Making a clay pot at the camp fire

[NancyToday]

Okay, YOu've inspired me. I'm going to take the Georgia Red clay i reclaimed from nature last spring and make a pot out of it! Or perhaps I'll make some plates!

[Dstonemakers6396]

check out some of my pipes

[DustinHarms]

Thanks for making this, very cool. I'm planning on trying to do something similar next time I go out. =)

[Steelers8282]

Go Steelers

[kaleb4444]

you get a dull thunk because your pot is unstable, there is probably a hair line crack somewhere that puts it off. i could be be wrong on this but thats how it works with stone. as a matter of fact the area you patched up or that chip could be your issue

[SouthernRaisedAtheis]

Now I am curious, did you ever attempt to boil water?

[jmg1957]

well done.

[Boomrod]

holy shit the camera has a hand and whispers thoughts

[AnSaoiste]

Well done Sean .

[goldenscales]

All in all, bloody well done!

[goldenscales]

I've heard that if you add cement powder as a temper, that helps. What say you? And you need to air dry the piece for up to a week for it to dry properly. ??

[onionchimp]

wouldnt cement poison anyone using the pot?

not really natural either is it?

[goldenscales]

Don't ask me, mate. That's what I heard. But as a point of fact, yes, cement is a 'natural' product, being made of natural materials such as limestone, clay, sand and/or shale.

Depends also what you were going to use the pot or whatever for........

[akhenatten]

Out of curiosity I did some research into firing clay, both in kilns and open fires. Clay fuses at approx 2.900° F(1,600° C) while the average campfire burns about 1,700° F(926° C). It actually surprised me that a campfire can reach 1,700°, I would've guessed much lower.

With this in mind, I would re-fire the pot and either use a bellows to intensify the fire or build a large fire so that the air being drawn in from the heat serves as a natural bellows.

[TheWoodsroamer]

Sean: You have a nice bowl there. My dad was a brick maker and so I spent my youth making handmade bowls and such at his plant just for fun. One note: You perhaps need to check your clay for impurities like tiny bits of limestone etc. They dry at different rates and will cause cracks. Perhaps I should make a video on this one too. Lots of little tricks to it but it's actually pretty easy. Thanks for the video.

[blueridgebushcraft]

Great job, Sean... Very nice work.

[BushcraftOnFire]

Nice job Sean..

Thanks for the detail on what you did!

[romeoneverdies]

wondering if just burring the pot in sand right under the fire would do or placing it on a grill over the fire

[woodsmithms]

Don't worry about the bits of shell, they'll work fine as a temper - shell tempered pottery is fairly common in North America, inland freshwater mussel was used and on the coast of course any number of shells could be used.

[MrBillTroop73]

Did the "finished" clay pot soften or disolve when you boiled water in it?

Bill

[seanmulhall]

I havent boiled water in it yet. I'll report back once I have.

[sc00ny]

You could make a great refactory for a forge with that clay Sean.

Good video :-)

[r4nger5tube]

Yet again, a great video - I might have a go at processing some clay myself - brilliant and handy primitive skill.

[MrNishi]

Hi Sean, have you tried rolling pieces of clay into "worms" and forming your pot that way? using "worms" allows you to get a consistant thickness for the side of the pot, this can then be smoothed off. It also gives you a bit more range in the style of pot you want, this was a great vid Sean thanks for sharing 5/5

[robinkoeman]

Sounds and looks good Sean!

I'll have to try this out some time. 5/5

[RDPproject]

I love watching these videos. I only have a problem with the dang audio not being loud enough in parts.

[tankislarge]

Your videos are great, love your presenting style and the information you get over is great. and very honest to say about your failure on the first attempt.

Great vids keep them coming.

[akhenatten]

This actually sounds like a fun challenge. I have never tried firing a pot without a kiln but I have seen it done a few times. Most methods favor a large, loosely packed bonfire with the pot either in the middle or bottom of the fire. The purpose of loosely packing it is to allow strong air flow to get super high heat to fuse the clay/sand mix, and the size of the fire is so that it cools slowly to prevent cracking of the pot as it cools.

Great video as always, I look forward to more.

[quartermain1973]

Great video, how will it stand up for like holding water in it? was woundering if it could be used to make a small water tank.

[youseemreallybored]

can you swim in the ocean there?

[nicko978]

Great job!

[noucuratlex]

Thanks for sharing this with us.

[wildernesswikiup14]

i cant get mine im pissed

[denplaza]

hehe, "doesn't sound like China" xD

great vid sean..5/5 again :).

[russtuff]

Great video Sean (as always). Surprisingly, there is very little information on youtube about making a clay pot or bowl in the wilderness. Can you tell us where you learned some of the tricks you use here (grinding to a powder, using sand, etc)?

[Bloodynavallint]

awesome

[luvu2luvme]

sean, im sorry to hear about your wind problem ,but aslong as you do it when your outside it wont bother anyone too much,nice vid again sean.

[seanmulhall]

After I said it I thought it didnt sound right but thought others might not notice. LOL

[LowBudgetBushcraft]

Thanks for posting your vid. I'm sure many of us were wondering how to get started.

[19leon73]

Good job Sean...

5/5 from Sweden

[seanmulhall]

Im not an artisit so dont mark me on the design, but I hope that showing others the way I processed the clay will help others to succeed in this challenge. The pot does hold water and if I manage to make another pot before the end of the dead line I'll show you all the evidence.

[hobbexp]

i think you did a good job, :0) 5/5

[Wildernessliving]

Awsome job Sean now I have to get some clay lol

[firebark]

very cool, maybe next you could try making some primitive metal tools, though this is probably very difficult

[seanmulhall]

I have plans to try this with Chris Grant next itme I get up to Scotland.

[flamedrag18]

if the sides were a little higher, it'd be perfect.

[SkogKniv]

Well done and your the first to do it. You didn't show us the pot holding water though hehehe. 5/5

[seanmulhall]

I'll email you some photos.

[legato223]

I hate to discriminate.....But thats a bowl....not a pot lol

[assassin616]

lets see u make 1 then

[legato223]

Never said i can make one better, or anything of that sort. Maybe i came off a bit rude with my comment , That i did not intend.

[seanmulhall]

I didnt take any offence to your comments so niether should any one else.

[assassin616]

i wasnt offended, i even thumbed up ur comment now

[petervagt]

Great Video Sean..

[flamedrag18]

nice, but how did you fit the video on here?

[seanmulhall]

Because I am part of the Youtube partners I am allowe dto upload larger videos.

[flamedrag18]

ok, cause I didn't see any advertisements on your page, thought you weren't one.

[1wiganer]

Good job sean, ill hav a go at makin 1 me self..

5/5*

[desertsurvivalist]

Great video! I have never seen pottery from natural material done quite like that before. More than one way to skin a cat I always say. Great tutorial! I look forward to more. Keep it guys!