How clay dries differently

[teardrop]

When I took classes at the local college the most widely used clay was B-Mix. (cone 10 Laguna). The instructor acted as if it was the be-all/end-all.... (but she was a dumb *****...so hey...there ya go)

 

I've since figured out, from reading here.....that firing at ^6.... this probably wasn't the best clay to be using. My guess is it was what SHE wanted to use....and nothing more.

 

Since breaking free and going out on my own/making my own mistakes (LOL).....I have been using a ^6 clay called "Kodiak" from Mile High Ceramics.....

 

I thought the B- Mix was great at the time........but since I've been using this redder/Kodiak I have found out just what a pain in the butt it really was.

 

With the B-mix in this dry climate...if you don't cover it and baby it...handles crack in place....feet fall off.... all sorts of fun things seem to happen. Covered....it takes a good week to dry things out.....

 

With this Kodiak....you simply make the item and let it sit on the cabinet in the open air.....and in a few days it is dry...no cracks...no BS! Talk about thrilled.... I was scared to try it but when the first piece fly through the drying process with no cracking whatsoever I made a pitcher and tried that...and it also dried perfectly.

 

So WHY is this? What makes the Kodiak dry with more consistency while the B-Mix cracks and pulls and has all sorts of problems?

(and why do so many use it?)

 

So much for covering that rack in plastic to slow the drying.........and...um.....GOODBYE B-Mix!

 

I'm having so much fun..... and the first market less than a month away......yikes....

 

be well

 

teardrop

[TJR]

Teardrop;

This is one of the classic questions in ceramics..WHY? The B-mix mix you are referring to probably has more ball clay in it than the Kodiak. Ball clay adds plasticity to a clay body for throwing but also increases the shrinkage rate. Hence cracking of handles. Most clay bodies are just that -a body, a combination of 4-6 different clays combined to give certain qualities, like plasticity, colour, temperature, texture, etc. I am not familiar with the Kodiak clay, but if you like it stick with it.

I use a white clay from Laguna in California called Danish White.It is a Cone 10 stoneware body. Sometimes if I am making bakers I will get Danish White with Sand.

You should try a variety of clays, but if there is one you really like, I would stick with it.

I don't know why your teacher had you using a Cone 10 clay at Cone 6. There are lots of good mid range clays out there. That's the beauty of clay. There is a whole world of stuff to try.

TJR.

[Mark C.]

Teardrop

B-mix has always been a very uneven drying body

Clay is formulated for many different uses

The most forgiving and strange body I know is Lagunas WSO you can do anything with that but when fired it seems more like cement than a clay body.

My porcelain dries super fast and even (Daves Porcelain from Laguna)

As TRJ said clays are a mix of ingredients-you will over time learn that more than one body is needed for different uses

We slab baking ware from a body called 1/2 nad 1/2

Throw most items from Daves Porc and throw large items from B-mix (very little of this)

Giant slab items are WSO for us.

Salt firing clays are a whole other story as well

I use about 6 various stoneware bodes for salting.

Every clay body has plus or minus factors

Mark

[teardrop]

FWIW now.....I think the clay situation at school was a combo of our instructor being focused on the gas kiln/cone 10 and a lack of care in keeping the studio stocked of anything other than what she wanted to use. 'nuff said.

 

http://www.milehiceramics.com/clay-stoneware.html I was targeting the "Hickory" on this page but it wasn't available @ the time so went with their rec of the Kodiak. I will definitely try other clays....but I was certainly happy when I saw how well (in my nooby opinion) the Kodiak worked. It was definitely a gamble to buy a few hundred pounds of of it without trying it out previously....but noob luck and their experience worked out in my favor.

 

thanks for the insight folks

 

teardrop

[ratdog]

FWIW now.....I think the clay situation at school was a combo of our instructor being focused on the gas kiln/cone 10 and a lack of care in keeping the studio stocked of anything other than what she wanted to use. 'nuff said.

 

http://www.milehiceramics.com/clay-stoneware.html I was targeting the "Hickory" on this page but it wasn't available @ the time so went with their rec of the Kodiak. I will definitely try other clays....but I was certainly happy when I saw how well (in my nooby opinion) the Kodiak worked. It was definitely a gamble to buy a few hundred pounds of of it without trying it out previously....but noob luck and their experience worked out in my favor.

 

thanks for the insight folks

 

teardrop

 

 

I went threw 500# of both.

 

I wish the grog were a bit smaller but I attribute the even dry to the grog

 

An I find when pugging adding a little venager does wonders too.

 

Good clay good shop too.

[Diana Ferreira]

Teardrop, I slipcast a black clay body. It stays wet for ever. If I leave it in the mold, it will be wet and soft for up to 3 days (weather depending). I (out of frustration) started to use my hairdryer on a cool setting to dry ware inside a mold so I could release it quicker. One day I forgot to change the setting after I used it to dry my hair. And WOW. It stiffend up enough in the mold, without warping or cracking. So, now I use it at full heat, no probs. (I do the heating/drying thing on a banding wheel, with the wheel spinning). Tried it once with porcelain - major immediate cracks. Go figure :-)

[Matt Oz]

Teardrop, I slipcast a black clay body. It stays wet for ever. If I leave it in the mold, it will be wet and soft for up to 3 days (weather depending). I (out of frustration) started to use my hairdryer on a cool setting to dry ware inside a mold so I could release it quicker. One day I forgot to change the setting after I used it to dry my hair. And WOW. It stiffend up enough in the mold, without warping or cracking. So, now I use it at full heat, no probs. (I do the heating/drying thing on a banding wheel, with the wheel spinning). Tried it once with porcelain - major immediate cracks. Go figure :-)

 

 

hair driers are pretty usefu,l mine is plugged in 24/7 set on high, some people even use heat guns. I used to make candle covers with a lot of cut outs, I would heat it with the drier so it would be stiff enough to hold up on it's own, then I could remove it from the form I built it on.

 

The only time I find a covered cabinet useful, is with some of my mufti sectional slab work. Even then I have a loose flap on the front and small holes on the top so they don’t dry too slow.

 

It's nice to have a clay that can stand some abuse.

[ratdog]

Teardrop, I slipcast a black clay body. It stays wet for ever. If I leave it in the mold, it will be wet and soft for up to 3 days (weather depending). I (out of frustration) started to use my hairdryer on a cool setting to dry ware inside a mold so I could release it quicker. One day I forgot to change the setting after I used it to dry my hair. And WOW. It stiffend up enough in the mold, without warping or cracking. So, now I use it at full heat, no probs. (I do the heating/drying thing on a banding wheel, with the wheel spinning). Tried it once with porcelain - major immediate cracks. Go figure :-)

 

 

hair driers are pretty usefu,l mine is plugged in 24/7 set on high, some people even use heat guns. I used to make candle covers with a lot of cut outs, I would heat it with the drier so it would be stiff enough to hold up on it's own, then I could remove it from the form I built it on.

 

The only time I find a covered cabinet useful, is with some of my mufti sectional slab work. Even then I have a loose flap on the front and small holes on the top so they don’t dry too slow.

 

It's nice to have a clay that can stand some abuse.

 

 

I guess it's why some stick with only one type of clay

 

I use a heat gun on full to med

For stoneware

But the clay I dig I dry over a week slow. I put my pieces in a ice chest as soon as I can move them.....heat gun comes no ware near them.

My stone I put on a shelf and it dries in three days.

I tend to let the clay dictate its speed.