Misfire

The first firing in my little kiln shed didn't go so well. For starters an element burnt out so it never reached temperature. Of course, I've never had that happen yet so I didn't know what was wrong. Oh, and by the way, opening a kiln at 1400 degrees is not good for the pots inside. I knew this of course. But when I came out in the morning and the kiln had shut off at 1900 degrees, and was now at 1400, I just had to see what it looked like inside. Glowing red. I didn't hear it happen, but the bell of a cloche was cracked entirely down the side when I unloaded the kiln to change the element.

The good news is that I changed my first element without destroying more than a pot (so far). So I have that going for me. As I tell my nephew sometimes: If you're going to be stupid, you better be tough.