kiln
Firing the kiln is a great challenge there are so many variables to take into consideration, everything from the weather to kiln contents to how the pots are loaded to how I am feeling on the day.
Not all bisque firings go to plan, the wind picked up just after lighting the kiln and one large pottery cat turned to dust, very disappointing especially for the cat. Rule one, don't nip back inside for a cup of tea just after lighting the fire.
Building the kiln was a great learning curve, if I had done a bit more research I would have started a lot bigger. After firing a couple of times I realized the fire box was too small and the kiln took a long time to get to 800c so I rebuilt the kiln, fire box and the chimney.
After a couple of rebuilds I had extended the firebox and chimney and made the whole kiln wider to get the extra flame through the kiln and up the chimney without obstruction, now it reaches 1300c in eight hours instead of 800c in ten hours plus.