{"title":"How to Score and Slip Clay to Join Pieces","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/pottery/how-to-score-and-slip-clay","category":{"slug":"pottery","name":"Pottery"},"creator":{"name":"The Pottery Wheel","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnUpLukVsp-QCwiuTohtCHQ","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIxY2Uq2tEY"},"tldr":"How to score and slip clay so slabs, walls and mug handles stay joined. Tools, making slip, and how to stop joins cracking as they dry.","quickAnswer":"How to score and slip clay so slabs, walls and mug handles stay joined. An easy project: about 30 minutes, plus 24 hours to dry or set. You need 9 things, including leather hard clay, serrated metal rib and needle tool. The 10 steps start with mark Where to Score the Clay With a Roller Guide, score the Clay Slab Edge With a Serrated Rib and cross Hatch the Scored Clay With a Needle Tool.","totalDurationSeconds":580,"videoDurationSeconds":580,"difficulty":"easy","project":{"difficulty":"easy","projectMinutes":30,"waitMinutes":1440,"totalMinutes":1470,"estimatedCost":null,"yield":null},"tools":["serrated metal rib","needle tool","paint brush for slip","roller guides","stylus or modeling tool","chamois","lidded tub for slip"],"materials":["leather hard clay","clay slip made from the same clay"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Mark Where to Score the Clay With a Roller Guide","text":"Plan the join before you cut anything. The slabs in the video are leather hard and 6 mm thick, rolled between 6 mm roller guides. Lay one of those guides along the edge of the base slab, the same width as the wall that will stand there. Then draw a faint line down the inside edge of the guide with a needle tool. That line shows exactly where the wall will sit and where to score."},{"number":2,"title":"Score the Clay Slab Edge With a Serrated Rib","text":"Drag a serrated metal rib along the marked strip, pressing enough to leave clear grooves. The teeth cut many even lines in one pass, so you can score a long edge quickly. Stay inside the line you drew. You only need texture where the wall will touch. Scoring the open floor of the box leaves marks you would have to smooth away later."},{"number":3,"title":"Cross Hatch the Scored Clay With a Needle Tool","text":"Using a needle tool instead? Score one way along the strip, then score across those lines the other way. The cross hatch gives the slip more to grab onto than parallel lines alone. It takes a little longer than a rib but works as well. Brush away the little burrs of clay that come up, so they do not get stuck under the wall."},{"number":4,"title":"Score the Bottom Edge of the Clay Wall Slab","text":"Pick up the wall slab and hold it on its side. Score along the whole edge that will sit on the base, using the same serrated rib. Both surfaces in a join need scoring. If only one side has texture, the slip grips that side and slides off the smooth one, and the wall pops off as the clay dries."},{"number":5,"title":"Paint Clay Slip Onto the Scored Base","text":"Load a brush with slip and paint it into the scored strip on the base. Work it into the grooves, not only over the top. For soft clay a little water can be enough. Leather hard slabs like these need a thick slip to bond well. The video uses paper clay slip, which is extra sticky and strong."},{"number":6,"title":"Paint Slip Onto the Scored Edge of the Clay Wall","text":"Now slip the wall's scored edge the same way. Plan ahead and prepare each pair of surfaces right before you join them, so neither dries out. Score and slip the next wall while the first one settles. That keeps the box moving, and three joined walls soon make the whole thing sturdy."},{"number":7,"title":"Press the Clay Wall Onto the Slipped Base Join","text":"Set the wall upright on the slipped line and check it sits where you marked. Once it is lined up, press down with gentle but firm pressure so the two scored surfaces lock together. Avoid sliding it back and forth. In the video the slip tub props the first wall for a minute, in case it tips before the slip grabs."},{"number":8,"title":"Press a Reinforcing Clay Coil Into the Inside Join","text":"Score along the inside corner where the wall meets the base and add a little slip. Roll a thin, soft coil of the same clay and press it into the corner, supporting the wall from the other side. Blend it in with a stylus tool, then wipe over it with a damp chamois. Repeat on the outside. The coil fills gaps and stops cracks as the box dries."},{"number":9,"title":"Score and Slip the Mug Where the Clay Handle Attaches","text":"The same method attaches a handle. Hold the handle against the mug and mark both ends with a needle tool. Score each marked patch with the serrated rib, then score the two ends of the handle too. Paint slip onto all four scored spots. The handle has to carry a mug of hot coffee, so do not skip any of them."},{"number":10,"title":"Press the Slipped Clay Handle Onto the Mug","text":"Line the handle up and press each end firmly onto its slipped patch. Put one hand inside the mug to brace the wall, so the pressure does not dent or warp the shape. Add a small coil around the top join and blend it in for extra hold. Cover the mug loosely so the handle and body dry slowly together."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-10-29T18:00:25.634Z","published":"2026-10-29T18:00:25.191Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}