Dear all,
I have bought some books suggested by the group about kiln building. It is going to take time to get organised enough to build a kiln. Since we got the 4 day weekend coming up at the end of the month, I thought I'd pit fire my greenware rather than wait to get a kiln built.
I have had a look at a number of sites, and there seem to be some divergent methods. Pits are sometimes covered with corrugated iron, sometimes not. Other things (salt, coppers, etc) are sometimes thrown in with the pots either before or during firing and sometimes not.
a) I have a small number of green items which I have made. They shouldn't take up more than one or two cubic feet when stacked. Many of the pits I have read about are four feet deep and very long and wide. How much deeper does the pit have to be than the top of the pots?
b) How deep should the sawdust be at the bottom (some say 4 inches some say 8 to 12 inches)? If I want to add charcoal dust, should I make layers, or mix it in? Is leaves and pine needles a decent substitute for or addition to sawdust?
c) what does salt actually do? I guess that coppers add colours, and dung, etc. cuts off oxygen, but I am not sure what is being achieved by throwing salt in when the fire is raging.
d) How much wood should I plan to use - is filling the pit to ground level ok? Will I need to add more during the firing process?
e) How far from trees, buildings, walls, etc. should my pit be?
f) Am I worrying too much? Would it be better to go by the seat of my pants, but to keep notes while doing so?
I look forward to your answers. I have learnt a lot from the group and know I will continue to do so, the more I read.
Cheers, Stelios Athens, Greece
PS - national holiday 28 Oct, for those wondering.