Digging Clay
This is the best time of year for digging and processing clay in my area. The worst of the heat has passed, but it’s generally still warm and dry. The dry weather aids in dewatering …
Tag: wild clay
Limestone and Bone Ash Additions to Sandstone Clay
These are two batches of test tiles with limestone and bone ash for the flux. Because calcium can make a very narrow firing range, I mixed two batches to fire on my middle shelf and …
Test Results for Nepheline Syenite Additions to Sandstone Clay
For the previous post on this clay https://daylenes.com/2021/07/27/test-the-sandstone-clay/ I tested each batch only once. For better accuracy, do multiple tests. However, this tells me that I need to add more Neph Sye than I like. …
More Testing on the Sandstone Clay
The Sandstone clay is a sandy Clay that I dig right next to my house. Previous tests have shown that I need 14-15% added Nepheline Syenite to flux it down to cone 6. That’s more …
Testing the Sandstone Clay
This is a clay that is right next to my house. Super easy to access and easy to process. I first located this clay last year and did some initial tests then got side tracked …
Settling Clay that Doesn’t Want to Settle.
This is my lightest colored clay. After processing and sieving, it can stay in suspension for months. I generally add something to help it settle (because waiting months to work a clay just sucks). I …
You Can’t Guess with Wild Materials
I never would have guessed, from the amount of sand in this body, that it would craze. Never in my wildest dreams and yet, here we are. This is my latest dug clay and one …
A Local Material in Place of Bought Silica
This is a material I found on one of my clay hunts. Right out of the ground, it would stick together in a ball, but not roll a coil unless it was very wet. As …
Test Bowls
A couple of test bowls. Both of these had 6.5% added Neph Sye to flux the body down to cone 6. The one on the left is my newest dig location with some of the …
Sugar Creek Clay
This clay has special meaning for my dad’s side of the family. My dad lives on the old home place where he and his brothers and sisters grew up. Sugar Creek, where this clay is …