My new garage studio in Phoenix got over 100 degrees last week

I was trying to work on a simple cup and the glass just kept cracking as soon as I put it in the annealer. I think the huge temp shift from the hot room to the cooler kiln was too much. How do you all keep your shop cool enough to work in the summer?

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3 Comments

hernandez.morgan6mo ago

My buddy in Tucson runs a swamp cooler in his garage studio and swears it knocks 20 degrees off the peak heat. It adds some humidity, but for glass, that's better than thermal shock from a 40-degree temp swing. You gotta get that ambient air closer to your kiln's starting temp.

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thomas_gonzalez6mo ago

Hot room to cooler kiln" is the real problem. I knew a guy who tried to run a pottery kiln in his shed during an Arizona summer, and the whole batch of mugs came out looking like modern art. Sometimes you just have to admit defeat to the weather.

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taylorlewis6mo ago

Yeah, that "hot room to cooler kiln" shift @thomas_gonzalez mentioned is a killer. You really need to let your pieces and the kiln itself adjust to the same temperature before firing. Rushing it just guarantees cracks.

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