Don't Slip! Joining Clay Without Slip

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When joining two pieces of clay, you should always slip and score. You hear that all the time, but there is a trick that is shorter, easier and works even better than mixing clay with enough water to make a slip.

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Joining Clay

When joining two pieces of clay, you should always slip and score. You hear that all the time, but there is a trick that is shorter, easier, and works even better than mixing clay with enough water to make a slip.

The trick is vinegar: simply white vinegar from your local grocery store.

Since I use a lot of different clays in the studio, it’s difficult to always have the right slip mixed up, so I use a spray bottle with water and vinegar combined, about equal parts of each, instead of slip. The acidity of the vinegar breaks down the clay a bit, and makes it sticky. Some artists use vinegar straight from the bottle, or add vinegar to clay instead of water to make a joining slip. All these methods work to create a join that is stronger than water or slip alone.

One word of warning, using vinegar on pieces made using the slip-casting method will break down the clay and it will start to dissolve.