How Things Stack Up!

Obstacles, obligations, and temperatures in the nineties conspired to make July a bust for kiln-building. No lie, the entire month was inchwise. And our camera went bye-bye, so you'll have to take my word  that it's August now and I am back on track. On the downside, I am bailing on a family vacation (well, half of it) to get there. I feel like a bugturd about it, but I was just so frustrated with everything taking priority: work, family, classes, vet appointments, gallery-sitting, everything.  All important stuff, to be sure, and most of it not optional, but at some point I had to declare that the kiln is important, too; otherwise it just won't happen. (See: Housepainting, three-quarters finished. )

Technically I got back on track yesterday, the very last day of July. I started building the stack finally, and while there is, predictably, some half-assery going on, I made good progress. Is it a bad thing if my tolerance for half-assery rises geometrically as this project wears on? I've reached the damper, for which I need a lintel brick that I don't have (natch), so I am going to build the arch form today, instead, and head to INFAB tomorrow. I need some more arch brick anyway. 

I was surprised to discover that INFAB doesn't sell skewbacks, so my choices are 3: have them shipped from Sheffield, MA (although, surely, now that I think on it, there must be another supplier of refractories closer than that: I can't believe that no one in the entire Boston metro needs kiln brick); make them out of castable (cheap and doable, but one more step in a project with too many steps already); or have INFAB cut them out of straights. So I guess I've got some phone calls to make, about pricing. I only need about 8, so how much can it be? 

Anyway. It looks cool and dry today, a perfect day to build an arch form. Feeling only slightly guilty, I will wave my family goodbye and get moving!