PotterySuppliesHQ answers

Every answer below is aimed at a question people measurably search for, is written from named sources, and links to the page that handles the job itself. None of them is a landing page in disguise.

• Air drying clay and air clay: the same shelf, different labels

  Air drying clay and air clay are the same product under different labels: what the binder does, how it differs from a fired body, and what to buy.

• How long does air dry clay take to dry, and how to dry air dry clay evenly

  How long air dry clay takes to dry, why thickness decides it more than time, and how to dry air dry clay evenly instead of quickly.

• How to make air dry clay dry faster without cracking it

  How to make air dry clay dry faster without cracking it: airflow rather than heat, hollow sections, and the methods that reliably ruin a piece.

• Can you bake air dry clay, and can you put air dry clay in the oven

  Can you bake air dry clay, and can you put air dry clay in the oven? What heat does to a binder-set body, and what to do instead.

• How to paint air dry clay: what paint to use on air dry clay, and the best paint for air dry clay

  How to paint air dry clay: which paint to use, when the piece is ready, and whether a sealant is decoration or waterproofing.

• Can you paint air dry clay before it dries, and what happens if you do

  Can you paint air dry clay before it dries? What happens when a film goes over damp clay, and the one technique where wet colour is right.

• Painting air dry clay, and the air dry clay paint that survives handling

  Painting air dry clay: preparing the surface, the air dry clay paint that survives handling, and how to finish a piece that will be touched.

• Painting clay: which paint for clay works on greenware, bisque and dry bodies

  Painting clay: which paint for clay works on greenware, on bisque and on dry air dry bodies, and where paint is the wrong answer entirely.

• Air dry clay glaze, and why a real glaze is not one of the options

  Air dry clay glaze: why a real glaze needs a kiln, what the products sold under the name actually do, and what to use for a shine.

• Air dry clay models: building hollow, drying slow and clay models that survive

  Air dry clay models: building hollow, joining sections, drying slowly and the clay models that survive their first month.

• Modelling clay air dry, air dry modeling clay and air drying modelling clay

  Modelling clay air dry, air dry modeling clay and air drying modelling clay: three spellings, one shelf, and how it differs from plasticine.

• White air dry clay, and what turns a white body grey

  White air dry clay: which bodies dry genuinely white, what makes a white body go grey, and where the colour actually comes from.

• Air dry clay uk: where to buy air dry clay by the bag rather than the packet

  Air dry clay UK: where to buy air dry clay by the bag rather than the packet, and what the difference costs per kilogram.

• Childrens clay: what is safe for a classroom and what dries hard

  Childrens clay: what is safe for a classroom, which bodies dry hard without a kiln, and the dust rule that applies in a school.

• Clay modelling and clay for modelling: which body holds a shape

  Clay modelling and clay for modelling: which bodies hold a shape, how to build so it survives drying, and what tools actually get used.

• Modeling clay: which kinds harden, which never do, and what each is for

  Modeling clay: which kinds harden and which never do, what each is for, and how to tell them apart before you buy.

• Potters clay, pot clay and clay for pottery: the same purchase, three searches

  Potters clay, pot clay and clay for pottery: the same purchase under three searches, and how to pick a body by firing range and texture.

• White clay, and the difference between a white body and a white glaze

  White clay: which bodies genuinely fire white, why wet colour tells you nothing, and what a white body costs against a buff one.

• Raku and raku clay: the open body that survives being pulled from the kiln

  Raku and raku clay: the open, grogged body built to survive being pulled from a kiln at temperature, and what it costs per kilogram.

• Porcelain clay and porcelain paper clay: the hardest body to throw

  Porcelain clay and porcelain paper clay: the hardest bodies to throw, what translucency costs, and where the fibre version helps.

• Paper clay: what the fibre does and when it is worth buying

  Paper clay: what the cellulose fibre does to wet strength and joining, when it is worth the price, and what is left after firing.

