Is There a Better Way To Wet Process Clay? 

Thanks for watching. If you are interested in learning more about finding and processing wild clay check out my wild clay playlist here - ru-vid.com/group/PLxjk09ZJzrluiv0yq8njHgtBvICnv_oSR

I have a couple of observations: Wet processing vs. dry processing is dependent on the quality of your source material. If you have a real good dry source, dry processing is just fine. Wet processing is typically used to turn less than ideal sources into usable material. If you don't need to wet process, don't. It's certainly more labor and time intensive so only use it when you have to. The tub is a fine idea, but a key mistake I saw here was leaving it in direct sunlight. Most people will cover it with a sheet of plywood or an actual old bed sheet. Then leave it for a day or two or three. It's not *that* picky of a process. Even if it dry's out a little and cracks, you're going to knead the crap out of it anyway which will homogenize and rehydrate the mixture. When you were straining the material, you didn't need to stop and clean out the strainers. You keep pouring until the liquid can no longer drain. There was no reason to stop and clean the screen every few drops. The excess material will just increase the fineness of the filtration until it clogs, which you can then smack with your hand over the dirt before continuing. I think you made a mountain out of a mole hill on this part :P

Love the long shallow tote idea! I use a clean plastic tarp with a simple square of 8’ long 2x4s underneath the edges to keep the liquid from running off. A 10’x10’ tarp allows the liquid clay to be very shallow, increasing the surface area and therefore accelerating the evaporation process. It also makes removing the clay much easier than scraping it out of a tote.

Be careful about leaving plastic bins in the sun. If the plastic is not UV resistant, the bins will degrade and become so brittle they'll break when you go to move them-in less than a year. (Georgia, USA summer sun experience.)

Before comparing wet vs dry processing it probably would be best to describe one's goals and what efficient means to you. Are you looking to get workable clay as quickly as possible or does it not matter how long overall it takes but you want minimal involvement and work on your part. Generally for me I am not too concerned with how long it takes so once the clay has been "dissolved" and strained I will let the slurry settle in the bucket for a week or maybe even a whole month during which time I completely ignore it. Then I pour off the clear water, scoop the clay out onto a flat surface and wait for it to dry out with an occasional moment or two for mixing and testing for dryness. If the clay is approaching a workable state but I have other things on my agenda I will loosely cover it with plastic to slow the drying or even put it in a bucket with a lid on to preserve its state for later finishing. I find this method pretty efficient in terms of my involvement and physical labor but the elapsed time from start to finish can be significant. I have tried using plaster to dry clay and it does work fairly quickly but what nobody mentions is that it then takes a long time for the plaster to dry out before you can use it again, so in the long run I don't find it that useful.

To get a better idea with the temper, weigh the raw clay before you wet it. That will give you an indication of the weight of temper required. Then make some allowance for loss, and you have the amount of temper to add to the wet bucket of clay before you start drying it. For drying, perhaps make up a pair of four x foot square boxes from a 8x4 sheet of cheap half inch plywood. Make edges from 2x2 lumber well screwed to the ply. That will give you 32 square feed of drying surface and a layer about 1/4" thick for 5 gallons of slurry. To get the clay out just lift the tray onto a side and bang the back with a spade. Repeatedly. Keep up the good work!

A few thoughts based on my own (admittedly limited) experience: - I'm in the UK. So pretty much any clay I find will be wet already! I'll have a drying step regardless of method. - some clays settle much faster than others. Some of the stuff I've dug from my garden largely settles over a few hours. - in cold or wet weather (remember, in the UK ;) ) rather than dry outside I'll keep it indoors and pour off the water "produced" over a few days then leave a week to dry, or just use a cloth

I'm totally pleased to see more of your experiments with wet processing clay. This is much close to my multi-strainer method.

Thank you for all the work, time, and energy that you put into making these videos. It is greatly appreciated. I am new to pottery and I am learning much from your channel. Keep up the great work!

Andy, not only are your videos chock-full of helpful information, but they’re a pleasure to watch. You’ve got such a great attitude. Thank you for these

I live in Iowa and just started refining my own clay from the dirt I dig myself. I have been wet-processing with different sized screens. What I have found is that I can separate several grades of sand, which then can be used for other projects. The finest sand I use as my clay temper. It is a long process but I find it very therapeutic and gratifying. Still have much to learn!

