As spring approaches, I'm hoping to bring to reality a project I've been dreaming of for a couple of years. And I need your help.

I am working on a USED VEGETABLE OIL KILN, which will fire to cone 10 (about 2350° F) using your used vegetable oil.

The design is fairly straightforward: An old electric kiln, with the elements and all electrical components removed, serves as the kiln body. A hole towards the bottom of the kiln houses a custom-made burner plate, welded from a series of steel I-beams. Two drums, one with water and one with the filtered vegie oil, are a short distance away (and above the kiln height) and a tube from each drum leads to a steel plate. The water and the oil drip onto this plate and down onto the series of I-beam burner plates. The flame is lit, and the oil/water mix creates a spray which ignites when it hits the hot plate. This fires the kiln.

I won't bore you with more technical info, but I'm hoping that you'll start saving your cooking oil for me! Simply save your oil in a glass jar or an aluminum can, and e-mail me at riftgallery@yahoo.com when you have at least a quart of oil. I will come pick it up.

As most of you know, I built my own small wood-fired kiln when I first moved here (10 years ago) and it is still in great shape after 52 firings. This new little kiln is a project that, if successful, would give me some more options for firing my work. I'll keep you posted on how it goes...

Please e-mail me to let me know you'll be saving your oil for me! Thank you!