one step closer!

wow, so yesterday i built the arch form and crammed, slammed and beat the supproting arch under the main anagama arch. this is actually the way the front of an anagama should terminate. i didnt do this with the first version of the kiln and actually had a pretty loose front end after, oh i think four years of firing. i believe i fired the original kiln 9 times? i'd have to look into that. anyway, before we left for a shopping trip to asheville and a tourists baseball game i quickly cast the keystone and a litle bit of filler in and behind the supporting arch. this morning i went out and dropped the arch form to see how she looked. well in typical fashion since i am not paying myself it may not look beautiful but she is rock solid. I am happy with the structural integrity of the front now, plus the whole reason for this change was to shorten the firing, lessen the ash on the pots, and allow the kiln to be fired in a more neutral atmosphere, and finally to take away about two hundred or so pots needed to fire the beast. Our pot counts usually were around 550 for a firing with a fair number of large pieces to close to 700 for a table ware firing or mostly smallish pots. I found i didnt like firing two to three times a year. The current loading plan will take around 350- 500 pots something that me and a couple stokers can do every two to three months. well now i gotta gather some more wood, andmake pots. the kiln stillneeds some finishing touches such as the fiber and mud, and a new door built, plus the cleaning and washing of the thing since it will be salted. but those can wait, pots and wood are more important at this point. i just may be able to pull off a july firing, so those who want to get in should belly up to the bar now. off to the studio shane