• Fire clay, fireclay and kiln clay: the refractory body for kiln repair

  Fire clay, fireclay and kiln clay: the refractory material for kiln repair and heavy sculpture, and why it is not a throwing body.

• China clay and ball clay: the two clays in almost every glaze recipe

  China clay and ball clay: the two clays in nearly every glaze recipe, what each contributes, and why a recipe needs both.

• Grog clay and grogged clay: what the grit does to shrinkage and cracking

  Grog clay and grogged clay: what fired grit added back into a body does to shrinkage, cracking and how it feels in the hand.

• Crank clay: the coarse body for large hand-built work

  Crank clay: the heavily grogged, open body for large hand-built work, what it feels like to use and where it earns its price.

• Buff clay: what it fires to and what it throws like

  Buff clay: the middle body between white and red, what it fires to, how it throws, and why it is the standard studio choice.

• Black clay and grey clay: what stains a body dark and what it costs

  Black clay and grey clay: how a dark body is made, what it does to glazes, and why the stained bodies cost more per kilogram.

• Coloured clay: stained bodies, what they cost and how they fire

  Coloured clay: stained bodies, what they cost per kilogram, how the colour behaves through the firing and where the price is justified.

• Types of clay, and the different types of clay a supplier actually stocks

  Types of clay a supplier actually stocks: earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, raku and paper clay, separated by firing range and use.

• Ceramic clay: what the phrase covers and what to buy instead

  Ceramic clay: what suppliers mean by the phrase, why it is not a product category, and which body to ask for instead.

• Clay for pottery wheel: which bodies throw well and which fight you

  Clay for pottery wheel: which bodies throw well, what plasticity and grog do on the wheel, and what to buy for a first bag.

• Throwing clay: plasticity, grog and what to buy for the wheel

  Throwing clay: what plasticity, grog and preparation do on the wheel, and how to tell a difficult body from a difficult day.

• Buy clay: where to buy clay, where can i buy clay, and what a bag of clay costs

  Buy clay: where to buy clay, what a bag of clay costs per kilogram, and why the manufacturer is not always the cheapest source.

• Cheap clay: where the price per kilogram actually falls

  Cheap clay: where the price per kilogram actually falls, why the quantity ladder beats shopping around, and what cheap costs you.

• Best clay for sculpting: which bodies hold detail and survive drying

  Best clay for sculpting: which bodies hold detail, which survive size, and why grog decides more than the brand name.

• Ashraf Hanna clay: the artist-developed coloured bodies and what they cost

  Ashraf Hanna clay: the artist-developed coloured bodies, what they are formulated for and where they sit on a supplier price list.

• White stoneware clay: the smooth and grogged white bodies compared

  White stoneware clay: the smooth and grogged white bodies compared, what they fire to and what they cost per kilogram.

• Ceramic glaze, ceramic glazes and ceramic glaze paint: what the labels mean

  Ceramic glaze, ceramic glazes and ceramic glaze paint: what the labels mean, which product does which job and what each costs.

• Glazes: the glazes for pottery a supplier stocks, and glaze for pottery from raw materials

  Glazes for pottery: what a supplier stocks, how ready-made and raw routes differ, and how to pick a first set that works together.

• Pottery glazes and pottery glazes uk: what is on the shelf and what it costs

  Pottery glazes and pottery glazes uk: what UK suppliers stock, how ranges are organised and what to check before ordering.

• Glazing pottery: how to glaze pottery, and the pottery glazing faults that follow

  Glazing pottery: how to glaze pottery by dipping and brushing, the right thickness, and the pottery glazing faults that follow.

• Clay glaze: matching a glaze to the clay underneath it

  Clay glaze: matching a glaze to the clay underneath it, why fit matters more than colour, and how crazing and shivering start.

• Clear glaze and transparent glaze: the same job, two labels

  Clear glaze and transparent glaze: the same product under two names, where each is used, and why clear is the hardest to get right.