Thanks for your videos, I have learned a lot! I do have a couple tips for wet processing. Once it gets to a slush you can pull off an amount of say 200 g, dry it on parchment paper in the oven, and then weigh it again. This will tell you the moisture content. then you can weigh all of the slush, subtract the moisture content number to get the dry clay amount. That'll improve the accuracy of your 20% temper if you added before the clay is dry. What I've done since I'm in no hurry is simply let the clay completely dry out then put it in a bag and smack it with a mallet until I get a pretty fine powder. I do run it through a screen periodically throughout the process to separate the fine powder from the big chunks and then go back to smashing with the mallet. I am by no means an expert and I haven't done this enough to know how it compares to other methods.

I am seriously looking forward to the third video on wet processing clay. There's just something deeply satisfying about seeing water and clay mix.

Hey Andy! Not sure if its been mentioned in other comments (probably) but I wanted to suggest a better system for a liquid clay drying trough. If you build a 2x4 frame about the same size as that plastic tote with hardware cloth/metal mesh on the bottom side you can line it with a sheet and pour your clay in. If its elevated a bit like up on some bricks, you can get air flow underneath. This system not only evaporates water from the top but also wicks moisture from the bottom. Clay will dry faster and more evenly! Then once its set up you can just pull it out with the sheet, very little cleanup! Hope thats useful. Really appreciate you and all your generosity!

I want to thank you for that wet process video ✌🏼 I made an awesome fire place and sitting area- all natural, all free and best of all it will go back to the earth just like us. Mixing it was my favorite part 🤭

Hello brother Andy. I found your channel while searching for better ways to wet process clay, I am now a subscriber. I am in four corners in SW Colorado. The clay I have access to here is a wonderful ancient marine deposit, it has just the right amount of shale sands in it to not need added temper, it fires a nice peachy pink. My biggest problem is removing organic matter, to do this I wet to a thick milk and pour through a fine screen and then let it sit and pour off the remaining floaters. To dry it I use a drywall knife and spread it as thin as possible in a plastic kiddy pool from the dollar store. It takes about 3 - 5 days to dry out in the sun. I dry it completely to hard flakes, break it up with a hammer and store it dry in 5 gallon buckets. Then just use like normal dry clay. I now run mine through a corn grinder ;) thanks for that tip! I don't have a good camera but I can try to make a video. I guess the biggest difference is that your looking for a final useable product at the end of the process, I am just removing organics and storing dry clay for later. I also only do about 5 gallons at a time, so I am not in a hurry. Love your channel, keep it up.

"Mercy sakes alive!" Haha i love this wholesome goodness. :) Quickly becoming my all things clay channel.

I saw the other mentioned video 1st and left a comment suggesting wet is better. It looks like you've got it. Thanks for your clay videos!

It's hard to admire you without envy! Great vid!

i did the exact same thing as you did here, but i left it outside in the sun at 32c for a week before it was dry enough to bring in and bag up. then the temper, as you say is hard to add into it. so for me the grinder is best. but! i had a problem with temper, so i had to wet process some clay to see how much temper came out of the raw material. turned out that the raw material had almost enough temper naturally, when i added the 20%more it wasn't good. so basically i do a small batch of wet process to give me an idea how much temper is in the natural clay. the grinder is the way to go once i know how much temper to add. great video thanks tom

Owh hell yeah, I just posted a comment on the previous video, but now i feel silly cuase you've already improved your process ! Nice !!!

You are an honest and awesome man Andy. You did really great with this one. ✌️ Thanks so much for making videos! 😊🌎✨

as far as the plaster things goes, use #1 pottery plaster, it will set with fewer (or no) pin holes. I would mix up a couple of gallons and pour it into that long plastic container a few inches deep (between 2 1/2 and 4 inches) and tap it a bunch to get as much of the air out as you can, then let it cure for a couple of weeks. I wouldn't bother unmolding it from the bin, leaving it in the bin will make it less likely to brake. I would mount it on legs (or put it on a table) under some kind of cover to keep the rain off (in a shed, or an overhang, or heck just make sure to cover it with the lid when it isn't in use). The plaster will wick moisture away from the clay pretty quickly, or if you flood it it can keep a piece workable in a bin for days. Here have a few videos about making plaster bats. These are mostly about reclaiming clay rather then harvesting wild clay, but I think the processes are probably similar enough to work. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4mTI91Xebm8.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZciM2V6dudQ.html If you do have to dry clay on your work bench (or I bet it would even work in the bin if you made sure to drape it over the edges) again get a canvas cloth (like a small drop cloth, or a hemmed canvas square) and put the clay on top of that to wick the moisture out from both sides of the clay. Once the clay is dry enough to be handleable it will peel away from the canvas.

