Gunsmithing Gun Oven Questions

[buds444]

I have a few questions for those who have built gun ovens. I have an incomplete server rack frame which I'm considering making my oven. Insulating it and allowing proper airflow don't worry me. However I'm unsure if it will be too big and not keep heat or even be able to get up to temp.

The rack is about 7 feet tall by 3 feet wide by 2 feet deep. It will have 14 gauge panels and insulation on it. I plan on using an oven element for the heat source.

Anybody have experience going too big on their oven builds?

Also this will be for cerakote and potentially powdercoat in the future.

Thanks for the help.

-Brandon

 

[Straight Shooter]

Re: Gun Oven Questions

Properly sealed and insulated I don't see any problem with the size. A regular oven heating element should be plenty of power. My 1500 watt toaster oven heating unit will heat my homemade oven to over 400 degrees easy. You will need a solid 400 degrees for powdercoating. I recommend you implement n internal fan for even heating. I just used the one that came with my convection toaster oven.

Later this winter I hope to build a new bigger oven using the guts from a modern electronic controlled oven so I can control start and stop times as well as have an auto shut off timer that can go longer than 60 minutes.

 

[rlr]

Re: Gun Oven Questions

You can mount the hangers on a rack, or series of bars at a height that will serve most of your needs. Put in a removeable panel above that rack that you can pull out for the longer material.

I used an old oven for parts an built mine to a 2x2 interior. Pretty good for most of what I do, but a little extra width would be nice. I limited myself to 46" height.....Mark 2 will eliminate that. I wasn't powder coating at the time, and additional height would be handy.

The 2x3 width and depth will be good, and blocking the top will help contain the useable area to what you need for the current project