Clay Body Ceramics

Mixing clay small to medium batches 500 to 20 000 grams there may come a time when you wish to test a new clay body recipe or to make a small amount of a special clay body such as a porcelain or a grit loaded clay body.

Clay body ceramics.

Low firing pottery will not be waterproof unless it is glazed. For potters and in industry the term clay is not specific enough thus the term body is used. Each glaze has a different effect depending on the clay body you select. Today we re going to talk about the most common clay additives.

By mature we mean fired to the point for which they were formulated. Grog is prefired ceramic material that is ground up into different mesh sizes then added back into a raw clay body. The three most commonly used clay bodies are earthenware clay bodies mid fire stoneware clay bodies and high fire stoneware clay bodies. Yagi studio getty images.

Technically ceramics are those things made from materials which are permanently changed when heated. It refers to the earthenware stoneware or porcelain that forms the piece as opposed to the engobe and covering glaze. Once heated fired to between 660 and 1470 f 350 and 800 c the clay is converted to ceramic and will never dissolve again. When a clay body is vitreous it means that water cannot be absorbed into the clay when it is fired to maturity.

Different clay bodies mature at different temperatures. Please read the details for each. Clay bodies can also be produced by mixing dry clays and additives with water to create your own desired clay body. Non clay materials can be added to bodies to enhance their workability or fired surface characteristics.

Firing other brands of glazes on our clays will offer successful results as well but may vary in appearance mid high fire clays we manufacture mid high fire ap labeled ceramic clays in a variety of formulas for many different uses. The most common form. Common examples are earthenware porcelain and brick. All three are available commercially in moist ready to use form.

Grog paper sand and nylon fibers. In general terms the higher a clay body is designed to fire the more vitreous it is. The crystallinity of ceramic materials ranges from highly oriented to semi crystalline vitrified and often completely amorphous e g glasses. We carry just about every clay offered by standard ceramic supply one of the biggest most reliable go to brands in the world of commercial clays from low fire to high fire and everything in between including wood fire bodies flameware and more standard ceramic supply has a clay for you and we carry it.

Lower fire ranges anywhere from cone 022 1087 degrees f to cone 2 2088 degrees f most popular firing range is cone 04 to 06. For example clay has chemically bonded water in it which will cause it to slake down disintegrate when a dried clay object is put in water.