Earlier this week, I tried to drop a new color pot (crucible) into the furnace. To my dismay I discovered that the larger 300 pound pot had drifted slightly forward, narrowing the space I needed for the new pot. It does not fit any more. That means no color. Tomorrow we will have to drag all the glass out of the furnace, heat it to 2300 degrees, then tip the pot back so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the furnace as it cools. It will take about 3 days to cool enough in order to repair the small stand inside the furnace. We probably have to cast another stand or at the least, patch it.
It will take another 3 days to heat the furnace back to charging temperature (2425 degrees). We hope to do that by Thursday, because we have a paperweight class on Saturday. Whew! I have my work cut out for me this week! I’ll keep you all posted on the progress…