Andy, This was a trip down memory lane for me. The first time my grandmother got me involved in wet processing clay was 76 years ago. You were much cleaner than we were, and our clay wasn't contaminated with organic matter. Using plaster blocks in the plastic evaporation pan you used in this video should absorb more water per pound of plaster than a plaster tub. Much more of the surface of a plaster block can contact the mud to absorb moisture than the fraction of a plaster tub's surface that is in contact with the mud. Evaporating water from mud will go faster the thinner the mud is spread, the less the pan holding the mud interferes with the airflow, and the faster the wind blows across the mud/clay. Spreading the mud on a heavy plastic sheet or cloth tarp an inch or less thick should dry mud in a few hours in the Phoenix summer. Experimenting with adding salt, borax, calcium carbonate, etc., to clay held in suspension in distilled water, you should be able to find the point where the finer clay particles fall out.

Excellent audio choices for this video I just adore you to pieces

I went with the wet process because I live in the Pacific Northwest and it's already wet. ha ha And even when this material came out of the ground (about 9 or 10 feet down) in late summer, it was damp, so made sense to start here. The material does have some rocks and silt in it, too, so that was another reason I felt using gravity to separate it out, made sense. With that said, I am still waiting for mine to firm up more and become less sticky, even after adding sand. We'll see. ha ha By the way, I used a 5X tshirt with the neck and sleeves tied off, filled it with the still pretty wet clay (still wet enough to pour in there) and then hung it from a tree in the woods for a couple days. Then when the rains came I hung it inside the hut I built over the hole I got the clay from (the hut is COB) thinking the humidity in there would let it dry more evenly. After several days in there it did firm up more, but was still pretty wet. I will try some other ideas next time. Honestly, just making the clay is fun for me. Once I have useable material we shall see if using the clay to make something is equally satisfying. :D

I was really depressed today, but not im going to go dig in my local area and make my own clay to create with! thanks dude!

Love the videos. Trying to save up for a house but still getting into pottery this helps a ton.

Super cool video. Love those slow mo shots.

Thank you so much for all your help and hard work.... Your videos are so fun.

I have only just found your videos! I love them!

You could lay a piece of fabric in the bottom of the shallow tub to help wick moisture out. And then I’d just leave it for as long as it takes in the shade and not worry about it. I’d probably have tubs in different stages of drying so I didn’t have to wait for one batch specifically. You could build a shelf to stack them so they still get airflow :) love your videos!

Excellent tutorial on wet-processing clay.

That's the exact same strainer I use! Yes! But, I had not thought to use a shallow evaporator. Instead, I'd been letting the five gallon bucket kinda do its thing. Which worked okay for making slip. I still have to use the pillowcase to firm up the final clay. I'll certainly chat a bit in depth and bring samples this September, if that is okay. Thank you for another awesome and informative video!

Hi Andy. I'm in the UK so our clay starts out wet. To get the temper ratio I'm taking a 100 gm wet sample of the processed batch, quickly drying it and weighing the result to know the dry content. I'm then adding temper by weight accordingly to try to get some consistency. So say 100 gm wet might be 64 gm dry, so I would add 160 gm temper per wet kilo to achieve 20% by dry content weight. A quick crush of the sample to measure the volume would allow the same by volume. Thanks for your videos.

Loved the video! 😊

I love your videos. You make me laugh in a good way. Thank you for educating us

You can add a cap full of lemon juice to plaster of Paris to extend the open time. You can use wet clay to make a mold by putting a rectangular piece into the clear bin you have. That will be the inner part of the plaster vessel. I used this method to make molds for slip casting. I used plaster of Paris instead of drywall compound to restore the inside of my farmhouse, I love that stuff.

