Lucille Oka Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 Since there have been so many inquiries lately about clay drying. I performed a little experiment. I used Amaco #65 Porcelain clay. Late this afternoon I threw two vessels one a small bowl and the other a medium size plate. I wire cut them and left them on the bat uncovered. About eight hours later they were dried on the rims. So, I had to trim the feet right away. I couldn't wait until the morning they would have been too hard to trim properly. After trimming I placed the vessels upside down on newspaper. They are now, as I write this, a very dry leather hard. Why I called this an experiment is because I made a conscience decision to change what I normally do which is make a vessel, wire cut it, leave it on the bat until set, remove it from the bat, place upside down, then cover it completely in plastic. I wait for tomorrow or the day after to trim it. These vessels are being stored in a room that is 79°- 82°F and is heated by a gas heater. This has been the quickest drying time I have ever experienced and there has been no warping so far, (GW). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 Pots can dry quickly, as long as they dry evenly. When I make plates, I cover the rim with plastic (yellow 'caution' tape) and leave the middle open. It takes 2-3 days or moe for the middle to get to leather hard, depending on the size of the plate/platter and the weather. They dry very evenly this way, and the lip doesn't raise up from drying faster than the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Oz Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Aw ya beat me to it, I"m doing a clay drying experiment for the same reason. sounds like yours is working out well. I'm comparing two different clay bodies and showing how one can handle fast drying better than the other, I'll post results soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucille Oka Posted February 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Aw ya beat me to it, I"m doing a clay drying experiment for the same reason. sounds like yours is working out well. I'm comparing two different clay bodies and showing how one can handle fast drying better than the other, I'll post results soon. Oh what fun! I would like to hear your results. Don't forget to tell us which clays you are using. I up righted the test vessels on newspaper, the small round pot is completely dry, and the plate still has a bit of coolness in the center. I just placed it on two flat sticks to increase air circulation. This has been the quickest drying method I have ever done. These were very simple vessels with no additions or lids of any kind. Having additions would change the drying method by needing to cover the vessels with plastic, to even out the overall moisture content, and thereby increasing the drying time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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