The Bracker Raku Kiln is a lightweight and portable design for firing ceramic pieces in your own backyard. The kiln we make today was de- signed by Bill Bracker in the early 1970’s utilizing the technology of ceramic fiber. The kiln is made by lining a cage of wire fence material and a metal garbage can lid with one-half inch thick fiber blanket. The fiber is then rigidized with a mixture of sodium silicate and water. The use of the fiber allows the ceramicist to have the insulating qualities of 21/2 inches of soft insulating firebrick, yet it is light enough that anyone is able to pick it up. In addition to the items in the Raku Kit, you’ll need to have a few other basic things on hand for a successful raku firing: a metal tub for water (stops the re-oxidation process after reduction), one or more metal garbage cans or tubs for reducing plus reduction materials (such as leaves, sawdust, pine needles, etc.) and a water supply (hose or extra bucket or tub of water for emergency situations and accidents). Setting up involves laying out the pad (you may also use an old kiln lid in place of the pad of firebricks), posting the shelf on the pad, setting the pieces to be fired on the shelf, placing the kiln over the shelf and pieces, attaching the burner to the tank, placing the burner in front of the kiln’s burner port, and lighting the burner. Initial firings in a cold kiln should take about an hour to an hour and a half and successive firings should take around thirty to forty minutes. Scroll down below thumbnail images to see kit details and pricing
Complete Raku Kit includes:
- Kiln
- Burner (choice of 100,000BTU or 500,000BTU)
- 2 Cases of Bricks (total of 24 bricks to make the base and post the shelf, plus some spares)
- Raku Tongs (choice of Kemper RK45 (with teeth) or RK37 (no teeth))
- 5# bag of Crackle White Raku Glaze
- 15 1/2″ Round shelf
- Leather Welders Gloves
| Item Code | Description | Bracker’s Price | |
| RAKUKIT37 | Bracker’s Raku Kit With 500,000 BTU Burner and RK37 Tongs | $525.00 | |
| RAKUKIT45 | Bracker’s Raku Kit With 500,000 BTU Burner and RK45 Tongs | $525.00 | |
| RAKUKITSB37 | Bracker’s Raku Kit With 100,000 BTU Burner and RK37 Tongs | $500.00 | |
| RAKUKITSB45 | Bracker’s Raku Kit With 100,000 BTU Burner and RK45 Tongs | $500.00 | |
| Individual Pieces: | |||
| RAKUKILN | Bracker Fiber Raku Kiln | $175.00 | |
| RAKUTORCH100 | 100,000 BTU Raku Torch | $125.00 | |
| RAKUTORCH500 | 500,000 BTU Raku Torch | $175.00 | |
| KSMHA15FULL | 15 1/2” High Alumina Full Shelf | $40.00 | |
| KTRK37 | Kemper RK37 Tongs (no teeth) | $42.50 | |
| KTRK45 | Kemper RK45 Tongs (with teeth) | $42.50 | |
| CHRAKU-2 | 5# bag of Crackle White | $6.75 | |
| KGLEATHER | Leather Welder’s Gloves | $12.00 | |
| KB2600-SC | Case of 12 Bricks | $175.00 | |
| Other things you might like: | |||
| BKRAKAND | Raku, 2 ed. | Andrews, Tim | $25.00 |
| BKRAKARTTEC | Raku: Art & Technique | Riegger, Hal | $26.96 |
| BKRAKINVFIR | Raku: Investigations | Jones, David | $42.50 |
| BKRAKMAT | Raku | Mathieson, John | $20.79 |
| BKRAKPITBARFIRTEC | Raku, Pit & Barrel | Turner, Anderson, ed | $24.96 |
| BKRAKPOT | Raku Pottery | Piepenburg, Robert | $24.26 |
| BKRAKPRAAPP | Raku: A Practical Approa | Branfman, Steve | $25.46 |
| ITVBEGRAK | Beginning Raku with Gordon Hutchens, VHS or DVD | $31.96 | |
| ITVPIERAKKILBUI | Raku Kiln Buidling with Robert Piepenburg, VHS or DVD | $31.96 | |
| ITVPIERAKFIRRED | Raku Firing & Reduction with Robert Piepenburg, VHS or DVD | $31.96 | |
| ITVPIERAKCLA | Raku Clay, Glazes & Tongs, VHS or DVD | $31.96 | |
| ITVPLAWITFIRDVD | Playing with Fire: Paul Soldner, DVD only | $27.10 | |
| KG14 | 14” Kevlar Mittens | $55.00 | |
| KG18 | 18” Kevlar Mittens | $70.00 | |
| KG23 | 23” Kevlar Mittens | $90.00 | |