My first wood firing

I got to see (part of) my first wood firing at Gulf Wars. Anyeta built a Roman bottle-type kiln. I helped a little with the construction and took lots of pictures. Here we go:



The kiln was in the Early Period Life area of the site. I hate I got the car in the background.

A view of the shelves and support:


Fully loaded (this was all there was to fire):


View of the cones and draw rings through the peephole:


The taller it got, the scarier it got:


View from a distance. You can see the Viking longhall in the background:


The firing begins. The chimney says "Cone 06 or Bust Gulf Wars XIV." I think it eventually hit 2000 degrees Fahrenheit - around cone 04!


With a flash:


No flash, you can see the firebox area and the flames coming out of the chimney (that's Mistress Anyeta standing and watching):


My favorite picture:


I didn't make it back for the unloading, but it looked like only a couple of pieces broke. That's good, considering most of them were made during the week and some were only a little past leather hard. I don't know how the cones melted (07. 05, and 03), but I hope to talk to Anyeta soon and find out.