• Crackle glaze: how the craze is made on purpose and where it should not go

  Crackle glaze: how the craze is created deliberately, how the lines are stained, and why it does not belong on functional ware.

• Reactive glaze: what moves in the firing and why the tub warns you

  Reactive glaze: what moves in the firing, why no two pots match, and how to get a repeatable result from an unrepeatable product.

• Celadon and celadon glaze: the iron green that needs reduction

  Celadon and celadon glaze: the iron green of the classical tradition, what reduction does to it, and how to get it in an electric kiln.

• Shino glaze: what carbon trapping is and why it is unpredictable

  Shino glaze: what carbon trapping is, why shinos crawl and pinhole, and what makes the surface worth the unpredictability.

• Raku glaze and raku glazes: what the smoke does after the kiln

  Raku glaze and raku glazes: crackle, copper lustre and what the smoke does after the kiln, plus why raku ware is decorative.

• Stoneware glazes: what fires at stoneware temperature and what does not

  Stoneware glazes: what fires at stoneware temperature, how they differ from low-fire glazes, and how to choose a working set.

• Earthenware glaze and earthenware glazes: fitting a glaze to a porous body

  Earthenware glaze and earthenware glazes: fitting a low-fire glaze to a porous body, and why fit matters more here than anywhere.

• Brown glaze: what iron does across the firing range

  Brown glaze: what iron does across the firing range, from honey and tenmoku to near black, and why iron is the cheapest colourant.

• Underglaze and underglazes: painting colour that survives the glaze firing

  Underglaze and underglazes: painting colour that survives the glaze firing, how to apply it, and why it goes under a clear.

• Underglaze pencil and underglaze pencils: drawing straight onto bisque

  Underglaze pencil and underglaze pencils: drawing straight onto bisque, how the line behaves under a clear glaze, and where they beat a brush.

• Clay slip: what slip is, how to make it and what it is for

  Clay slip: what slip is, how to make it from your own body, and the three quite different jobs it does in a studio.

• Coloured slip: black slip, red slips, yellow slip and blue slip

  Coloured slip: black slip, red slips, yellow slip and blue slip, how the colour is made, and when to apply it.

• Engobe and engobes: the slip that behaves like a glaze

  Engobe and engobes: the material between slip and glaze, what the added flux does, and when an engobe solves a slip problem.

• Wax resist and wax resist pottery: where it goes and what it costs

  Wax resist and wax resist pottery: keeping glaze off a foot, layering glazes and decorating by resisting rather than applying.

• Glaze spray: what spraying needs before it is worth doing

  Glaze spray: when spraying is worth it, what equipment it needs, and why extraction is not optional on this job.

• Ceramic decals, ceramic transfers and underglaze transfers: printed decoration

  Ceramic decals, ceramic transfers and underglaze transfers: printed decoration, how each is applied and what firing each needs.

• Silica sand, fine silica sand and silicon sand: the glass former and the dust rule

  Silica sand, fine silica sand and silicon sand: the glass former in every glaze, what grade to buy, and the dust rule that governs it.

• Soda ash: what is soda ash, and what it does in a glaze and a slip

  Soda ash: what is soda ash, what it does in a glaze and a slip, and why a little goes a very long way.

• Borax powder uk and sodium borate: the same low-temperature flux

  Borax powder uk and sodium borate: the same low-temperature flux, why it is usually bought as a frit, and how to handle it.

• Frit and frits: why a flux is melted before you buy it

  Frit and frits: pre-melted glass for glazes, why solubility and toxicity are the reasons they exist, and how to choose one.

• Copper oxide, copper oxide colour and copper carbonate: greens, reds and how little to use

  Copper oxide, copper oxide colour and copper carbonate: greens, reds and lustres, how little to use and how the two forms differ.

• Red iron oxide and black iron oxide: the two irons and what each gives

  Red iron oxide and black iron oxide: the two forms, what each gives across the firing range, and why iron is in almost every recipe.

