Plainsman Clays | BUFFSTONE
Buffstone Low Fire Clay
$0
Suggested retail price. In-store prices and availability may vary by location.
Low fired, Buff burning, Medium plastic, General purpose, Throwing and Hand-building clay body
Specifications
Type
Low temperature general purpose body · buff burning · throwing and hand-building
Texture
Medium plasticity, with no talc in the body
Usage
Throwing · hand-building · schools and teaching studios · decorative low-fire work
Temperature
Cone 06 · 04 · 02 – we recommend firing between cone 06 and cone 04 (cone 04 = 1063 °C / 1945 °F). Buffstone also fires successfully as high as cone 6.
Colour
Buff, across the whole of its range
Shrinkage
Dry 6.5–6.95% · fired 0–0.2% at cone 06, 1.0–2.0% at cone 04, 1.2–2.3% at cone 02
Absorption
Cone 06 13.6–14.2% · cone 04 13.0–13.5% · cone 02 12.2–13.0%
Every figure is a measured range from the Plainsman lab, not a single nominal number. Cone equivalents are Orton self-supporting cones at 108 °F/hr.
Description
Buffstone is a general purpose buff-burning body, made without talc. It is the most affordable clay we make, which is why it is so often the choice for classrooms and teaching studios working at low fire.
It fires across an unusually wide range. Through the low-fire range it stays open and porous – 13.0–13.5% absorption at cone 04 – and it tightens considerably further up, dropping to 2.0–3.0% by cone 6.
At the low end of that range it is a decorative body rather than a functional one. Like all buff and white burning clays at cone 06, Buffstone fires to a porous matrix with low strength, and it is a little more porous than most.
Working properties
- Medium plasticity makes it suitable for throwing and hand-building.
- Buffstone dries faster than our other low-fire bodies. In a classroom that means less working time before a piece stiffens, so plan accordingly.
- Pieces of uneven thickness need extra care while drying.
- Reclaimed and reconstituted scrap comes back less plastic than the fresh body.
Fired colour & cone behaviour
- It fires buff throughout the range.
- We recommend cone 06 to 04 for classroom work. Buffstone will fire successfully as high as cone 6, where it tightens considerably – absorption drops to 2.0–3.0%.
- No special firing procedure is needed as long as the ware is completely dry.
Glazes & glaze fit
- Buffstone is used with commercial low-fire underglazes and glazes, and takes them well for decorative work.
- Because the body stays porous at cone 06 to 04, it is not suitable for functional ware at those temperatures. Crazing is not a concern on decorative pieces, but a porous body will not hold liquid.
- There is no talc in Buffstone, so its thermal expansion is lower than a talc-based low-fire body. Test any glaze on it before you rely on the fit.
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