Hand rolled clays
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Clays are a blast! And especially when there free. They make a mess of the catch box tho.......
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Nice job Chris..
I'm assuming the marble is just there for size. That's a good idea also.
I'm assuming the marble is just there for size. That's a good idea also.
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Yea buddy, I threw that in for size comparison. The clays are roughly 3/8" ish.
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when they completely dehydrate without any firing they become dust balls and fragile. So let them air dry a day or so then fire up your charcoal grill and throw them in the coals and cook dinner. After supper you add a bit more coal and forget it until you get home from work the next day and sift them out of the ash. They will be brittle and frangible buy not fragile.
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Thanks flip. Im gonna do that.
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Could you also just bake them in the oven on a bread pan, or does it not get hot enough ?
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I was wondering the same thing
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According to google, BBQ charcoal heats exceeding 1120 degree C or 2010 F.
In the fire, the material is being heated, in a stove the air is being heated instead and stuff gets hot as a side effect of the environment.
That said, the oven is probably good enough for government work.
I'd say," Give it a shot." If they turn out a bit fragile when cooled I'd hit them with rattle can in the color of my choice to give them a bit of a shell.
In the fire, the material is being heated, in a stove the air is being heated instead and stuff gets hot as a side effect of the environment.
That said, the oven is probably good enough for government work.
I'd say," Give it a shot." If they turn out a bit fragile when cooled I'd hit them with rattle can in the color of my choice to give them a bit of a shell.
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Ok, so I air dried them for a couple days, and then stuck them in the oven @ 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.
They're no longer chalky and they seem to be much more durable. they don't get slick when they get wet,and I think they'll store better this way also. Id call this whole endeavor a success.
Now I just need to streamline the whole operation. This is fun!!!
They're no longer chalky and they seem to be much more durable. they don't get slick when they get wet,and I think they'll store better this way also. Id call this whole endeavor a success.
Now I just need to streamline the whole operation. This is fun!!!
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Looks great!. Do you have any way to weigh them? if you raid the kitchen you might find a measuring spoon that makes a ball that suits you. Higher rate of consistency in size and weight.
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I dont right now. Theyre really light which is fine with me since im just plinking in my yard.
Im spitballing ideas to get them all uniform. Like maybe a boile roller board or something. As always I appreciate all suggestions.
Btw flip, they go like a stabbed rat from your wishbones.
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I've been studying this thread inside and out. In part because N. Carolina seems to be sitting on a mountain of clay and because I keep a bottle of 'professionally made' clay balls handy for shooting at stuff I don't want to damage.
Anyway I've looked around at different ways to mold a ball and wonder with your wood skills Chris if you could make a wood mold press to create a near perfect and uniform sphere? As far as drying, frying, baking or toasting that seems like an experimental. However, oven-baked pottery has survived hundreds and hundreds of years so maybe that is the only answer? How about additives? Sand, soda, or saliva? Ground up fibers like in an adobe brick? Dunno. Something from nothing eh?
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Anyway I've looked around at different ways to mold a ball and wonder with your wood skills Chris if you could make a wood mold press to create a near perfect and uniform sphere? As far as drying, frying, baking or toasting that seems like an experimental. However, oven-baked pottery has survived hundreds and hundreds of years so maybe that is the only answer? How about additives? Sand, soda, or saliva? Ground up fibers like in an adobe brick? Dunno. Something from nothing eh?
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Great minds think alike Mr Moses. Im thinking of routing channels into a board and then rolling them like carp bait. I definItaly recomend cooking them somehow. A half hour in the oven made them very solid, yet they still shatter on impact.
That whole 'something from nothing' idea is the foundation of my slingshot mantra. Lets pursue this a bit more shall we?
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