I use those plastic baskets with a curtain folded in half in it. Works really well. It gets all the water out in about 2 days and you don't have to watch over it much.

I recently became interested in processing clay as a project with my daughter. We like your videos. We have only done it once with dirt from our yard. For us the wet method was the cheapest as the bucket and water we had. The pillow case was the hard part. We plan on processing more maybe, we will make a video. Thanks!

I did about 200lb of raw wet clay at once. I strained mine 2 or 3 times through a paint strainer, levigated, strained, levigated and then just let it sit in a tub for a couple days until it was a thick slip. That took about a week. Then I pillowcased it in about 2gal batches, but as it stiffened I smacked it around on a piece of plywood, periodically. It came out even consistency and wedged out just like it was commercially packaged. It was time consuming, but not that much effort. Yeah, thats a lot of plaster and it saturates quickly. Once it does, it gets fragile, so it has to be really thick; I usually fill the container about ¼ to ⅓ full, to make a slab. That said, I use a plaster slab for small amounts. I usually get my clay way too wet, so it has become easier to just over wet it and throw it on a slab to dry to the right consistency.

Chinese Noodle Man. 40 years ago I ate noodles in a small hole-in-the-wall shop in Malang, Indonesia. I loved the noodle soup and took interest that the guy appreciated. Now kneading fresh noodle dough has similar difficulties to kneading clay. He had invented a dough smasher. A sturdy table, a U bolt in the middle on the edge, a metal tube about 2 inches diameter and 3' to 4' long with a hook on the end. The noodle man would lift up the handle in the air and insert the lowered hook into the U-bolt. Putting the dough in the middle of the table, he would then put his weight on the tube bringing it down and smashing the dough over and over knead rolling the dough at the same time.. The Key was Leverage did most of the work. Great noodles.= great clay if used the same.

Enjoyed watching you struggle with wet processing. The clay I use pretty much requires wet processing. For measuring out the clay I wait till it is workable then separate it out into 1lb balls then I know I have a consistent amount of clay. I don't add temper, but might I suggest pressing the clay into some container to know how much you have? Then you can better gauge how much temper is needed.

I love your high quality videos! You seem to know everything and everyone in ancient pottery. Best of all, you've given me the courage to a hobby I've been thinking about for years, every time I dig up all this clay. Whether planting trees, or putting down stepping stones, whatever, I end up with tarps of bright red Georgia clay, which we use to move it as it is heavy. Where to move it? I have really wanted to try pottery. I'd like to make mugs, soup bowls and a tagine. I had no one to teach me, and then your video popped up and I'm thrilled. I really like this no-work method of letting it dry out, so as not to lose what you've harvested. You've shown us the pitfalls and advantages of several more methods to purify the clay, and with patience, I'm sure one will work for me and the local clay!

Awesome Andy thank you

It seems to me a combo of the two methods would be best. Wet processing, in my opinion, produces purer clay without most of the possible contaminants, organic and inorganic. But once it has completely dried it can be ground and made into a dry powder. Then it has all the benefits of dry processing, including adding the correct amount of temper and easier storage.

I love the video and all the different shirts haha

Thank you. I very much enjoyed your video on testing a wet process method. I'm new to your videos and I'll be working my way through many of them, I can tell. I live in the Central Valley of California and there's natural clay all over. I've toyed with the idea of using some but never tried it because it seems so laborious. I think it's time to try it out.

Nice work Andy.

I don't have a grinder so I mix all of mine wet. I put mine in a big bin like yours and lay cardboard or newspaper down on top of it. Helps it dry so much faster.

I like these educational videos on old school skills and techniques. Maybe a hole in the ground or other form with a shower curtain (underneath and on top) could work as a "solar dehydrator." Thanks for the video.

