Drying Clay Pots with a Propane Torch

Video Transcript

"So now that we have a nice done we are going to need to smooth this out and make it look a little prettier and we are also going to want to torch this so that the clay will be firm enough that we can make the cuts that we need to make into it. It also helps make the dome smoother when you torch it. The reason for this, first you want to get your propane torch and it helps to have a tool, a pliers, to help open this up because your hands are going to be wet and you are not going to be able to turn that knob and then you need either a sparker or a lighter. So you want to turn this kind of slowly and hold the torch against the pot. This is going to serve a couple of purposes. The first is it is going to dry this out a little bit for us which we need in order to do the next step. The other thing it is going to do is the heat is going to expand the air on the inside of this dome and it is going to cause a little bit of pressure that is going to push against the walls of the dome so when we go back with our rib to smooth it that will actually help us out a lot to keep the dome from collapsing. Now you don't want to keep the torch in one place for too very long. It is important to keep it moving so that you don't get any of the clay too hard, you can make it crack. And now that you have got it just a little bit firmer and drier turn off your torch, take your rib and smooth the dome out a little bit more. Now you want to undercut this, poke a hole for that air that builds up to escape and the water that is in there and we are ready to cut the holes."