Pilchuck Furnace Builders

Our class! What an awesome group of humans from all over the globe. So grateful to have been part of this workshop!

So, writing daily turned out to be a bit too ambitious! As my jet lag faded, I started staying up later with the rest of the class—which also meant meant I was too tired to write by the time I went to bed. I left off with installing the furnace pot (crucible), so here’s what came next.

After seating the pot, we mixed and poured the refractory between it and the surrounding brick. In classic Fred fashion 😊, we slotted in L-shaped metal strips so the refractory wouldn’t be one solid ring. Instead, it was divided into sections—clever, right? This way, if repairs are ever needed, you can just replace a section rather than dism

antle the whole thing. However, in this build, we used an invested crucible and welded the body back together, which means the furnace will need to be completely rebuilt when the pot is changed. Fred said a good pot should last 7–10 years, but ours - in Berlin - have been cracking annually. This workshop taught me so much—I only wish I’d taken it 13 years ago before opening the studio.

FYI: for everyone running electric furnaces: install a flue! All glass contains some water, and without ventilation, that moisture has to go somewhere. It won’t harm the elements, but it will settle on the door and make it sticky—something we have had to deal with for years.

Once the refractory was in place, we added a layer of frax up to the rim of the furnace body. Then came the superstructure hood, which we tak-welded to the lower body. After that, we all chipped in on wiring the control panel. Fred was incredibly patient as we took turns deciphering the schematics and wiring it up. By Tuesday, we finished and Fred plugged in the controller—a Watlow F4T—and gave us a demo on configuring it.

At this point, it was Tuesday the 13th, and class was ending on Thursday. I was leaving the next day for Arlington, Texas, so I was going to miss the last day. The pressure was on to finish the superstructure and install the new top cage that would hold the element bricks.

I was happy the superstructure walls were precast—no need for a layer of bricks like the bottom section. On Monday night, I cut enough microporous insulation to wrap the walls with two layers. Carolyn and I climbed into the furnace to pack Frax between the walls and the mircoporous. Messy, toxic, dusty, itchy work—but we were a good team and made fast progress. After stuffing about six layers, we cut bricks to fill the gap between the body of the furnace and the inner lining. These two brick layers support the six upper wall segments and ultimately the dome.

Then came the dome! Six of us worked on mortaring and shimmying each piece down, securing the dome with a cast hexagon. How does that work? Well, before we just mortared and let the dome float, Slate built a collapsible support that was sitting inside. Once we were sure that the mortar set around the hexagon, we removed the support and voilà, the dome was on!

More Frax was added around the top until we reached the rim. It was Tuesday night—my final night—and I was determined to get as much done as possible. Emery and I worked on the metal cover that holds the element bricks and thermocouple. We traced and cut the necessary holes, finishing up around 10 p.m.—our usual quitting time. Afterward, we headed to the Flat Shop for a little celebration for Ruth Tamura.

I said my goodbyes to the other students taking classes and joined my mates on the dorm deck. We had beers, took photos, swung on the swing, and soaked in the last moments together. Finally, I said bon nuit to everyone.

What a phenomenal class. I learned so much and made lifelong friends. A heartfelt thank-you to the Alexander Tutsek Stiftung for funding my participation. Their support meant I didn’t need to lean on the studio, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.

Next stop: the Glass Art Society conference in Arlington, Texas!