[Clayart] Source of fine silica sand

[Snail Scott]

> On Feb 13, 2020, at 12:49 AM, Jeff Abney <rakuyaki at gmail.com> wrote:
> ...
> silica is readily available from ceramic suppliers, but what about silica
> sand? I'm thinking that the type sold at home improvement stores might not
> be fine enough particle size, but I'm not sure what particle size I really
> need…


Most ceramic suppliers also sell sand in several mesh sizes. Since they buy it from the same wholesale suppliers as the builders’ supply and home improvement stores do, the product is pretty much the same. You can shop for best price, but really, sand is pretty cheap. (Except at hobby shops… avoid!)

I get silica sand from a builders’ supply place which is closer to home than my ceramic supplier, for that reason alone: cost of fuel adds to the cost of product!  It is fine enough for my purposes, though I don’t recall the mesh size offhand. Silica sand is usually sold in much finer size than play sand, but only you can decide how fine you want it for your purposes. 

Note: play sand is cheaper, but coarse and of mixed mineral content. If you want funky texture and iron spotting, it might be interesting, but I don’t trust its content - probably lots of gypsum and who knows what else. 

Snail Scott
claywork at flying-snail.com
www.snailscott.com