Oct 22, 2026: We are working on protecting our servers against the PHP2Shell vulnerability recently discovered. Servers were upgraded ahead of schedule on Oct 21. This could cause some issues. Please contact us if you encounter any.
Two mugs have dried. The local terra cotta native clay on the left shrinks 7.5% on drying, the porcelain one on the right only 6% (it is made using Kentucky ball clay). Yet few pieces of the terra cotta are ever lost due to drying cracks, even if it is uneven! For example, in a batch of a dozen mugs none of these will be lost whereas one or two of the white ones will always crack. Why? Dry strength. The clay on the left is very strong in the dry state, likely double or triple the white clay (the strength is a by product of its high plasticity and particle size distribution profile). That strength is enough to more than counter the extra shrinkage.

This picture has its own page with more detail, click here to see it.
Left: OptiKast, a coarse-particle kaolin intended for slip-casting. Right: Plainsman A2 ball clay. These DFAC test (drying performance) disks were dried with their centers covered, deliberately creating uneven drying. The exposed perimeter dries and stiffens first; the covered center dries and shrinks later. The resulting cracks reveal how each clay responds to that stress. OptiKast feels smoother, yet its individual clay particles are much coarser than those typical of ball clay. This kaolin has low drying shrinkage, so its disk remained intact. The ball clay shrinks more. As its center dried and tried to contract against the already stiff perimeter, stresses developed, splitting the disk and opening numerous cracks around the edge.
So why use ball clay? This particular kaolin has so little plasticity that even making this disk was difficult. And the dried disk is fragile. Yet it is very useful in casting bodies, where plasticity impedes permeability. Ball clays are highly plastic; high drying shrinkage comes with that. Adding some of this to poor-plasticity casting or forming bodies that can tolerate a darker fired color can transform them into ones that both form well and dry harder and stronger.

This picture has its own page with more detail, click here to see it.
Fewer drying cracks! These were all made at the same time and dried in the same way. Left: Three out of five porcelain mugs have cracked on the bottoms! Right: None of the stoneware ones have. Sometimes I feel as if those are "crying cracks" instead of "drying cracks". Of course, I could have been more careful with the porcelain. But I keep forgetting items on the "drying success checklist"! So, for production, it makes sense to use a stoneware if at all possible. I can make hundreds of mugs using the body on right, M340, and will not lose a single one!
| Glossary |
Green Strength
The green strength of clay bodies is an important property, it makes them resistant to breakage or damage during handling in production. |
| Glossary |
Drying Performance
In ceramics, drying performance is very important to optimizing production. More plastic clays shrink more and crack more, but they are also better to work with. |
| Glossary |
Drying Crack
During drying clays and porcelains shrink as they become rigid. When this occurs unevenly, cracks are the result. |
| Troubles |
Cracking of Clays During Drying
The best way to avoid drying cracks when making ceramics or pottery is to avoid doing the things that cause it. Do not just blame the clay, anything can technically be dried. |
![]() PayPal | No tracking, No ads, No paywall, No transient content! Just organized, concise information constantly updated and improved. Was this helpful? Consider supporting me. |
Buy me a coffee and we can talk