Q&A for How to Make Clay from Indigenous Soil

24 hours usually works, unless you see a distinct layer on top of cloudy water.

That will depend on how rich in clay your soil is. Try it with 1 pound of soil and see how much clay you end up with. Adjust accordingly.

You should follow the instructions in the article that is listed above.

Sift through the clay using some water to get the clay to move through the sifter. The smaller the sifter, the fewer rocks will remain.

The most important step is to remove contaminants. If the clay rock is full of other smaller rocks or debris, you can break it up and follow the same process as purifying clay from soil. This will give you a more pure clay.

Soil near streams often has a lot of clay. To test soil, wet it, roll it into a snake and see if you can wrap it around your finger. If the snake cracks, it's not very good for clay.

Yes. You can make clay for jewelry from soil.

No. The clay still contains a capillary system which would allow the water to seep through the foundation.

That's a really good question. Making a clay pot is one of the easiest projects to make with your new clay. Starting with a shape in mind, you can use your hands to shape the design and thickness of your pot. This article can give you a few ways to get started: How to Make a Clay Pot .

1800 degrees to 2400 degrees Fahrenheit is the normal amount for firing clay in a kiln.

This is not recommended. While it isn't toxic, the clay could possibly crack and break.

Clay is most easily found by streams or other moving bodies of water like rivers.

No, not really. This type of clay needs to be fired in a kiln for it to be permanent.

If it’s pure enough clay, you might be able to use it without processing, but this is the best way to make usable clay. Contaminated clay will probably develop cracks if you try to fire it, though.

Yes, it can be.

You can fire it in a kiln just like normal commercial clay. However, backyard clay usually cracks if heated past 1900 degrees F, so heat it at about 1800 degrees F.

No, because you have to let the clay sit for 24 hours or more for one of the steps.

You can make many things such as pottery, bowls or even plates. Mold into what you want and just make sure to let the clay dry up a little bit then fire it up In the oven to really harden it and get the shape you want.

Try adding hot water; it softens the compressed dirt into little particles and makes the dirt very easy to work with when making clay.