Hi Andy, I've recently stumbled upon your videos and have enjoyed your content. I think I can give some tips on how to "wet process" your clay a little more efficiently. From what I understand of your "dry processing" method, it will likely be faster than "wet-processing". The main benefits of wet-processing would be: 1) Better control of the actual size of the particles you're collecting; 2) Higher clay recovery (if you don't want to waste the clay); 3) Dust control. Griding/pulverizing and sieving dry soil is extremely dusty, and that dust can cause long-term breathing trouble if exposed regularly All of that being said, if you don't *really* need to separate the clay-sized fraction from the silt-sized fraction, and you are able to do things outside or where the dust isn't a concern with a mask, then I'm not sure how much of a benefit there is for "wet-processing" method (sedimentation). I have very little experience with making pottery as of now, so I'm not sure how important the particle size actually is, but it seems like your dry processed "clay" works just fine. I may be able to put a video or two together once things slow down a bit this summer. Maybe one focused on the physics and chemistry of what is going on, and another that is more applied. Soil scientist here and I run a soil testing lab in academia (for whatever that's worth).

Even on your small lot, the electric cement mixer might still come in handy as a labor saver instead of your grinder. BTW, I like that you can go barefoot on your paving stones in 112 degree temperatures. That's truly *primitive* pottery! :)

I got one of those gold mining pans sets and Ive been using itby putting a cloth on top of it and set it over a bucket then I'll get clay stratify it in water run it though a paint screen and into the reservoir with the cloth on top. For the cloth I used an old blanket we were going to throw out anyway. Then after a while the water will slowly drip down into the bucket and you can usually help the clay to be mor manageable by squeezing it in the cloth to ring out the clay. Ive noticed cloths really help with that I also saw another video where he was using a sponge that might help once all the clay has settled with what you are doing

I keep a large, shrimp boil type pot beside my wheel with water and clay and add to it over time with wet scraps. I always dump my throwing water in the pot. Once it gets full(about 300 pounds), I mix it with a Harbor Freight mixer. This goes onto plaster about an inch or so thick as needed for each day. I leave it there for one day, not turning it over so I have a wet side and dry side slab. This goes into an extruder with an inch by 2 inch hole in the plate which makes long “bars” of clay. I run it through twice. The clay that comes out is way better than store bought clay in ease of throwing. I think bacteria grows on it which makes it more slippery with less water. It definitely has a bad odor until it dries on plaster. For a studio pottery, it is all you need. I throw pound to pound and a half pots this time of year and large pots in the fall to help fill a wood kiln. I can throw the big pots with store clay and cannot tell much difference, but on paper thin walled one pound cups, it is significantly better.

I live in Florida and have a two car garage with a concrete floor. I soak my dry clay in water till soft and then drain off the water. I then mix it with my Ryobi drill with a mixer bit like yours. I then poor the clay sludge out on old towel on the garage floor to absorb water. I move the towels about every 8 hours to a dry location. I does take a few days to dry out enough to flip ( from half of the towel to the other half and then cover with the remaining half. I check it periodically for dryness. Once ready I cut into blocks and wedge. Works perfect for me. I process about 20-25 lbs at a time.

Looks great 😊🇬🇧❤️

Awesome job , I don’t mind wet clay processing , to me it’s not work it’s fun , the results in the end and have awesome clay to play with , definitely my kinda thing . I’ll check out the grinding method to make clay never done that one , interesting , love the video , thank you for sharing. 👍

My preference is to combine the wet and dry processing methods because my source has a lot of rocks in it that I need to remove. I take the raw clay and blend it in a bucket like you did and then let it sit for 1 minute to let rocks and large pieces sink. Then I pour off into a clean bucket and let it sit for 24 hours. Pour off clear liquid then the rest into a drying tray and I just let it dry out completely. Collect and store the dry pieces until i need to use it then treat like dry process.

I love your experimenting Andy and your video work. I wish you also had a channel just on that. My experience with the clear storage bins is that they become brittle with too much sun. What about using a large black mortar trough to evaporate water from the clay? Also, if time is not an issue, it would work fine. I would put the trough up on a platform to minimize lifting and work the clay from there. I like the idea of working the clay wet, to minimize the dust getting in my lungs. Thanks for sharing your thinking and your process.

