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making raku clay shock resistant

updated thu 20 apr 00

 

peter-lj on tue 18 apr 00

Hi, if you can track down Perlite usually available from horticultural and
gardening suppliers and add to clay by wedging in damp you will find you
should have a bombproof body. I have gone from wet clay to finished raku pot
in under 3 hours with judicious use of a microwave to aid drying. cheers.
Peter Linford
c/o Motor Yacht Alia'n, Hotel Intercontinental,
P.O. Box 36, Hurghada, Red Sea, EGYPT.

Carolyn Nygren Curran on wed 19 apr 00

I purchased perlite some time ago for such a purpose, but before I could
use it and fire it in an indoor kiln, I read somewhere (clayart?magazine?
book?) that it emitted some fumes which I probably would not want to
breathe. And so the perlite was used in the garden.
Does anyone know about this? Better safe than sorry...
Cheers, CNC