STONEWARE CLAY BODIES

STONEWARE CLAY BODIES: Here you can purchase our Stoneware clay for pottery. These are moist pugged with two 25lb slugs in each 50 lb box… and yes we use twist ties! These are very popular clays for pottery making whether wheel throwing or hand building. Shown right: Teapot “Sky Blue, Torn Ends” by Ray Bub, Pownal VT. Made with Sheffield Pottery Stoneware clay and raw materials. Photo by Jon Barber Stoneware clay bodies are the best choice for making functional pottery such as tableware. If you are firing in an electric kiln you should use cone 6 clay, cone 6 glazes, and fire to cone 6. This will save a lot of wear and tear on your kiln vs firing to cone 10. (Note Cone 5 and Cone 6 temperatures are generally synonymous) Learn more about the different types of pottery clay here! For wood and gas kilns as well as a small number of select glazes cone 10 rated clay will be advised. The cone rating of clay is related to not only the temperature which yields the strongest result but also where the clay becomes vitreous (will not absorb water). Over-fired clay will become weaker and if it is over-fired a lot it will melt and ruin kiln shelves and kilns! So be sure to fire to the correct cone! Important to note that in the cone rating scale there is a big difference between Cone 06 and Cone 6. In the cone scale think of the 0 as a minus sign. For pottery making the relevant cone starts at very low fire 022 for lusters and decals and go up to 01 then continue up from cone 1 to cone 10. Some wood-fired potters will get to cone 12 in some parts of their kilns!