Ladderbacks assembled

some cleanup & seating is next

Got my ladderback chairs assembled. They went on hiatus last week - the sunshine quit so my car/solar kiln wasn’t working. And the last incandescent lightbulb in my insulation board kiln croaked. Dave Fisher came to the rescue and sent me a link to a “ceramic heat emitter” for the reptile pet crowd. Rather than go to the reptile pet store, I ordered online & paid the shipping. I’m sure reptile pet owners are very nice, but that’s not a world I need to dip my toes into right now. The 75 watt heater worked just fine - screws in just like a light bulb - I had to adjust the doors/caps on the ends of my kiln to keep the temperature from getting warmer than I wanted. So with some openings on the ends it stayed right around 140 degrees F.

My kiln is a ramshackle affair - I’d fix it up some, but it works. It’s here in the house, where there is electricity, unlike the shop. Just duct tape, insulation board and some sticks poked though the sides. A hole in the bottom for the clip light - that now isn’t a light. The whole thing sits on top of a milk crate so that fixture can hang under it. And a meat thermometer poked into it.

looks like I could re-tape it

Here’s Dave’s comment & link in case you need one for a chairmaking kiln or your reptiles.

“I've been using one of these now instead of an incandescent lightbulb. Works just as well, screws right into the light socket, and will last a lot longer: https://exoticnutrition.com/products/ceramic-heat-emitter?variant=45230317666620&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_vcGcJuLL9ZeH8io4M0YNy4inST&gclid=CjwKCAjwqf20BhBwEiwAt7dtdeIlDccWLqidZyvJ5O7M0oFyZ73OIalTMudlHMCySrLy8dLU6TqUUBoCpnkQAvD_BwE

If you've got a pet store near you, they sell them for heating reptile enclosures. Lots of different brands and such. I've been using the 75 watt, but they make different levels.”