Making your own trivets

    • 4 posts
    April 11, 2013 9:25 PM EDT

    I just bend some 18 ga. nichrome wire into a cradle to make kiln furniture.  You can make it into any shape.  I'll try and upload an image, or try this link.

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/11577311/Color6.jpg

    • 0 posts
    April 11, 2013 10:20 PM EDT
    Thank you Lilian!
    • 77 posts
    April 12, 2013 3:55 AM EDT

    Production of stainless steel trivets for small and large objects

    There are a lot of possibilities trivets to produce, which practical for the particular objects are. Important is to use Stainless steel sheet or stainless steel net. The steel-sheet should have a thickness of about 0,5 mm, the wires of the net should have a diameter of about 0,8-1,0 mm. Too thick steel-sheet eats to much heat, to thin net-wires are too instable!. Never use any metal which can tinder. Tinder can, during firing in the kiln, ruining your enameled objects.

    Material: Stainless steel sheet 0.5 mm thick.
    Cut at regular intervals small strips into the sheet. Turn the strips with a flat plier by 90 degrees on its own axis, so that the narrow side of strips now facing upwards. Bend the strips about 45 degree upwards. Bend the longitudinal edges of the sheet by 90 degrees downward to get a bridge for the pusher.
    If you adjust the strips steep or flat, you can adjust the rest to the size of the plates.  Similarly, each strip can be bent more or less steep, to adjust it to irregular objects

    Here in the plate were cut ​​about 45 degrees cuts. The resulting triangles were with pliers bent-up to 90 degrees. An about 10 mm wide strip was at the longitudinal sides 90 degrees bent downwards, so that one can provide the stand with a slider into the oven and remove. This stand is not variable and is only suitable for about the same size plates

    And here a simple trivet for small objects.

    Cut into the sheet metal on 2 sides a straight line, at the third side a 45 degree angled  cut, so that in the center of the sheet  about 20-30 mm plate remains. Bend three wings to about 90 degree upwards. Bend on three sides a small strip 90 degree downwards to get a bridge for a pusher

    This is an easy-to-do Trivet for small objects. In the sheet four triangles are cut. The triangles are bent about 45 degrees upwards. At the two strips on the sides were each 2 feet  bended. So the trivet can easily slided in and out of the kiln with a slider.
    Instead of 2 triangles you can also cut several triangles to burn multiple objects simultaneously.

    This is a simple, but very multifunctional solution. From a stainless-steel strip, cut off on both sides more or less steep triangles. Bend the triangles sideward. Put the bended strips onto a stainless-steel-grid. Now you can the object put on in many positions.

    Last but not least you can bend a sheet in a kind of waveform. This is especially suitable for long small enamel objects.

    I think the most solutions are self-explaining. If you have any question, please let me know.

    Edmund

    massow@emailkunst.de

    • 4 posts
    April 12, 2013 7:10 AM EDT

    !!! This is wonderful!  So obvious and yet I never considered using sheet this way.  I am not quite sure what 'tender' would translate to in English, but I am guessing 'flame up' or 'flake off' ?

    Thank you for a very interesting post!

    Lillian

    • 77 posts
    April 12, 2013 8:47 AM EDT

    Hallo Lillian,

    That is nice, that I could help you.

    I have done a look into my very good English German dictionary. Here are some words I found for the German word "Zunder": tinder, cinder, fire scale, oxide scale, rust and scale and some other. It means the most black shift, which get formed if you heating metals like copper, iron, silver or other metals. If this shift is too thick, it bounce off, during the firing of your workpiece. And as a bread roll allways falls onto the butter-side, the cinder-flakes jump always onto the enamel surface, especially in your last firing.

    Edmund

    • 0 posts
    April 12, 2013 7:44 PM EDT

    I found this ones too. 

    • 0 posts
    April 12, 2013 7:54 PM EDT

    Thank you so much Edmund!!!!!  

    For what I’ve read you always put extra effort to answer, to help and share your knowledge, I appreciate it a lot! You inspire me to be a better member (even though English is not my native language!).

    Isabel

    • 3 posts
    April 14, 2013 8:38 AM EDT
    Isabel,
    Another suggestion: From time to time I browse the hard ware stores for stainless steel parts which might be helpful as trivets.
    Please see attached my latest finds, I use them for small pieces without counter enamel.
    Stores for nautical supplies are also a good source for stainless steel parts.
    Best regards
    Gisela
    • 77 posts
    April 14, 2013 10:23 AM EDT

    Some of my trivets are also made from stainless-steel platters or butter dishes or similar kitchen helper. It is much cheaper to buy this, than to buy stainless-steel sheet in a metal-store. Be sure, that the platters have a stamp. "Stainless steel." Otherwise it could be from nickel-plated brass. The material unsuitable extremely

    • 12 posts
    May 5, 2013 10:07 PM EDT

    yes I do. I use 20 gage and heaver stainless steel. You can make waves to sit flat on the grid. You can make any size you want and connect them by spot welding. If you like I can take a picture of some of the trivets I have made and place them on this sit for you to see. The good thing about spot welding you can make any size or shape you need. I keep a sheet 2' X 4' on hand at all time just for this purpose. Good luck  

    • 12 posts
    May 5, 2013 10:27 PM EDT

    One more thought. I notice by the pictures there is a lot of large sheet stainless steel trivets. Remember  that the larger the sheet or trivet the more heat it will give off.  You can always be sure that the trivet will give off 50 - 100 degree more than the kiln is registering. The trivet  is right under your work, so that is where the heat will be. You should try to use the smallest trivet you can use, even if you use several trivets instead of one big one. I have probably  6-12 different trivets (at least 4 of each)I'm never  surprised of none of them work for a particular project At times it takes me a whole day to be sure a project will fit on the trivets with warping, bending, or melting. For those of you that have look at some of my work, you can see what I'm talking about. I have had to make new trivets for almost all them, or try to work with what I have. 

    • 0 posts
    May 26, 2013 5:59 PM EDT
    I made these out of stainless steel wire. The one that came with my beginners kit was horrid. They worked well for very small jewelry items and were easy to make.
    • 0 posts
    May 26, 2013 6:02 PM EDT
    Oooooo I like the size-ability of that first one.
    • 0 posts
    April 11, 2013 12:59 AM EDT

    (My first post on this great site, so happy to learn and share with all of you!)

    Does anyone have made your own trivets? How did you do it?
    I have this little piece that doesn't fit in anything I have...and wondered if I can solve this without buyng a new one, may be bending a mesh?
    Great if you post pictures of rare shaped pieces on your home made solutions.

    Thank you!

    Isabel