Damper: but not in a wet way

I've spent the last few days taking down the new kiln chimney in order to put a damper in it. Not suprisingly, it's a lot easier to take a chimney down than it is to put it back up again.

And yes...... the sun is casting shadows. Summer!

I've also lowered the chimney by about 6 courses, not due to laziness you understand but I don't think the kiln needs as much draw as the chimney was providing. Hopefully with the combination of a slightly lower chimney + a damper I should be able to have a little more control over the internal atmosphere.

I've also been spending some long overdue time updating the website. Some new pages documenting the building of the kiln and of some of the work that came out of the first firing as well as a bit of a general tidy up.

I should be getting the wood for the next firing in September and will start making next week.