I think adding the temper before it gets firm is too much of a guessing game, as you indicated. Watching this gave me an idea that is worth trying, I think. Once the wet clay is ready to dry, either build something from 2x4 boards or use a table that is inverted. The legs are pointing up in the air. Tie a bed sheep with loose thread count to the four corner legs. Put your plastic tub under it to catch the water. Pour the wet clay into the center of the sheet and let it drip into the tub as it will be suspended over the tub. If you build the frame you could just let it drain onto the ground. This allows it to drain from the bottom like a pillow case and allows air and sun exposure on top and bottom. Once it gets dry then remove the tub and untie the corners to transport the clay inside. This seems like the fastest drying process to me. Andy, you may have to do one more video....:-)

I love your videos keep up the good work

I wait sometimes a week or more before refining. By the way the last stuff to settle is best. The bottom clay layer(s) of the bucket can be culled due to grit etc. The top layer is gold.

Having a fan blow across the surface is a HUGE time save for this! Even a light but consistent breeze will noticably increase the rate drying, especially in the sun with dry weather. Like others were saying, you can add something that wicks water away and gives it more surface area to dry like an unused bedsheet. Also darker colors absorb more light energy, this will also speed up evaporation if you're using a bedsheet/cloth. The biggest variable for drying is surface area, that's the only place water can escape the material.

I have not read ALL the comments so this may have been said. However in case it was not...How about weighing the clay and figuring out the 20%. Weigh a 5 gallon bucket first, then fill with the wet clay and use the difference. I really liked the idea of adding the temper material to the large flat and then stirring it in. Our problem here in Michigan is we stay pretty humid so I think adding a fan over the plastic container would be a must! Keep making the videos I am learning a lot!

I love your channel man, it’s really incredible how much knowledge you’re sharing with us. Keep the great content coming! Hoping to get processing soon, just undecided on the way to do it. Also what’s that song at 8:32 ? Can definitely vibe to that while working on some pottery! 😌

ive been playing around with methods, a denim, or old jean material tightly sewn into a drawstring bag, test the jean material first make sure it only passes fairly clear water, make multiple drawstring bags for multiple drying bags, and then use a pot for drying, one of the ones with a hole in the bottom for dripping dry, i process a lot of the stuff, but this is my own method.

As always phantastic video.... Love the way you do it and this time it was realy funny by the way...😄. Andy had struggle with the wet clay....😏

Thanks for the video. I'm in the process of building a forge and needing clay to line it with. My soil is super rocky mixed in with the clay so we process seems to be the only way. I'm gonna have to steal the tub idea. Gonna just let the sun do the hard work and let it run for a few days.

Cool I’ve been looking for ways to process raw clay

I find myself processing it dry if the clay is more pure. If there is more sand in it I like to use the wet method, but I do use a hanging cotton pillow case. I use a metal screen meant for gold panning and fits atop a 5 gallon bucket. For wet processing I like to only work with 1/3 of a buck of clay because in the end I will be adding more water and too much clay in the pillow case means the outside could get too dry while the inside will be too wet. It’s just more manageable. When I first filter through the screen I spray the stuff stuck in the screen with a water hose to remove more clay from the big particles, plant material etc. Layer I stir up the clay particles and carefully drain the top level off into another bucket leaving the sand behind in the bucket. And repeat and repeat. I’ve never come up with a magic way to add a known percentage of temper to wet processed clay. I just keep adding it and kneading it in when still a little on the wetter side until I like the feel and the clay starts to behave the way I want. Dry processing is better for keeping to known percentages of temper and for long term storage too. By the way, for temper I use tuff (volcanic sand/ash). I can collect it locally and sift it and get all I need without spending any time grinding any of it.

The dry way certainly looks easier but the wet way needs less equipment I think, and depending on circumstances may be more convenient so probably swongs and roundabouts...for me I think wet processing is probably more accessible Thanks for sharing

Hi Andy, Thank you for your videos. I'm learning from your effort and I appreciate what you are showing us. Yesterday I went off and left three pillowcases of refined clay in their very last stage of drying out in the sun. When I get to my studio today, I'm going to find it too hard to work with and I'll probably have to start over. I don't know if I can resoften it. Im talking about 40 lbs. or so but it represents time and work wasted in this case. Bummer. I noticed a little scepticism on your part as you started this process of the "wet method". I don't have a grinder and I've only done it this way. After watching this I'll definitely find a way to grind my material and try the dry method of hydrating. Thank you for sharing.

I have never done my own clay but as for grinding! I’d use my larger electric corn grain grinder vs the small hand grinder. It is fully adjustable and similar in design with metal plates and can be coarse ground then progressively finer and much faster. I use mine to break apart flax seed pods to release the seed I damaged and ready for machine winnowing to remove the seed. I think it would be a good fit for grinding clay.

