When it comes to jewelry making, you need a lot of equipment and elements to ensure that the design comes out very well. The kiln is one such element that is used for enameling, glass fusing, ceramics, etc. In the process of jewelry making, jewelers use it to set stones properly into their jewelry pieces. With the best quality kilns, you can manufacture the best quality jewelry. Handmake your jewelry with utter perfection with the most suitable choice of the kiln. Adding a tabletop jewelry kiln to your jewelry studio is a great choice. You need to consider a lot of factors based on your requirements for buying a kiln.
When you browse through the number of alternatives available for jewelry making kiln, the options might seem overwhelming. You can easily get carried away by the features integrated into some kilns, but whether it will fit into your workspace or not is a considerable facet. At the same time, you will have to know whether you can ignite it just by firing once and how big your jewelry chunks are. As far as temperature is concerned, you will have to choose a kiln with a much higher intensity of the fire that heats much more than you expect your fire to be at.
Artisans looking for functionality, portability, and smooth performance at an economical price could opt for the RapidFire Pro Kiln. On the other hand, people who want their jewelry kiln to have an adjustable digital furnace should opt for Tabletop Pro Kiln Propane Melting Furnace. Buy one that has the capacity of heating to a higher temperature than you normally need. You should also consider what sort of temperature controller you will need. Choose either a programmable or digital controller.
Top 10 Kiln for Jewellery Making
RapidFire Pro Kiln
RapidFire Pro Kiln offers a perfect combination of performance, function, and portability. It is an ultra-portable tabletop kiln that weighs only 12 lbs. It is perfect to be used for a variety of purposes like jewelry making, bead making, glass fusing, enameling, ceramics, firing precious metal clay, and much more.
You can get an equal amount of heat across all your projects due to the compact size of the RapidFire Pro Kiln. This is a nice feature for your projects to achieve better results.
The best feature about the RapidFire Pro Kiln is that it allows you to select the appropriate temperature required for firing various materials. For this, it is equipped with a digital control panel which reduces a lot of the required temperature guesswork.
Features
- It is equipped with a large firing chamber. The size of the large firing chamber is 6 inches × 6 inches × 5 inches.
- Includes a lighted cooling fan
- Ability to heat up to 1205 degrees Celsius (~ 2200° F) in eight to ten minutes.
- Has a digital controller with thirty setting options
Tabletop QuikMelt PRO – 10 10 oz. Melting Furnace
The Tabletop QuikMelt PRO – 10 10 oz. Melting Furnace is a top-loading kiln for jewelry making. It is ultra-light as it weighs only 10 lbs. This kiln is available with a digital control panel, a 10 Troy oz. Crucible, and rapidly heats to 2200 degrees Fahrenheit for all the major metalworking needs.
This kiln is perfectly suited for jewelers who are looking for mobility. It can be used with a variety of materials like zinc, copper, lead, silver, and gold. It is a portable solution for all jewelry making projects and includes a secure latch and a zinc-plated handle.
Features
- Dimensions- 6 inches × 6 inches × 12 inches
- Power Wattage- 1500 W
- Utilizes a P.I.D. Temperature Controller
Tabletop Quickmelt Pro- 120- 4 KG 120oz Melting Furnace
This tabletop quick melt kiln product for jewelry making has an electronic control panel that allows you to set functions and programs for your work. It heats all forms of metalwork very quickly to more than 2200 degrees Fahrenheit.
This is a perfect fit for you if you are looking for a kiln that has a light design and is easily portable. It can produce a full firing in around seven minutes using its RapidHeat Technology, a standard household plug, and 1500 watts of power. It can work with several materials such as zinc, copper, lead, silver, and gold.
Features
- Heats up to 2200 degrees Fahrenheit (comfortably the highest temperature amidst all the kilns in this list)
- Electronic control which allows you to set functions and programs for your projects so that you need not monitor it continuously as it fires.
- Weight: 10 lbs
- Size: 6 inches × 6 inches × 12 inches
- Equipped with sixteen gauge heating coils
- Comes with a pair of tongs, and a graphite crucible to match with the product.
Tabletop QuikMelt PRO – 30 Melting Furnace
Tabletop QuikMelt PRO – 30 Melting Furnace is lightweight and has been designed with durable Gemcolite Alumina Fiber which is formed using a composition of alumina, alumina-silicate, and mullite fibers. For accurate and precise control of temperature, it utilizes a Digital P.I.D. Temperature Controller with auto-tuning function.
