In this video, we'll find out if air-dry clay can be thrown on the pottery wheel.
I'll be testing out three brands of air-dry clays to see how they throw.
Hi everyone, I've been asked many times can air dry clay be thrown on the pottery wheel.
So you don't have to, I went ahead and bought three different brands of air-dry clays to
test out I'll be making three plant holders with one pound of each clay.
Any important information I mentioned in this video along with any links for supplies and
tools used in the video will be listed for you in the show notes below.
I have Amaco Stonex self-hardening white clay, Activa plus air dry white clay, and DAS air-hardening
white modeling clay.
I called each company to find out what their air-dry modeling clays are made of and none
of them would give me specific ingredients.
Just the basics because they don't want anyone else to copy them and I don't blame them.
None of these clays are waterproof but you can use a sealant on all of them.
I'm going to start with the Amaco Stonex self-hardening white clay.
This clay is made in the USA.
Weigh out a pound.
It says to wedge the clay for even moisture and to increase the plasticity or workability
of the clay.
Let's throw it on the wheel.
Centers pretty easy.
Now we'll see how it throws.
The Stonex is a non-toxic water-based air-dry modeling clay.
It's made mainly from natural clay and preservatives are added to harden the clay making it stronger
than the bone dry ceramic clay.
Feels pretty good so far.
Actually surprised.
See how it throws.
Surprisingly well.
It does remind me a bit like porcelain.
I'm finding it stays up well.
Good plasticity or workability I do have to use a bit more water.
But I use a good amount of water in general anyway.
Using more water does weaken the clay faster though.
Finish it off with the ultimate edger.
And I have a nice little plant holder.
Let's try the next air dry clay.
Next, we'll try the Activa air-dry white clay.
This clay is made in Spain.
I'll wedge a pound of this clay also.
If you're struggling with wedging or you want to learn a few different ways to wedge you
can check out my wedging video.
I left a link for you below.
Let's go to the wheel.
So far so good.
Center's pretty good it's not as smooth as the Stonex.
I'm actually surprised I can feel the particles in the clay very fine though.
This is a water-based ultra-fine grade modeling clay.
It's made from 100% natural clay, with natural cellulose fibers and minerals added to harden
the clay and make it stronger than bone dry ceramic clay.
So far the clay responds pretty well when opening it.
Let's see how it throws.
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There using the sponge really,
brings the walls up faster.
It's moving pretty good.
I do need more water and bring it out.
It's not as easy to manipulate.
It's kind of collapsing on me a little bit.
It still made a small plant holder but not quite the shape that I wanted, and it's looking
oval.
Let's try the next air-dry clay.
Now we'll try DAS air-dry clay.
This clay is made in Italy.
We'll wedge out a pound of this clay also.
Wedging the air-dry clay out does make it more plastic or workable.
Let's take this one to the wheel.
There we go
If you're having any trouble centering I have a video on how to center clay that will help.
I left a link for you below in the show notes.
Centers pretty good.
Let's see how it throws.
It's also a water-based air-dry modeling clay made with natural clay fibers and binders
to make it stronger than the ceramic bone dry clay.
It's not as smooth as the Stonex either.
Feels a little rubbery.
Let's see how it throws.
And she collapsed on me.
This one didn't fare very well on the wheel.
It didn't want to make a pot
and it started cracking.
I don't think this is a good clay to throw on the wheel.
To be fair we could try another one.
There it is.
You just watched me, and while some clays fare better than others on the pottery wheel
the answer is yes you can use air-dry clay on the pottery wheel.
Some are made more for hand-building, while others do great at throwing on the wheel.
Although it's not food safe you can still make a lot of different decorative pieces
no kiln needed.
And the winner is Amaco Stonex air dry clay and it formed the shape that I wanted it to.
I'm very impressed by the way it performed on the wheel you can definitely use this clay
on the wheel.
The Activa plus did make a small pot for me and it didn't crack.
It didn't allow me to manipulate it as well as the Amaco Stonex, but it was still okay
on the wheel,
and I was still able to make a small plant holder.
The DAS air-dry clay didn't fare very well on the wheel, but to be fair I did try it
twice.
You could try a smaller amount of clay, that may work.
I would suggest using it for hand-building, it does do very well on hand-building.
As all of these do well for hand-building.
But if you'd like to throw air-dry clay on the wheel Amaco Stonex is the best.
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If you have any ideas for future projects let me know in the comments section below,
I'd love to hear them.
Until next time let's stay dirty.