I like the pillow case method you showed ,I tide it to wood handle set over 5 gal bucket to catch drip clay

I make a wooden or brick surround on top of absorbent brick or concrete base eg the footpath or driveway for concrete - anywhere for brick. Make the surround the size you want so that the batch of slip when poured will be about 2-3 inches deep or less. The deeper the pool the longer it will take to dry. Drape an old linen sheet or sheets or any absorbent cloth big enough into the surround with the edges over the sides. As the slip dries roll the clay and mix it by lifting the edges of the sheet and rolling the clay towards the centre of the mass and pushing it down to mix with the wetter clay. You can move the clay to a drier patch of concrete also simply by lifting or pulling it along with the sheet. At this stage you can dispense with the surround. If you need to go away for however long simply cover or wrap in a plastic sheet.

Ha I did the wet method and went away from my house for 2 weeks with the clay in a pillow case. When I came back It was rock solid. So I had to grind it up which took up so much time. I'm gonna try the dry method next.

living in AZ your clay that you're harvesting is usually great for grinding, here in Oklahoma we have allot of clay but it's usually damp so it gums up grinders so wet processing is easier for us.

Praise the Potter! Thanks for this!

I am limited to the wet method, as I don't have а grain crusher, so I've decided to use gypsum. First I've made a bunch of 50x30 gypsum boards with ribs for drying bits of clay after the pottery class. They are about 5 centimeters thickness, hold about 6-7 kg of wet clay and dry it nicely overnight. To dry this board I put it in the sun or near the heater in winter. Then the friend of mine gave me leftover construction gypsum board, it was really old, 15 cm thickness and nearly 80x50cm. I coated it with fresh gypsum layer about 1 cm. and since then drying is an easy job. I just leave clay for a week or so, pouring water from top now and then, finally mix it with mixer and carefully put it on the board, covering with film, so it dries evenly. Next day I check, if the clay is ready - I take it, if not - I turn it over.

I have used sheet rock without fiberglass and lay down paper towels so the paper won’t peak off. And flip the clay and wedge at time to keep a consistent wetness.

Most of the studios I have ever worked in had a lot of cement and some where it was not sealed. That is usually where you could lay out your clay to dry with a fan on it or sunlight. A couple of 2x4's unsealed could be set up for walls to try to contain it a little. Worked great, but the best was usually a plaster of paris table somewhere in the studio. You had to leave room for wedging, but a good table made of plaster of paris could do wonders for sucking out moisture from your clay. Its interesting, I would think that your clay would dry out in hours rather than days since you live in such a dry spot. Its funny I can tell you do mostly hand building just from your reaction to wet clay. I believe I have had a similar reaction learning to throw. I just couldn't get my hands dry and clean fast enough. LOL! This kind of processing is kind of a set it and forget routine where like any wet science it finds its routine slowly. I think there are some good old articles in ceramics monthly of old plaster wedging tables. With your space limitations, you may have to go smaller batches. I was going to mention a handy 5 gal bucket classifier that you can find in any mining online store, but I see they went up in price quite a bit. The plastic on them does deteriorate but I have had a set now here for over 10 years and they are just starting to get brittle. The mesh is steel but the sides are plastic. Anyway, great video, I have never dry reclaimed clay so I will have to look into that strategy. The fear I have with dry is that I would have to wear a mask and I would be happy to never wear another mask again.

haha, I was waiting for that spalsh!!

Hi there, I've been watching this series only now and have a few thoughts that might help. I am by no means an expert, I'm just very interested in the matter. First of all, perhaps measuring the initial amount of dry material and then saving the waste you take from the sieve, drying it and measuring it as well, would give you the total amount of dry clay you have inside of your slurry. Having that would help you find out the amount of temper you need. Also, about the plaster. Maybe get another shallow plastic container and pour the plaster there. I believe you can oil the surface or even use oil soap to help unmould it. I'm invested in this now lol will keep watching everything you post! Thank you for sharing so much!!!! :)

Cast blocks of plaster of paris, then put the blocks in the buckets scrape adhered clay after they absorbed the water add new dry block. Sundry the blocks.!

