Teach
Junior Member
Posts: 89
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Post by Teach on Feb 20, 2010 15:54:41 GMT -8
Hey Donkey, I made pucks on Monday this week and they have been drying since then. It's Saturday today five days later. When I made the pucks I think I had too much water in them and they were difficult to make very thick. I had the consistency more like pancake batter than dough. But they have solidified nicely and so far are not showing any cracking. They are however firm and cool to the touch so I suspect they have not completely dried but they are fairly hard. kinda like plasterscene or or firmer. I wanted to wait until they were fully dried before trying to break them in half so I did not want to do so accidentally by pushing too hard on them. They kind of reming me of the feel of fresh modelling clay from school days but I have not tried to mold or sculpt it at all. I've been waiting for them to dry as you indicated. How long do you let your pucks dry before testing them? Are they usually dry enough when done indoors to test in two weeks? Thanks
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Post by Donkey on Feb 20, 2010 19:06:11 GMT -8
Umm.. I let 'em dry till they're dry... However long that takes. Depends on too many variables to give a time limit. If they're drying too slow for you, you can put them in a windy, warmish, out of the rain spot or place them in front of a fan or near the woodstove/heater.
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Post by canyon on Feb 20, 2010 21:55:46 GMT -8
What volumes of what :)did you put in the pucks?
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Teach
Junior Member
Posts: 89
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Post by Teach on Feb 21, 2010 9:05:39 GMT -8
What volumes of what :)did you put in the pucks? At this point Canyon the only materials used were the silt/clay that I dug and water. As for amounts.........I guess about a the same volume as a hardball for baseball and enough water to make a smooth mix.........too much water actually as it slumped a lot when forming the puck and got too wide for it's height but they ended up being about 3/4" thick and 4 - 5 inches across. |
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Teach
Junior Member
Posts: 89
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Post by Teach on Feb 22, 2010 13:54:23 GMT -8
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Post by Donkey on Feb 22, 2010 14:46:37 GMT -8
Wow.. You've got builders soil. It looks like you might not need many additives besides straw for good 'ol, basic cob. At this point you can proceed with a bit more confidence. Now you gotta make a slew of different types of batch. Start with sand, make several mixes, each with progressively more sand mixed in to the same measure of soil, make into similarly sized pucks. Remember to measure each batch carefully and label each puck well, good notes are important. Try just soil and chopped straw or rice hull (or some such) mixtures, try soil/pearlite combinations, try sand/soil/straw, whatever you might use, need or think of. Let 'em all dry and test for properties. Heavier mixes will have greater thermal mass, lighter ones more insulative. Think about what each mix might be applied for, heavy sandy mixes or ultra light pearlite/clay might crumble too much or be too brittle for wear areas, but they work great as sculptable/castable internals. As far as I can tell, the possibilities and combinations are endless. Let us know if you stumble on some particularly good ones.  |
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Teach
Junior Member
Posts: 89
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Post by Teach on Feb 22, 2010 15:14:50 GMT -8
I guess there are times when it pays NOT to listen to local knowledge after all! LOL
I wanted to make a clay slip to use with either vermiculite or perlite. I would form a box with floor and walls made from cob with straw and then fill that box starting with the rocket stove and then the stove surrounded by the clay/slip/vermiculite/perlite as an insulator and then cap it with cob again. Can you tell me which is a better insulater? Vermiculite or perlite?
I'd do something similar with cob for the battery but fill the box with sand and stone and again cap it with cob. Then put a nice plaster finish of some sort.
Ok, I'm stoked!
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Post by Donkey on Feb 22, 2010 20:12:18 GMT -8
I guess there are times when it pays NOT to listen to local knowledge after all! LOL Heh.. They probably thought you meant pottery grade clay or something.. who knows.. Dunno.. Which is lighter weight? Which holds more air? Which needs more clay slip to hold it together? Shazam! Ain't that cool? ;D |
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