Adding iron to clay, any tips?

[liaemars9]

 

 

 

[Min]

It would be better to use a high iron clay rather than RIO. If you can get hold of some Redstone clay from Plainsman that would be a terrific choice. It's a deep red at cone 6, is plastic, and vitrifies at about cone 7. 

Redstone

( @liaemars9 I'm going to change the title of this thread to better reflect the question you are asking)

[Callie Beller Diesel]

In college there was one clay body we could mix that had an addition of 3.5% red iron oxide. Cleanup after throwing with the stuff looked like a murder cover up, and it easily contaminated anything in the studio. It fired to a beautiful dark purplish brown colour at cone ten, particularly in any kind of atmospheric kiln. It did not take glaze at all well.

To get the iron into the clay, you had to add it to the water in the Soldner mixer before adding the other ingredients, or you wouldn't get even distribution. I think adding it to a pug mill wouldn't get the iron incorporated thoroughly enough. I am also unsure of what the exact effect of adding a flux like iron to a clay body would be. Bloating, if too much, maybe?

I second Min's recommendation about adding an iron bearing clay. Red Art might work if you can't get the Redstone.

 

[neilestrick]

I agree. Don't just add red iron oxide. It tends to make the body more brittle and doesn't disperse well. You're better off adding a red clay. Any red clay can work- Redart, Newman, etc. See what your local clay supplier has in stock.

[Magnolia Mud Research]

I (and several others in the college studio) have added red iron oxide (RIO) into a commercial clay by sprinkling red iron oxide on the clay in thin layers combined with the Stack and slam wire edging technique of Michael Wendt. see his youtube video:

A little iron will make a BIG change in the surface appearance of the clay.  As I remember I used a something like a big salt shaker to sprinkle the RIO on the clay.  

check the iron content of Red Art clay and use that as a maximum level to add to the commercial clay. 

LT
 

[neilestrick]

It depends on if you're firing in reduction or oxidation. In reduction, 4% iron will make a huge difference. In oxidation, not so much.

[Benzine]

On 9/19/2019 at 11:08 AM, Callie Beller Diesel said:

In college there was one clay body we could mix that had an addition of 3.5% red iron oxide. Cleanup after throwing with the stuff looked like a murder cover up, and it easily contaminated anything in the studio.

 

Yes.... "Looked* like...

Oddly enough, there was no evidence found, and for some reason the kiln was running later that day...

[Callie Beller Diesel]

3 hours ago, Benzine said:

Yes.... "Looked* like...

Oddly enough, there was no evidence found, and for some reason the kiln was running later that day...

...and the glaze room never ran out of bone ash!

(we need to shine flashlights on our faces to tell these stories!)

[Benzine]

On 9/20/2019 at 6:31 PM, Callie Beller Diesel said:

...and the glaze room never ran out of bone ash!

(we need to shine flashlights on our faces to tell these stories!)

Bone ash, I didn't even think about that!

Every so often, I have students ask, if you could get rid of a body, in the kiln.  With a deadpan expression, I say "Yep"...  Then walk away.