Recommended Clay for Tile Making

You are here: Home > CLAY > Tile Making Clays

Recommended Clay Bodies for Tile Making.

What kind of clay should I use to make tiles?
Any clay body can be used for making tiles but some will work better than others.
Here is a guide to help you decide which body is right for you.

The first thing to narrow your search is the cone or temperature at which you fire.
The second is the color you are interested in.
The third is the size of the pieces you are interested in making which may determine the amount and/or size of the grog in the body necessary to achieve your goals.

Note: be sure to fire any clay to the top of it's firing range when creating items such as bath tiles. The top number where a clay is given a range such as "cone 02-10" indicates that the clay is fully vitrified at cone 10 and will no longer absorb water after being fired to that temperature.

Shown Here is a Tile by Michael Cohen made with custom Sheffield Pottery Stoneware clay.
Click here to see a complete selection of Michael Cohen Tiles at our retail site: American Made Pottery (AmericanMadePottery.com)

Low-fire Cone 06 Clay for Tile Making:

Low fire tiles are fine for decorative purposes and plaques. If you wish to do low-fire tiles (cone 06) we highly recommend the
Mass White SS. The Mass White SS is an earthenware clay with a silica sand grog which gives a nice tooth for tile making. It is light in color and easy to use.

Cone 6 Clay for Tile Making:

Cone 6 bodies can be suitable for kitchen and bathroom applications when fired to their fully vitrified state. This is the recommended cone if you fire in a a cone 10 rated electric kiln.
T6B which is buff in color is a nice clay for stoneware tiles.
4D which is good if you prefer a tan/brown color stoneware.
20266 is a cone 4-6 grolleg porcelain which is good choice if you want a white body.

Cone 10 Clay for Tile Making:

If you have a gas fired cone 10 kiln and want a tight body suitable for batroom tiles you should consider a cone 10 clay.
T1S is a fine grog stoneware prefereded by tile makers. This is the darkest of our reduction bodies. Good for large pieces. T-1S includes screen fireclay and Lizella.
45R which is also our stoneware Raku Clay is designed with a high percentage of coarse grog to withstand the thermal shock of fast firing and cooling in Raku. Good structure for slab building and tiles. For tiles fire this body to cone 10 to fully vitrify.
S14 is a similar stoneware body with a coarser grog which is a good choice for larger tiles.
20231G is the choice If you prefer a lighter color cone 10 clay : it is a white stoneware containing super smooth English Grolleg porcelain. Throws well, very smooth and dependable.
T23A is a white cone 10 porcelain which uses a domestic kaolin rather than the imported grolleg so it is smooth and pure but a little less expensive than the English Grolleg.

Please feel free to call us if you would like furtur assistance chosing the right clay for your specific project needs. Call 888.774-2529.

Click here to view our selection of high-quality Tile Cutters.

Handmade Tiles Giorgini

Here is a new dvd on tile making: The Handmade Tiles DVD by Frank Giorgini

Handmade Tile Peck

Click Here for this nice book on the subject : The Art of Handmade Tile: Complete Instructions for Carving, Casting & Glazing (Paperback) by Kristin Peck

Sort By:

Page of 1

#20231G MOIST CLAY 50lb Box

Our Price: $30.00

Temperature Range	Cone 6- 10	Cone 10 white stoneware containing Grolleg. Throws well, very smooth and dependable.
Grog	Fine
Color In Oxidation	White
Color In Reduction	White/Grey
Shrinkage	c/10/ox./red. 12.00%
Absorbtion	c/10/ox./red. 1.74%

#20266 Porcelain MOIST CLAY 50lb Box

Our Price: $41.00

Temperature Range	Cone 4 - 6	This grolleg porcelain is a traditional blend of kaolin, feldspar, and flint. This produces a translucent white throwing and handbuilding clay body.
Grog	No
Color In Oxidation	White
Color In Reduction	Blue White
Shrinkage	c/6/ox. 14.50%
Absorbtion	c/6/ox. 0.00%

#45R MOIST RAKU CLAY 50lb Box

Our Price: $27.00

Temperature Range	Cone 018- 10	Raku Clay designed with a high percentage of coarse grog to withstand the thermal shock of fast firing and cooling in Raku. Can be used for wheel work, handbuilding, and sculpture.
Grog	Coarse
Color In Oxidation	Buff
Color In Reduction	N/A
Shrinkage	c/06/ox./ 5.50%
Absorbtion	c/06/ox./ 15.00%

4D MOIST CLAY 50lb Box

Our Price: $25.75

Temperature Range	Cone 6	Ideal for wheel work, this body contains Redart, fire, and ball clays. Also well suited for small sculpture and handbuilding.
Grog	Fine
Color In Oxidation	Reddish Tan
Color In Reduction	N/A
Shrinkage	c/6/ox./ 11.00%
Absorbtion	c/6/ox./ .39%

S-14 SCULPTURAL STONEWARE MOIST CLAY 50lb Box

Our Price: $27.00

Temperature Range	Cone 02 - 10	Designed for large sculptural pieces. This is a blend of high temperature clays with a high percentage of fine grog. A thourough program of testing has produced a reliable, easy to handle body that will not crack. For use in situations that require thick cross sections and low shrinkage.
Grog	Fine
Color In Oxidation	Buff
Color In Reduction	Tan with Iron Spots
Shrinkage	c/6/ox./ 9.00%
Absorbtion	c/6/ox./ 4.00%

T-1S MOIST STONEWARE POTTERY CLAY 50lb Box

Our Price: $29.50

Temperature Range	Cone 6 - 10	Throwing stoneware containing Sheffield Clay. This is the darkest of our reduction bodies. Good for large pieces. T-1S includes screen fireclay and Lizella.
Grog	Fine
Color In Oxidation	Tan
Color In Reduction	Med. Brown with Iron Spots
Shrinkage	c/10/ox./ 11.00%
Absorbtion	c/10/ox./ .65%

T-23A MOIST CLAY 50lb Box

Our Price: $31.75

Temperature Range	Cone 10	Domestic Kaolin Porcelain. A translucent clay body using #6 tile clay and other domestic kaolins to produce results similar to grolleg porcelain at a lower cost.
Grog	No
Color In Oxidation	White
Color In Reduction	White
Shrinkage	c/10/ox. 13.00%
Absorbtion	c/10/ox. 0.65%

T-6B MOIST STONEWARE CLAY 50lb Box

Our Price: $28.25

Temperature Range	Cone 6	This superb throwing stoneware clay was designed to incorporate all the versatile qualities of our T3 body, and be extremely vitreous at cone 6. Great for dinnerware, its excellent thermal properties make this an ideal choice for functional ware. This clay body is screened to insure dependable results.
Grog	Fine
Color In Oxidation	Light Cream
Color In Reduction	Dark Buff/Iron Spots
Shrinkage	c/6/ox./ 10.70%
Absorbtion	c/6/ox./ .58%

MASS WHITE WITH SILICA SAND EARTHENWARE POTTERY CLAY

MASS WHITE With SILICA SAND CLAY and Texas Talc 50lb Box

Our Price: $25.50

Temperature Range	Cone 06 - Cone 02	This earthenware pottery clay is a very smooth and very plastic clay body containing ball clay and non-asbestos talc. The addition of silica sand gives a more controlled shrinkage in large pieces.
Grog	No
Color In Oxidation	White
Color In Reduction	White
Shrinkage	c/06/ox. 6.50%
Absorbtion	c/06/ox. 9.20%

Clay for Tile Making