This is my first kiln and I've had it for just over two months without problems. I only use it for lampworking, but it was clearly designed to handle more. That said, it's probably not the best kiln for you if you intend to go purely lampworking and I mildly regret not going with a side opening kiln. Pros- Comes with leg blocks (no metal stand though), kiln wash, a circle shelf that fits most of the space inside and is roughly level with the side opening, and 3 small blocks for the shelf. Huge inside space for the price. Cons- Shelf blocks were slightly different sizes. I don't know if that was intentional, but it's never really seemed to effect my work. The side door will fight you to open it all the way so that it stays open without holding it. I've never really had a reason to hold it open and I don't think it would be a huge deal if I did. The inside is large, but if you're putting glass in while its hot, it's not likely going in the top door at 1000+ degrees. That means anything you want to garage has to fit through a 4 inch side door. Final Thoughts- It's a great kiln. It gets hot and it does what a kiln is built for. It doesn't feel cheap and it isn't trying to hide any flaws. More or less what you see is what you get. Spend the extra money and go digital. I've never owned an analog kiln, but the controller for this one is easily useful enough to convince me that I never will.