• Cobalt oxide and cobalt carbonate: the strongest colourant on the shelf

  Cobalt oxide and cobalt carbonate: the strongest colourant on the shelf, how little to use, and why speckling happens.

• Manganese dioxide: the brown-black colourant and how to handle it

  Manganese dioxide: the brown to black colourant, what it does in bodies and glazes, and the handling it genuinely requires.

• Rutile and ilmenite: breaking and variegating a glaze surface

  Rutile and ilmenite: the titanium colourants that break and variegate a glaze surface, and how each behaves.

• Nickel oxide: what it gives and why recipes use so little

  Nickel oxide: what it gives in different glaze bases, why recipes use so little, and how it behaves with other colourants.

• Tin oxide: the white opacifier and its cheaper substitute

  Tin oxide: the white opacifier, why it costs what it does, and how it compares with zirconium as a substitute.

• Zirconium dioxide: opacifying a glaze without tin

  Zirconium dioxide: the cheaper white opacifier, how it differs from tin, and why most commercial white glazes use it.

• Vanadium pentoxide: the yellow stain base and its handling

  Vanadium pentoxide: the yellow stain base, why it is rarely used raw, and how vanadium yellows are actually bought.

• Barium carbonate: what it does to a surface and why it is handled carefully

  Barium carbonate: what it does to a glaze surface, why it is used in bodies as a scum preventer, and the care it needs.

• Strontium carbonate: matt surfaces without barium

  Strontium carbonate: matt surfaces without barium, how the substitution works, and what changes in the fired result.

• Magnesium carbonate and magnesium silicate: magnesia and talc in a glaze

  Magnesium carbonate and magnesium silicate: magnesia and talc in a glaze, the buttery matts they give, and what each is for.

• Dolomite powder: the flux that gives a silky matt

  Dolomite powder: calcium and magnesium in one material, the silky matts it gives, and where it sits in a recipe.

• Bone ash: what phosphate does in a body and a glaze

  Bone ash: what phosphate does in a body and a glaze, its role in bone china, and the synthetic alternative.

• Spodumene and petalite: lithium for thermal shock and low expansion

  Spodumene and petalite: the lithium feldspars, what low thermal expansion buys, and where flameware bodies use them.

• Cornish stone: the traditional flux and what replaces it

  Cornish stone: the traditional British feldspathic flux, what it contributes, and what modern recipes substitute for it.

• Colemanite: raw boron, and why most recipes now use a frit

  Colemanite: raw boron in a glaze, why it is unreliable, and why nearly every modern recipe uses a frit instead.

• Alumina trihydrate: stopping a glaze running off the pot

  Alumina trihydrate: stiffening a glaze melt, keeping it on the pot, and where it is used as a kiln wash ingredient.

• Kilns: what a kiln for pottery needs, and kiln pottery from bisque to glaze

  Kilns for pottery: what a kiln does that an oven cannot, the sizes available, and what kiln pottery involves from bisque to glaze.

• Ceramic kiln, ceramic kilns and ceramics kiln: one machine, three searches

  Ceramic kiln, ceramic kilns and ceramics kiln: the same machine under three searches, and how the market is actually divided.

• Potters kiln, potters kilns and clay kiln: what the trade calls it

  Potters kiln and clay kiln: what the trade calls it, how a studio kiln differs from a test kiln, and what to look for.

• Pottery kilns compared on chamber size, supply and what they will fire

  Pottery kilns compared on chamber size, electrical supply and what they will fire, with the questions that come before price.

• Kiln oven, pottery oven and pottery furnace: why a kitchen oven will not do

  Kiln oven, pottery oven and pottery furnace: why a kitchen oven cannot fire clay, and what the words actually describe.

• Electric kiln, electric kilns, electric kiln for pottery and electric pottery kiln

  Electric kiln, electric kilns and electric kiln for pottery: how supply limits size, what the controller does and what wears out.

