Is fire clay can be available
from the nature? As per manufacturers of fire clay it can not be selling in market.
No worries about that to worrying this kind of situation. Close your eyes and
think about this, give it a go several times. Think of a place outside where
you saw mud of a lighter color.
It means a place with water
soil erosion work going on. When wet, mud is soft and sticky without any
organic matter in it. Not like a top soil, Never confuse these two. Mud can be
found usually deeper below top soil. It’s everywhere around us but can not be
seen until it’s uncovered.
You have to find direct where
it is not mixed with sand or rocks, and remember the light color. You need to
uncover a mud which has similar structure to the play dough. Fire clay shrinks
about 10 to 15% after water dries out so take home an extra bucket more.
You can make a test if you like;
Stretch and flatten piece of
the clay into 13cm or 5 inches long strip
With a sharp object make 2
marks in it – exact 10cm or 4inches between the marks
Leave the clay to dry
Re measure when dry to see
the shrinkage difference
Some Potters still keep their
own clay source spots as the world’s best kept secrets. Own sourcing was very
common years ago but for sure it’s many artists’ hobby and pride not buying
commercially packed modern clay bodies. It’s different however with quantity
producing potters.
As these adobes dry, they
shrink a bit and should be covered with plastic so the drying speed is slower,
that prevents banding and cracking. More grog is added into the clay, for adobe
tiles, less shrinkage and cracking.
Never add straw saw into body
of mud bricks for creating wood fired oven dome, because it burn off just as
organic material does. It’s being added into heat insulation only to create
honeycomb like airy lightweight effect House building bricks are different to
refractory application. Clay adobe and bricks must be dense and less porous,
solid and heavy.
Cement is used only to make
the mortar to dry faster, to set as you work to progress fast. Also experts fire clay manufacturers tell
you that, no need for refractory cements everywhere, these are expensive and
used by industries for theirs hi temps kilns and furnaces or for castables.
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