Tuesday 25 September 2012

Fibre Board for Kiln Shelves


Some advantages of fibre board:

  • It is light weight making it easy to move.
  • Fibre board has very good cooling characteristics as it doesn't hold the heat the same way a mullite shelf does.
  • The board is fragile, but with care can last years.
  • Fibre board shelves do not thermal shock as ceramic based shelves can.

Considerations for use:
  • If it will be moved it needs hardening.
  • It needs repeated sanding and hardening for a really smooth surface. Alternatively you can smooth on something like batt/kiln wash or alumina hydrate for each firing.
  • It needs to be supported on kiln posts at 100 mm intervals.

You need to use dust masks when ever working with fibre board.

Some disadvantages of fibre board:
  • The board can warp over time even when supported every 100 mm.
  • The board will warp over time if placed on the kiln floor.
  • The board needs to be thick - at least 25mm, thicker for larger kilns.
  • It can't be scraped clean of batt/kiln wash.
  • Ceramic fibre board is possibly not much cheaper than mullite shelves.

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