It also includes both inorganic and organic binders for excellent material integrity and handling strength at high temperatures. It has been designed to perform well in typical casting and melting temperatures, i.e. 1562° F – 2912° F.
Features
- Warranty: One Year Manufacturer Warranty
- Comes with a graphite crucible, a 30 troy oz. Graphite crucible, and one pair of 18 inches tongs
- Has a secure latch and a zinc-plated handle
Tabletop Pro Kiln Propane Melting Furnace
The Tabletop Pro Kiln Propane Melting Furnace is a portable kiln for jewelry making by P.M.C. Supplies L.L.C. It has been designed to be effectively used with around three to five ounces of gold. It can also be used with around ten troy ounces of pure gold (if needed).
It can be set to use with a variety of precious metals such as brass, aluminum, copper, silver, and gold. This tabletop pro kiln utilizes two bottles of propane gas and comes with a handle for the lid.
Caution- This kiln for jewelry making should not be used with MAPP Gas.
Features
- Outer Dimensions: 4 inches Diameter × 4 inches High
- Inner Dimensions: 1.756 inches in diameter × 1.53 inches depth
- The thickness of the Wall: 1.15 inches (30 mm approximately)
Mini Propane Tabletop Pro Kiln Furnace
The Mini Propane Tabletop Pro Kiln Furnace has been designed to melt around three to five ounces of gold. It comes with a pair of stainless steel small ring tongs which are used to handle the crucible cups with a base, and the Mini R-9 crucible cups with grooves.
The R-9 Crucibles are designed with an outer groove and a pure spout; so that these can be easily handled with the small stainless steel tongs.
A high-density 5/16 inches × 12 inches Graphite Crucible Stir Rod is also included in the package that is ideal for using with the crucibles and stirring the molten material during the smelting processes. It also has 1, ½, and ¼ troy ounce multi-cavity gold combo.
Caution- This kiln is not recommended for use with platinum.
Features
- Can be used with precious metals such as brass, aluminum, copper, and silver
- Outer Dimensions- 4 inches Diameter × 4 inches Height
- Inner Dimensions- 1.756 inches Diameter × 1.53 inches Depth
- The thickness of the Wall- 15 inches
- Requires two bottles of propane gas
Melting Furnace RapidFire Tabletop Kiln
The Melting Furnace RapidFire Tabletop Kiln is an ultra-light and portable kiln for jewelry making applications with a carrying handle. This unit can evenly distribute heat efficiently with the help of high-temperature thermocouples and innovative technology.
It is equipped with a large firing chamber of dimensions 6 inches × 6 inches × 5 inches with a front-loading door for easy access. This kiln offers the perfect combination of performance, function, and portability, which is demanded by professional artists and jewelers. It is also available with programmable ramping controllers.
It is perfect for jewelry making applications such as precious metal clay, bead making, glass fusing, enameling, and ceramics. You can handle multiple projects simultaneously with the help of the digital temperature controller.
Features
- Outside Dimensions- 8 inches × 7 inches × 13 inches
- Firing Chamber Dimensions- 6 inches × 5 inches × 6 inches
- Weight- 12 lbs
- Maximum Heating Temperature- 2200 degrees Fahrenheit
- Power Wattage- 150 W with a standard 15 A Circuit
- Coiled Type Resistance Wire
- Controller Type- Digital
Hardin HD-234SS 70 oz. Stainless Steel Tabletop Melting Furnace
The Hardin HD-234SS oz. Stainless Steel Tabletop Melting Furnace is automatic and features a microprocessor P.I.D. Controller. Full power input to the furnace is supplied unless a particular temperature is attained. While the selected temperature is attained, a high-capacity 4 ½ inch cooling fan which operates continuously keeps the electronic components cool.
Note- The actual temperature reached by the furnace will be 50 to 100 degrees more than what you have set.
This happens because the inside elements of the furnace (the place where the thermocouple is located) get hot the fastest. The outer elements of the heating furnace won’t be so hot. Thus, you reach higher temperatures than expected as the rest of the furnace is catching up with the hottest and center part of the furnace. It works perfectly with metals such as bronze, brass, copper, silver, and high-carat gold.
Features
- Designed with world-leading fourteen gauge Swedish Kanthal heating elements
- Has a microprocessor P.I.D. controller
- Maximum temperature- 1200 degrees Celsius
Pros
- No Kiln shelf needed to use this electric kiln
- To use this kiln, you need to place the fiberboard onto the kiln floor.
