Ball clays occur naturally as sediments or deposits containing very fine minerals.
Different types of clay for ceramics.
Ball clays are the most plastic clays and contain very limited mineral impurities.
The other advantage of mixing your own is that you can use custom clay body recipes and modify them as desired.
Others use treadles like the foot pumps seen on old sewing machines.
Each of these different clays is composed of different types and amounts of minerals that determine the characteristics of resulting pottery.
Some are powered by hands or feet which spin the platter on which the clay sits.
When it comes to pottery or ceramics porcelain is known to be the most regal of all clay types.
There are many different types of potter s wheels in use.
These porcelains are not the true porcelains but i still find them to be nice clays to throw with.
They contain a large percentage of kaolinite and quartz with around 10 25 mica.
There can be regional variations in the properties of raw materials used for the production of pottery and these can lead to wares that are unique in character to a locality.
All three are available commercially in moist ready to use form.
The maturity temperature workability and color of these 3 categories can vary based on what is added.
I have thrown with cone 5 porcelain 16 hagi porcelain and porcelain five.
The three most commonly used clay bodies are earthenware clay bodies mid fire stoneware clay bodies and high fire stoneware clay bodies.
Mixing clay yourself offers a couple of advantages.
Moist clay weighs a lot more than dry clay and this is reflected in shipping costs.