I built a wood fired raku kiln 2 weeks ago, I have fired it 3 times. At the moment I am frustrated with it but I am just tired and impatient with it. I have new ideas for it, just little revisions. I have been quitting the firings at 3 hours when my glazes had just started to mature. this weekend I will fire it for 4 to 5 hours. If my glazes dont fully mature at 4 to 5 hours I will tear the kiln apart and build the ware chamber higher yet than the fire pit. I do like the way it fires, it breathes nice, it reminds me of an anagama I fired 3 years ago. It gets a cone of flame out the stack latter in the firing with little flame tips and it puffs after I stoke it too, like a little dragon.

I like the idea of firing with wood, its a plentiful resource, in this part of the world anyway. Most of the pots and ceramics in our long history were not made with gas or electric. I will suppliment the ends of my firings with a propane torch if need be but ultimately I would like to design a kiln that fires easily to 1950 degrees with wood alone. So far my little kiln doesn't use a lot of wood either. The design of the kiln must make the most efficient use of the fuel source.

In the meantime I am having fun with this whole process. Last week my neighbors came over to help out and I suspect that they enjoyed it too. My little dragon is magical and I want to share the experience with people.