---
title: "Firing Schedule Builder & Chart | Ceramic Drift"
description: "Build a kiln firing schedule from ramp, target and hold segments and see the total time and a temperature chart to print. Starts from Skutt's profiles."
url: https://ceramicdrift.me/firing-schedule-builder/
---

Ramp, target, hold

# Firing schedule builder

Each segment takes its temperature change divided by its rate, plus its hold. Skutt's medium-speed profile for cone 6, five segments from 21 °C (70 °F), takes about 8 hours 28 minutes to reach 1222 °C (2232 °F).

## How to use the schedule builder

Pick a starting point, then edit any rate, target or hold, or add segments up to twelve. A target below the previous one is a controlled cooling segment. The total stops at the end of the last segment; natural cooling afterwards takes longer.

- **The presets are starting points; follow your kiln's and your clay's guidance.** The cone 04 profiles are as printed in Skutt's KilnMaster manual. For cone 06 and 6 the manual says the rates stay the same and segment 4 ends 250 °F below the cone's temperature, so those presets apply that rule.
- **Effective heating rate:** Orton's rule of thumb divides 100 °C by the hours spent in the top 100 °C, holds included. It tells you which column of the [cone chart](https://ceramicdrift.me/) to read.
- **Holds:** as a guide from Orton, firing 10 °C lower needs about 20 minutes of hold for the same heat-work, 20 °C lower 40 to 60 minutes, and 30 °C lower about 2 hours.

## Sources

- Presets: [Skutt KilnMaster Operating Manual](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0272/1968/9606/files/KilnMaster_Manual_For_Kilns_Manufactured_Between_November_1999_And_August_2006.pdf), Edition 4 (May 2002), Cone Fire mode: the slow, medium and fast profiles for cone 04 in °F, the rule for other cones, and the 108 °F/h self-supporting cone table (cone 06 1828 °F, cone 6 2232 °F). Times assume a start at 70 °F (21 °C).
- Effective heating rate: [Orton, Pyrometric Cones Resources](https://www.ortonceramic.com/pyrometric-cones-resources). Holds: [Orton, Cones and Firing](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0572/0029/files/cones-and-firing-booklet.pdf) (2013). Cone temperatures: [Orton cone chart, cones 022-12](https://www.ortonceramic.com/_files/ugd/7c9d79_655ff5f02f474711ad75e37f7f5bd03b.pdf) (March 2026).

## Questions

**How long does a cone 6 glaze firing take?**

Skutt's medium-speed profile for cone 6 takes about 8 hours 28 minutes from 21 °C, and the slow one about 14 hours 10 minutes, before cooling. Your kiln, load and schedule will differ.

**How long does a bisque firing take?**

Skutt's slow cone 04 profile, meant for hand-thrown pottery, adds up to about 12 hours 33 minutes; its medium profile about 7 hours 31 minutes.

**How do I work out a segment's time?**

Divide the temperature change by the rate and add the hold. Heating from 621 °C to 1083 °C at 166.7 °C an hour takes 462 ÷ 166.7, about 2 hours 46 minutes.