• Gas kiln: what reduction firing needs that an electric kiln cannot give

  Gas kiln: what reduction firing gives that electric cannot, what a gas kiln needs, and why most studios do not have one.

• Raku kiln and raku kilns: the fastest firing in ceramics

  Raku kiln and raku kilns: the fastest firing in ceramics, what the equipment is, and the safety this process actually needs.

• Small kiln, small pottery kiln and small kiln for pottery: sizes that plug in

  Small kiln, small pottery kiln and small kiln for pottery: what a plug-in chamber will actually fire and where the limits bite.

• Mini kiln and mini kiln for pottery: test kilns and what they are for

  Mini kiln and mini kiln for pottery: what a test kiln is for, why glaze testing justifies one, and what it will not do.

• Home kiln, home pottery kiln, at home kiln and a home kiln for pottery

  Home kiln for pottery: what a home pottery kiln needs in power, space and ventilation, and the questions to settle first.

• Pottery kiln for home, and the electrical question that comes first

  Pottery kiln for home: the electrical question that comes first, siting, ventilation and what it costs to install properly.

• Kiln for sale, kilns for sale and kilns for sale uk: what to check before buying

  Kiln for sale, kilns for sale and kilns for sale uk: what to check on a used kiln and where the real costs sit.

• Pottery kiln for sale, pottery kiln for sale uk, pottery kilns for sale and pottery kilns for sale uk

  Pottery kiln for sale and pottery kilns for sale uk: how listings are specified, what to compare and what is usually excluded.

• Potters kiln for sale: what a used kiln needs checking for

  Potters kiln for sale: buying a used studio kiln safely, what to inspect in person and which faults are cheap to fix.

• Buy a kiln, buy kiln, kiln buy: the four questions that come first

  Buy a kiln: the four questions that come before the purchase, and the costs that never appear in a kiln listing.

• Kiln price, kiln prices, kiln cost and how much is a kiln

  Kiln price and kiln prices: what a kiln costs, how much is a kiln once installation is counted, and the running cost.

• How much is a pottery kiln, once the electrics are counted

  How much is a pottery kiln once electrics, furniture and delivery are counted, and how to work out what it costs to run.

• Pottery kiln for beginners uk: the first kiln, and what it should do

  Pottery kiln for beginners uk: what a first kiln should do, why plug-in is usually right, and how to avoid the common mistakes.

• Kiln furniture: kiln shelf, kiln stilts and stilts as consumables

  Kiln furniture: kiln shelf, kiln stilts and stilts as consumables, how to look after shelves and what wears out.

• Kiln bricks, kiln cement and refractory cement: repairing a kiln

  Kiln bricks, kiln cement and refractory cement: repairing a chamber, what can be patched and what needs replacing.

• Kiln controller: what a schedule is and what it cannot tell you

  Kiln controller: what a firing schedule is, why ramps and soaks matter, and what a controller cannot tell you.

• Pyrometric cones: the cheapest quality control in ceramics

  Pyrometric cones: what heatwork means, why a cone beats a thermometer, and how to use them in every firing.

• Bisque firing: what bisqueware is, and why bisque pottery is fired twice

  Bisque firing: what bisqueware is, why bisque pottery is fired twice and what the first firing has to do slowly.

• Bisque tiles: test tiles that make a glaze library

  Bisque tiles: making test tiles that build a glaze library, what to record on them and why they are worth the shelf space.

• Potters wheel, potter's wheel, the potter's wheel, potter wheel and potters wheels

  Potters wheel, potter's wheel and potters wheels: how to compare machines on centring capacity rather than on price.

• Pottery wheels and pottery wheel uk: what separates one machine from another

  Pottery wheels and pottery wheel uk: what separates machines, what to buy at each level and what the follow-on costs are.

• Electric pottery wheel and electric potters wheel: torque, not top speed

  Electric pottery wheel and electric potters wheel: torque under load, pedal control and what to check before buying.

