SIMON LEACH. Recuperating clay making it softer.

www.simonleachpottery.com
This is a good tip when you are caught out by your clay getting too hard !
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[joealanouf]

i do that now thanks to you simon i also save all my trimings and sutch and add water. brake them up. let it sit. reconstitude . then re wedge it. saves money. if yu have the time and energy to do so. i dont like to wast. also i have leurned to fully utalize my clay so there realy isnt any scraps left over. i live and california but i am a full time student of simon leach.

[sleachpots]

Hey Joe ! glad to have along as a student, I 'm one as well though !! .KP . SL

[TheSergiofernando33]

hola simon. muy buenos tutoriales te felicito aprendí mucho,me encantan tus vídeos. se que sabes mucho acerca de la preparación de arcilla. me gustaría saber como se prepara la wed clay y que ingredientes lleva, me gustaría realmente aprender. ya que en mi país no se consigue esa arcilla.yo hago esculturas y estoy buscando la arcilla ideal. la verdad te lo agradecería mucho. te mando saludos desde argentina amigo. gracias por tus vídeos y compartir tu gran talento con todos.

[theonewhoisunfixed]

Been going through all your clips Simon, and hard clay is a consistent theme, especially on the wheel. I have a year of training, but still learning. ;) I discovered a trick to softening clay on the clay on the wheel. Center as usual, cone it and add water, bring down, make a tad divot, cone the water in, and repeat until it is workable. I have also used it to knead out excessive air bubbles when I got in a hurry wedging (only once), or clay that did not need the drying of the wedging table.

[PEPIJOYPE]

Thank you Simon, ciao Pepijoy

[PaisleyPlace]

How likely is it to find a local potter w/ a pug mill? Is 5-gallon sizes of reclaim a good size to run through one? I have two 5-gallon buckets I'm dreading to reclaim. The college has a pugger but it's not installed yet. I'm hoping to use it when it is ready. I wish the admin would allow us to use the equipment for a fee but it's a no-go. I don't know how to convince them this is a smart move. Any ideas to change their minds are welcome.

[PaisleyPlace]

My ceramics II instructor recommended this for the buncombe white clay I bought from the college that was too dry except he had me just add water then continue flipping it over and over in the thick plastic bag the clay comes in until it absorbs. I haven't used it yet but by the time it absorbs all the water, it should be plenty soft. I'd about forgotten about it. It should be plenty soft now b/c I haven't used it since class began in 1/08; it ended 5/08 so I need to give it a go.

[clearvision5]

Oooo, I love inheriting pottery "anything" from simple plastic tools to glazes to clay. Thanks sharing your info, I'll get too it today!

[PotterInCanada]

I inherited 21, 44lb boxes of dried out clay. They are rock hard. The ONLY way to use it is to submerge it in a pail of water; it will melt like sugar. Once it is sludge, lay on a plaster batt to set/dry up.Wedge and use. H

[Hinoarashii]

Where did you get the clay from?