The Complete Potter is a book which I possess and mostly talks about throwing techniques and building techniques, but has a few things to say about firing, at the back.
This book said some interesting things. I have learned that the smoky effects come from the small combustibles, with a high ratio of surface area to volume, like sawdust and newspaper, while the actual heat comes from the larger ones like sticks and logs. It also suggests covering the pit with a metal lid to keep the heat in. I can't get a piece of metal sheeting by tomorrow, so I'll have to go without, but if I don't like the effects from this first firing I may get one before I do another. Finally, it reinforces the danger aspect of the whole proceeding: you are working with massive open flames, the smoke of which contains volatilized chemical compounds like gaseous hydrochloric acid, if you use NaCl on the pieces, and others. So precautions should be taken, and I will take them. I have a respirator to wear, will keep my dogs away from the fire (obviously), won't be an idiot and try to unpack it while it's blazing hot inside, am keeping the pit away from my wooden fence, clearing the area before lighting the fire, making a ring of stones and raised earth around the outside so that it doesn't wander, and just generally doing everything I can think of to prevent loss of life/limb/dignity.
This book said some interesting things. I have learned that the smoky effects come from the small combustibles, with a high ratio of surface area to volume, like sawdust and newspaper, while the actual heat comes from the larger ones like sticks and logs. It also suggests covering the pit with a metal lid to keep the heat in. I can't get a piece of metal sheeting by tomorrow, so I'll have to go without, but if I don't like the effects from this first firing I may get one before I do another. Finally, it reinforces the danger aspect of the whole proceeding: you are working with massive open flames, the smoke of which contains volatilized chemical compounds like gaseous hydrochloric acid, if you use NaCl on the pieces, and others. So precautions should be taken, and I will take them. I have a respirator to wear, will keep my dogs away from the fire (obviously), won't be an idiot and try to unpack it while it's blazing hot inside, am keeping the pit away from my wooden fence, clearing the area before lighting the fire, making a ring of stones and raised earth around the outside so that it doesn't wander, and just generally doing everything I can think of to prevent loss of life/limb/dignity.
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