Anagama: Last shift

8 am Saturday morning.

The kiln has been very responsive. So responsive that yesterday's crew and the overnight crew had to work NOT to knock down cone 11. (For anyone reading who doesn't get this "cone business," it's a way of measuring temperature in the kiln more accurately. This link to Orton's site - maker of ceramic cones - explains it in more detail.)

Bill Lennox, Joe Molinaro of EKU and Seth Green of Morehead State University consult the final push.

Apparently there was a large group for the overnight revelry which became three hard core stokers after the shift change. I've also heard that one pot was actually removed from the firebox, no word on it's condition. By 6 am, cone 10 was down and cone 11 was beginning to make it's move so they stalled the temperature for the early morning hours. By 10 am, though, they went ahead and dropped cone 11 and maintained temperature for about an hour, I think, before bricking up. I had to leave before the actual bricking up and missed the nice old WWII vet that comes by with his sweet wife at the kiln closings and brings soup for the crew. I'll have to get the whole story on that. So here are a few pictures until the opening next week.

Working hard

Stoking to drop cone 11

Cone 11 dropped.