Crooked Lawyer Potter Posted May 13, 2022 Report Share Posted May 13, 2022 It seems to me that pots I make out of grogged, red clays are often "lighter" than comparable pots made with white stoneware like BMix. Is that my imagination or are grogged red clays perhaps lighter per given volume? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted May 13, 2022 Report Share Posted May 13, 2022 I haven’t done any empirical studies or anything but it stands to reason that a larger proportion of smaller particle sizes could lead to increased density. If you have samples of the two, you could weigh a volume of each of them and see if the difference is measurable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted May 13, 2022 Report Share Posted May 13, 2022 If there is a difference I agree with Callie that it would be because of density, however I think it's more likely a case of the pots not being thrown to the same thickness due to the tactile and plasticity differences between the types of clay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted May 13, 2022 Report Share Posted May 13, 2022 7 hours ago, Crooked Lawyer Potter said: Is that my imagination or are grogged red clays perhaps lighter per given volume? A lot of the weight of raw clay would be influenced by the water content, but fired I think you should be able to discern the difference in density between identical volumes of finish fired shapes. Porcelain is generally denser and therefore stronger in some respects than other clays. (Definitely depends on what we are considering stronger) It’s just a property of the finished product though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kswan Posted May 14, 2022 Report Share Posted May 14, 2022 I've noticed this sensation too! I also use B Mix 5, and have a few pieces made by a friend out of Standard's 112, and it definitely feels lighter in weight for a similar thickness of clay. I compress and rib off all slip which may also contribute to this. But I also had an aha moment when I was filling sandbags. I was running out of sand and went to the store to get more. The new sand was not just sand but dusty particles as well. I filled my sandbag to the same level as the previous ones and it weighed several pounds more. All those little bits filled in the space between the bigger sand particles. I was thinking this is maybe similar to how clay particles of different sizes might fit together too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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