There was a time when the only thing I was reasonably sure of about pit firing, as far as fuming effects and colors go, is that you’d get a jet black area where your pot is buried in the sawdust or horse manure. But those days are behind me now, and as I have achieved better control over the fuming effects of my pieces, I start to itch for ways to get rid of those jet black areas that are the tell-tale signs of pit firing.
![???](http://www.claymonk.com/images/pitfire-comp-results/img_0642-bbq.jpg)
figure 1: bottom side view of the finished pieces