• Mini pottery wheel, table top pottery wheel and tabletop pottery wheel

  Mini pottery wheel, table top pottery wheel and tabletop pottery wheel: what small machines will throw and where they stop.

• Pottery wheel for beginners and pottery wheels for beginners: centring capacity first

  Pottery wheel for beginners and pottery wheels for beginners: what actually matters in a first machine, and what does not.

• Professional pottery wheel: what a studio buys and why

  Professional pottery wheel: what a studio buys, why mass and serviceability matter, and where the extra cost goes.

• Pottery wheel for sale, pottery wheels for sale, potters wheel for sale and buy pottery wheel

  Pottery wheel for sale, pottery wheels for sale and potters wheel for sale: buying new or used and what to inspect.

• Used pottery wheel, second hand pottery wheel, pottery wheel second hand and used pottery wheel for sale uk

  Used pottery wheel, second hand pottery wheel and used pottery wheel for sale uk: where they come from and what to pay for.

• How much is a pottery wheel, and what it costs after the wheel

  How much is a pottery wheel, what the price brackets buy, and the equipment and clay that follow the purchase.

• Clay wheel, clay pottery wheel, ceramics wheel and wheel pottery: the same machine

  Clay wheel, clay pottery wheel, ceramics wheel and wheel pottery: different searches for the same machine, and what to compare.

• Pottery spinning wheel and clay spinning wheel: what people mean by it

  Pottery spinning wheel and clay spinning wheel: what people mean by the phrase and which machine they actually want.

• Throwing wheel and pottery throwing wheel: the wheel by another name

  Throwing wheel and pottery throwing wheel: the wheel described by what it does, and what to compare between machines.

• Wheel throwing, wheel throwing pottery and pottery wheel throwing

  Wheel throwing, wheel throwing pottery and pottery wheel throwing: what the process is, in the order it happens.

• Throwing pottery: what actually goes wrong in the first month

  Throwing pottery: what actually goes wrong in the first month at the wheel, and the fixes that are not about talent.

• Banding wheel pottery and the pottery turntable: decorating and hand building

  Banding wheel pottery and the pottery turntable: what an unpowered wheel is for and why almost every studio has one.

• Pottery wheel and kiln starter kit: buying both at once

  Pottery wheel and kiln starter kit: buying both at once, what such bundles include and whether they are worth it.

• Calipers, callipers and the calipers tool: measuring a lid against its gallery

  Calipers and callipers for pottery: measuring a lid against its gallery, which type to buy and why both spellings are here.

• Clay tools, clay tools kit and pottery tools uk: the handful that get used

  Clay tools, a clay tools kit and pottery tools uk: which of a boxed set actually get used, and what to buy separately.

• Ceramics tools: what a working studio keeps within reach

  Ceramics tools: what a working studio keeps within reach, organised by the job rather than by the catalogue.

• Pottery trimming tools, trimming tools, trimming tool and the ribbon tool

  Pottery trimming tools, the trimming tool to start with and the ribbon tool: cutting a foot at leather hard.

• Clay smoothing tools, diamond sanding pads, diamond sanding discs and a diamond sanding block

  Clay smoothing tools, diamond sanding pads, discs and blocks: smoothing wet and smoothing fired, and the dust rule.

• Sculpting tools, sculpting tool, clay sculpting tools and clay carving tools

  Sculpting tools, clay sculpting tools and clay carving tools: which shapes do the work and what to buy first.

• Clay modelling tools and wooden modeling tools: shaping without a wheel

  Clay modelling tools and wooden modeling tools: boxwood shapes, what each end is for and how to look after them.

• Pottery ribs, pottery bats and the pottery knife: wood, metal and rubber

  Pottery ribs, pottery bats and the pottery knife: wood, metal and rubber, what each does and why bats matter.

• Clay cutter and clay slab cutter: cutting a block down cleanly

  Clay cutter and clay slab cutter: cutting a block down evenly, wires, harps and what each is good for.

