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soaking terracotta (Read 282 times)
FloatingFlint
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soaking terracotta
Nov 13th, 2025 at 4:00pm
 
I had some low fired clay bullets laying around, so I wondered what their density was compared to the non burned clay. Here are the results that I want to share with you.
The air dried natural clay that I use has a density of about 2.1 g/cm³. When fired in the wood stove it has an average density of a little over 1.83 g/cm³. When (fired and) fully saturated with water, it has a density just a little under 2.1 g/cm³.

The graph below shows how fast the 5 test-bullets changed their density. The experiment was done at room temperature. I think the bullets will loose the water way faster out in the sun/wind.
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terracotta.jpg (50 KB | 14 )
terracotta.jpg

... and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had ... (1.Samuel 17,40)
 
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IronGoober
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Re: soaking terracotta
Reply #1 - Nov 14th, 2025 at 1:20pm
 
Excellent! It's great to see actual data on this.  I assumed that  fired and soaked clay would have density a bit greater than air-dried clay, but that is apparently not always the case.  I suppose it depends on the clay and the state of firing.

When I fired glandes in the microwave, it seemed that the final density was higher than air-dried, unfired, but not by much. (I didn't actually measure it, I wasn't sure how to measure the volume of the unfired clay without using oil or something).
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John R.
 
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joe_meadmaker
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Re: soaking terracotta
Reply #2 - Nov 14th, 2025 at 9:10pm
 
So....soak your glandes in water for an hour before heading out to battle? Roll Eyes

A serious question though, I wonder if the durability is the same for both.  If you have a dry glande and one that is fully saturated, then sling them into a (solid) wall or other target, I wonder which breaks first.
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Mobiusslinger
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Re: soaking terracotta
Reply #3 - Nov 14th, 2025 at 10:06pm
 
I would think if the clay was heated to Vitrification, it wouldnt matter if it was soaked or not, it would be equal strong. Does it make a difference to a bricks strength, if it is soaking wet or bone dry? Vitrification is a glass like state of consistency at which point the clay has completely harden and matured.
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joe_meadmaker
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Re: soaking terracotta
Reply #4 - Nov 14th, 2025 at 10:28pm
 
Good thought.  But if the strength is equal in both, I would assume the wet glande would be more likely to break because of higher mass creating a higher force during the impact (assuming equal mass before the water saturation, and projectiles moving at the same speed).  But I suppose that still wouldn't indicate a strength difference because the force is no longer the same.

It would be cool to see some testing with a hydraulic press like they do in videos testing the failure point of different things.
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FloatingFlint
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Re: soaking terracotta
Reply #5 - Nov 15th, 2025 at 11:14am
 
IronGoober wrote on Nov 14th, 2025 at 1:20pm:
I wasn't sure how to measure the volume of the unfired clay without using oil or something

I had some glandes laying around that I had spray painted before. But you could also just use a "raw" gland. They do not dissolve in 5 seconds. Smiley
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... and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had ... (1.Samuel 17,40)
 
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CrazyBrave333
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Re: soaking terracotta
Reply #6 - Nov 24th, 2025 at 11:11pm
 
It just makes me smile reading the hypotheses here...

I reckon this is awesome! I think soaking when holding out in a siege would make sense! Extra ouch factor...
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