<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi Rikki,<div><br></div><div>This clay is much more like modeling clay as you describe and difficult to make into a slip. Drying may be the way to go here, which is what we've discussed. </div><div><br></div><div>Has anyone else worked with clay in large quantities in this way?</div><div><br></div><div>Laura</div><div><br></div><div><br><div><br></div><div><br><div apple-content-edited="true"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#4C721D" face="'Times New Roman'" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br><br></span></i></b></span></font></div><div class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#4C721D" face="'Times New Roman'" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><b><i><br></i></b></span></font></div><div class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#50742B"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="ArnoPro-SmbdCaption"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; ">Laura Bartels</span></font></font></font></div><span><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#50742B"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="ArnoPro-SmbdItalic"><i><font class="Apple-style-span" face="ArnoPro-SmbdCaption"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; ">P.O. Box 912, Carbondale, CO 81623<br>Ph 970-379-6779, Fax 970-963-0905</span></font></span></font><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; "><br></span></font><font class="Apple-style-span" face="ArnoPro-SmbdCaption"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; "><a href="mailto:laura@greenweaverinc.com">laura@greenweaverinc.com</a><br>www.greenweaverinc.com</span></font></span></font></i></font></font></span></span><span></span><div><br></div><div><span></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><span><img height="99" width="201" src="cid:BEE497CD-A097-4C96-B8DC-20DC694F15B3@gateway.2wire.net"></span> </div></span></span></div><br><div><div>On Apr 2, 2009, at 8:33 AM, Rikki Nitzkin wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div><blockquote type="cite"><blockquote type="cite">Laura Bartels:<br></blockquote></blockquote><br><blockquote type="cite">On another project, an office building in PA, they have located great clay, with little expansiveness, but when sourced, is very wet and not easily processed.<br></blockquote><br>How wet is it? In Denmark the people have clay slip delivered directly on sight. No dry clay is used. Personally, I prefer working with "clay slip" (clay the consistency of a thick milkshake) to using dry clay. If it is too thick you can add water and use a hand-held mortar mixer with a "paint" drill bit to thin it out a bit. If it needs seiving it is easier to do the thinner the mix. This WILL change the proportion of sand/straw added to the mix, so make some tests and be sure to be consistent in the making of the clay slip.<br><br>If it wet like modeling clay (humed but solid) it is too dry to mix well and too wet to disolve easily, so it would be better to dry it out and pulverize it.<br><br><br>Rikki Jennifer Nitzkin<br><br>Self-builder, education and consultation Straw Bale building and Earth Plaster<br><a href="mailto:rikkinitzkin@earthlink.net">rikkinitzkin@earthlink.net</a><br>www.geocities.com/rnitzkin<br>0034 657 33 51 62<br>Aulás, Lerida (Spain)<br><br>Coordinator Spanish Straw Bale Network<br>www.casasdepaja.org<br>casasdepaja@yahoo.es<br><br>"We have the Right and Responsibility to Create the World we Want to Live in"<br><br>_______________________________________________<br>GSBN mailing list<br>GSBN@greenbuilder.com<br>http://greenbuilder.com/mailman/listinfo/GSBN<br></div></blockquote></div><br></div></div></body></html>