• Slab roller, slab roller for clay, clay slab roller, clay roller and clay roller machine

  Slab roller, slab roller for clay, clay slab roller and clay roller machine: what a roller buys over a rolling pin.

• Clay extruder, clay extruders and clay extruder uk: what an extruder is for

  Clay extruder, clay extruders and clay extruder uk: dies, handles and hollow forms, and whether one earns its place.

• Pug mill and pugmill: turning reclaim back into workable clay

  Pug mill and pugmill: reclaiming clay at scale, what de-airing adds, and whether a studio needs one.

• Pottery stamps, pottery stamp, pottery stamps uk, clay stamps and clay stamps for pottery

  Pottery stamps, clay stamps and clay stamps for pottery: makers marks, texture and how to make your own.

• Letter stamps for clay, clay letter stamps, alphabet stamps for clay and stamps for clay

  Letter stamps for clay, clay letter stamps and alphabet stamps for clay: lettering into soft clay that survives firing.

• Hake brush: the soft wide brush for glaze and slip

  Hake brush: the wide soft brush for glaze and slip, what makes it different and how to look after one.

• Sponge on stick: the tool that saves a narrow form

  Sponge on stick: removing water from inside a thrown pot, why a narrow form needs one, and what else it does.

• Pottery apron and potters apron: what survives clay and a wet wheel

  Pottery apron and potters apron: what survives clay and a wet wheel, and why the material matters more than the design.

• Plaster mould, plaster moulds, plaster mold, plaster molds and plaster cast moulds

  Plaster mould, plaster moulds and plaster molds: making a pottery mould, what plaster does and why the spelling varies.

• Clay mould, clay moulds, clay mold, clay molds and pottery moulds

  Clay mould, clay moulds and pottery moulds: press moulding, hump and slump forms, and repeating a shape by hand.

• Casting mould, casting moulds, casting mold, cast molds and mould casting

  Casting mould, casting moulds and cast molds: slip casting, multi-part moulds and what mould casting involves.

• Plaster of paris 25kg, plaster paris, potters plaster, pottery plaster and plaster casting

  Plaster of paris 25kg, plaster paris, potters plaster and pottery plaster: which grade a mould needs and how to mix it.

• Fine casting plaster and the plaster bat: what grade a pottery mould needs

  Fine casting plaster and the plaster bat: which grade for moulds, and the bat that dries reclaim without a machine.

• Slip casting: how a cast pot is made and what it needs

  Slip casting: mould, slip and release, how wall thickness is controlled and what makes a cast fail.

• Sgraffito and sgraffito pottery: scratching a drawing through slip

  Sgraffito and sgraffito pottery: scratching a drawing through slip to the body beneath, and the timing that makes it work.

• What is bloating, and what causes it in a fired body

  What is bloating in pottery, what causes the blisters in a fired body, and how to stop it happening again.

• Hand building pottery: the three methods and what each needs

  Hand building pottery: pinch, coil and slab, what each is for, and why it needs no equipment beyond your hands.

• Slab building pottery and slab pottery: rolling, drying and joining

  Slab building pottery and slab pottery: rolling even slabs, joining them and stopping the corners cracking.

• Earthenware vs stoneware, and stoneware vs earthenware: temperature, porosity and price

  Earthenware vs stoneware and stoneware vs earthenware: temperature, porosity, colour and cost compared for a buyer.

• Pottery kits, pottery kits for adults, pottery kit for adults and a pottery set

  Pottery kits, pottery kits for adults and a pottery set: what a bundle contains, what is missing and whether it is a good start.

• At home pottery kit, home pottery kit, pottery at home kit, pottery making kit and pottery starter kit

  At home pottery kit, home pottery kit and pottery starter kit: what you can genuinely do at home and what needs a kiln.

• Pottery equipment for sale: what is worth buying second hand

  Pottery equipment for sale: what is worth buying used, what to check and where studio equipment comes from.