The critical heat-treatment cycle where clay bodies and glazes are baked inside a kiln. A standard cycle involves a slow ramp-up to target temperature, a holding period to allow glazes to melt and clay to mature, and a controlled cooling phase to prevent thermal shock. Different stages include the initial bisque firing and the subsequent glaze firing.
Heard on the job
The glaze firing took twelve hours to reach cone six and we need to let it cool for another day.