Using beach sand in pottery

[MelW]

I've collected some beach sand from a local beach and wanted to try pressing a thin layer into greenware before firing to bisc, then possibly to cone 10. Anyone tried this? 

[Callie Beller Diesel]

I have no idea how this post got missed, so I’m bumping! Hi and welcome to the forum Mel.

There’s lots of folks that put sand or grog or other inclusions in their clay for texture, or to add a bit of structure for larger pieces. Think like aggregate in concrete.

What will happen depends largely on what the sand is composed of, and what the parent rock was. Some of it will melt to some degree or other at cone ten, and depending on the particle size, the clay might crack slightly around the inclusions. If you’re after a textural look, this can be a good way to go. Before you commit to a piece you feel precious about, I’d do a small test first, to see how much the sand will melt. If it has a high feldspar content, it might get glassy and stick to shelves. If it’s high in iron or other things, you want to know about that in advance so you know if you have to use wadding or cookies or something to protect kiln furniture.

[Magnolia Mud Research]

On 1/13/2022 at 10:07 PM, MelW said:

I've collected some beach sand from a local beach and wanted to try pressing a thin layer into greenware before firing to bisc, then possibly to cone 10. Anyone tried this? 

Have done it at cone 10 reduction.  
also used sand over wet glaze. 

some beach sand is more crushed sea shells than silica sand or mineral rocks; 
composition of the "sands" depends on location of the beach, and runoff water supply.

Try it, you might like it.

follow   recommendation of testing before using on everything. 

LT

[Denice]

I would put your test sample in a small bowl,  it may melt like glass and run all over your kiln.    I was making cast glass medallions,  had a tiny pinhole in a mold,  melted glass ran out like it was water at 2200 F.   Fortunately I had the shelf well coated with kiln wash.     Denice