Cons
- The Warranty Period is only one year while other kilns on the list offer longer manufacturing warranty.
- Extremely expensive for a beginner. That’s quite an investment if you are just a beginner in jewelry making.
Tabletop Oven Kiln High Temp 2200 Degree Electric Burnout Vent Hole Controller Furnace Jewelry Making Made in The U.S.A.
This is a new Tabletop model of the kiln for jewelry making by P.M.C. Supplies L.L.C. which offers functionality and portability with RapidHeat Technology. With the help of such technology, the kiln can be heated within ten minutes.
Its new and improved design ensures that the flasks inside the kiln do not damage the interior heating elements. It also uses a P.I.D. Temperature controller and comes with a new and high-temperature thermocouple, and a digital/electronic control panel.
Note- The steel surface will undergo coloration and tempering over time due to its exposure to extreme temperatures.
Features
- Made in the U.S. A
- Maximum Working Temperature- 2200 Degree Fahrenheit
- Designed and developed with a programmable controller
- Can accommodate flasks of sizes 3 inches × 5 inches, or less
- A pre-drilled vent and a high-temperature thermocouple are present at the top of the kiln.
- Power Wattage: 1500 W
Tabletop QuikMelt 100 oz PRO-100-3 KG Melting Furnace
This P.M.C. Supplies L.L.C.’s QuikMelt top-loading Kiln is the perfect fit for jewelry, making artists who are looking for mobility. This kiln has been designed with extremely durable and lightweight Gemcolite Alumina Fiber which is prepared using a composition of alumina, alumina-silicate, and many other fibers.
It is capable of working effectively with materials such as ceramics, precious metal clay, zinc, copper, lead, silver, and gold. It also includes both inorganic and organic binders for excellent handling integrity and strength at excessive temperatures. It is ideal for jewelry making operations such as precious metal clay work, enameling, and glass fusing.
Features
- Weight- 10 lbs
- The compact design of dimensions 6 inches × 6 inches × 12 inches
- Power Wattage: 1500 W
- Comes with a standard household plug
- Includes a digital control panel, ring tongs, a 100oz troy crucible
- Designed with sixteen gauge heating coils
- Has a graphite crucible to match the pair of tongs, and the model of this jewelry making kiln
- Functions at 120 V
- Made in the U.S.A.
Best KilnTo Buy For Jewelry Making USA Buying Guide
Jewelry designers are curious to know how to choose a suitable jewelry kiln. They need to do a lot of research to understand which kiln is suitable for them. So, let us do detailed research about the buying guide of jewelry kilns.
Portability
People who teach jewelry designing prefer a portable jewelry kiln. Brick kilns are more susceptible to damage while they are benignly moved around than fiber kilns.
Type of Kiln
A front-loading kiln lets the jewelry designers move things in and out more easily. On the other hand, a top-loading kiln allows people to lift or remove the lid as long as it is scalding hot inside. The purpose of taking the lid off is to remove the enamel pieces from the lid at the earliest.
Heating elements
The life of a kiln depends upon the heating elements. The elements need to be replaced earlier if a kiln is used frequently. So, it is a wise decision to buy a kiln that has high ratings.
Interior
Jewelry designers need to check out the interior of a kiln before investing in it. If the interior is made of ceramic fiber, the elements are molded within the walls. On the other hand, a brick interior has firebrick as the insulating material. They get heated very soon and are capable of handling high temperature.
Such kilns are brittle but heavy. The users need to be very particular about cleaning the brick interiors. If any foreign particles stay in the interior, they may fuse the entire kiln within a moment’s notice. If a brick kiln is moved even once, it needs to be vacuumed before it is fired again.
Conclusion
Any jewelry studio is incomplete without a kiln. Hence, the artisans need to select the kiln with precision. A kiln is indispensable to handcrafting jewelry and serves numerous functions. It can be used for glass fusing, ceramics, enameling, and setting stones into your jewelry pieces, amongst many other things.
All the kilns mentioned above have lots of positive factors and you can go forward with one that satisfies your requirement as an artist. Some kilns are more ideal for bead making or glasswork while others are better for putting stones in place in the jewelry. Consider your requirements and choose one that is best suited for your work.
Best Value– RapidFire Pro Kiln
Best Choice– Tabletop Pro Kiln Propane Melting Furnace
Premium Choice– Tabletop Quickmelt Pro- 120- 4 KG 120oz Melting Furnace
