MAKING AN ELECTRIC HEAT-TREAT OVEN

The tools required for making an electric oven are usually found in your shop or garage. At a cost of
about twenty to thirty dollars and in a few evenings, you can own an oven of which you can be proud.

The oven that you can make is capable of temperatures up to 1900° and, if equipped with both a
pyrometer and power control, it can maintain near constant temperatures over this range.

Once you have established the power setting that you need for a given temperature, setting up a
time/power ratio is simple so you can duplicate the temperatures.

The power ratings for this oven, is based on the availability of heating elements, which we will use the
electric elements for a 1000 watt oven. The heating element used is the type normally sold in appliance
and electric supply stores. The heating element for appliances such as the cloths drier coil needs only
to be stretched to the required length for use with this oven. It is made of Nichrome wire that offers
resistance to current flow, thus producing the necessary heat. If the element does burn out, replacement
is simple and a fraction of the cost of a commercial unit.

The oven can be used as for a heat-treating and tempering oven for steel tools, enameling and other
similar applications. With imagination, you can find many other applications and uses for this piece of
equipment.