.

What Is Swarovski Crystal?

Swarovski Crystal isn’t a gemstone or even a crystal: it’s a form of glass made at high temperatures by melting silicon oxide powders with lead to form what is known as lead crystal. The exact process is patented by Swarovski but it has approximately 32% lead content to increase the crystals refraction index to resemble that of a diamond. To produce a diamond like effect the crystal glass is precision cut and then polished again by a Swarovski patented process that gives the crystal a high quality finish.

The crystals are often further enhanced by coating the glass with an Aurora Borealis or AB coating that gives the surface a rainbow like appearance to simulate dispersion from a diamond. Swarovski crystal is not as hard as diamond so its susceptible to scratches and chipping from wear and tear, but it’s harder than standard glass.

What Is Tack Fusing?

Tack fusing is the joining together of glass, with as little change to the shape of the pieces as possible. Tack fusing may be used either decoratively, or to assemble a large piece of glass from laminations.

Where tack fusing is used to apply small decorative details to a larger piece, you might want to partially melt the small pieces so that they change shape, usually becoming more spherical under the influence of surface tension, but without changing the shape of the carrier piece. This can be done by using an increased temperature, but only briefly. The carrier piece has a larger thermal mass, so heats up more slowly than the small decorations.

What Is Vitrigraph?

The vitrigraph process usually uses a Paragon Caldera kiln to make glass stringers. The clip-on bottom of the kiln is removed and set aside. The kiln body is put on a thick ceramic rectangle with a central hole. The rectangle is put on two wall brackets or any stable structure away from the floor.

A crucible of glass is put in the kiln and, as it heats, the moulten glass falls through a hole in the crucible to form long stringers. Skilled artists can control the thickness of the stringers and can even draw with the glass as it comes out.

The Caldera needs a 500mm x 400mm x 50mm rectangle, which we cut for you from a much larger sheet. Normal kiln shelves are made from cordierite: a very dense hard ceramic. A suitable-size rectangle would be fairly heavy and hard to cut and drill, so we we use ceramic-fibre board. Ceramic-fibre rectangles are in the on-line shop.

Ceramic-fibre board is made from vacuum-formed fibre. It doesn't retain heat, has a low thermal conductivity, and is stable at temperatures up to 1430°C. If you need to trim it, use a knife, handsaw, or electric jigsaw, but cut it neatly because, as it's fibrous, you can't use a file or sandpaper successfully.

When you work with any fibrous material, don't get the fibres on your hands or breathe them in: ideally, you should put on gloves, wear a HEPA dust mask, use clear protective glasses, and wash your hands afterwards.

What Is Warm Glass?

The term warm glass refers to fusing, slumping, and other glass processes which take place at temperatures between about 600°C to 925°C. Although that doesn't sound warm, it is when you compare it to glassblower's working temperatures, which often exceed 1100°C. Warm glass is sometimes called kiln-formed glass.

Paragon Kilns, Furnaces, and Ovens For Annealing, Beads, Ceramics, Enamels, Glass, Jewellery, Knife Making, Lost Wax, Silver Clays, Heat Treating, Lampwork, Porcelain, And Vitrigraph.

is a Cherry Heaven internet resource. Cherry Heaven is a top-tier international distributor for Texas-made Paragon kilns, furnaces, and ovens, and has been one of their top-selling partners from 2006 to : a pleasing outcome since the UK is only one third the area of Texas and one fortieth the area of the US.

As this is an on-line resource, there isn't a paper catalogue or a price list. However, you can mail or call a technician about kilns, power supplies, public area safety, a special project, business ideas, diagnostics, repairs, or reselling opportunities.