I'm not a potter, but I had a thought regarding the lost clay and the temper. What if you used this method simply to purify the clay and let it dry out in a thin layer in the bins? I'm not certain, but I think from there it shouldn't be too difficult to crush and grind and then accurately measure your temper.

Disclaimer: I am not, nor have I ever made clay in my life (so this may be an ignorant question, please be kind) I see this debate between wet and dry processing and it seems to me that the best solution (for clay quality and ease of collection) would be to combine the 2. Use the wet method to isolate the purest clay you can (and if you believe in wet aging it, then you can do that too), but then rather than try to collect the clay at the 'perfect' time and then wrestle with introducing temper into it and then storing it in sealed containers to keep it usable, why not let it dry out completely, then dry process it? You'd have the purest clay, with a known ratio of clay to temper and you could store it indefinitely in its dry form for use when needed. What am I missing?

Hi, I have barely ever done any kind of pottery and I really have no idea how to do almost everything described here, but I though did occur to me that you could use a ramp of sorts at an incline, which you can then pour your mixture off onto, like a gold sluice?, gravity will pull away water, leaving clay on the sluice to dry, of course the ramp would have to be at a certain angle, and the pour rate will have to be reduced to avoid overspill.. Would this work?

Thanks for this video! Just yesterday I took my dried clay and pounded it with a rock like you said another videos after two hours of really good hard work which I needed, I got over 3 pounds of clay powder! I am blind. So when I listen to you do this wet processing it sounded like way more work to me! I’m going to stick with the dry processing. I plan to take your classes and offer them to my children as well. We live in Ohio and it does get hot here so in the warm months we’re gonna process the clay and in the winter we will try our hand at pottery God’s blessings to you! One question if I were to use bentonite clay to add in with my other mixture, what would be the ratio? I know you suggest a four to one with fourfor Clay and one for temper.

You should have used the pillow case method but put the pillow case on a rack in that tub. You get the majority of your clay relatively quickly and then collect the fine powder once the water evaporates. Just a thought.

I use a standard plastic washing basket with an old bit if tarp inside. Set outside in the Australian sun

i use an old plaster slip mold for a large bowl. of course it has to be bone dry between batches. remove top clear water with a flat grout sponge rather than pouring and mixing. patience!

Another good video. Thanks for sharing. I tried this method many times but I think I am doing something wrong, because when my clay is ready and make a rope ( as you told in a video) and round that rope of clay it cracks. Any solution or suggestions?? Thanks

Wonder if you lined it with a plastic trash bag or drop cloth would help

if you suspend a bath towel into your bucket is seems like it would wick the water up to where the circulating air would evaporate it more readily. that would also increase the surface area and may end up negating any possible "van der wals" attraction exerted by the sludge. Anyhow, just a thought.

Tried my hand at wet processing some clay from the yard for the first time yesterday. The old bucket popped in my hand trying to pour water off! It sure dried fast on the hot patio stones 😂

Terracotta is porous. It'll let water through but not the clay particles. It'll even wick up moisture and evaporate it on its outer surface. Perhaps you can revisit the pillowcase method but use it to line a very large terracotta flower pot. The cloth is better at wicking moisture and the pot minimizes clay losses. It's still a slow process, but it's now a set and forget task with little involvement. It also won't solve the uneven moisture issue, but the labor of wedging could be handled with a machine instead. Though a pug-mill would be ideal, it's not exactly hobbyist friendly. However, a heavy-duty kitchen stand mixer using a dough hook might just work. If not, then a meat grinder attachment with an endplate of appropriately sized holes could do the job. It's a thought, though I'm not sure if it'll work.

Just now got suggested this channel by The Algorithm, Allseer, Allknower; and man am I happy about it. Thank you for this. I may even join your Zoom meetings. Thank you!😀

It takes enormous dedication to one's craft to revisit something that obviously annoys them this much. You have my respect, sir. Edit: I just remembered something my grandpa used to say. When he was asked "is there a better way to do x?", the answer was almost always, "Yeah, pay somebody else to do it for you." What a legend.

Do you have to add temper to clay found at the beach? If so, can it be sand from the same beach? Hoping to create pottery pieces made entirely from the front yard. :) Thank you for your incredible channel.