How To Make an Oil Lamp From Clay
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
- Making a functional oil lamp using clay and simple tools. Another practical primitive video showing the full process from forming through using the pottery. An oil lamp is a simple project that anyone can make at home without any specialized equipment.
Lamp wicks can be purchased here amzn.to/3hO82dB
0:00 Forming the lamp's vessel
1:52 Adding a spout and handle
4:00 Smoothing and Decorating the lamp
5:16 Firing the oil lamp
6:18 Using the oil lamp
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A good tutorial on sealing oil lamps can be found here czcams.com/video/xxUwOx0OqfI/video.html
I feel like I'm learning post-apocalyptic skills, and I'm here for it!
LOL, definitely, glad to provide those post-apocalyptic skills.
Thank you for the videos! I started trying to make oil lamps about two weeks ago using the hobby lobby clay you used before. After many breaks I finally have two oil lamps I use in my prayer corner now.
Nice
I'm a glass blower and somehow the idea of a traditional oil lamp has eluded me until now. I cannot wait to make a few of these out of glass in my studio
That's cool, it would look cool in blown glass!
I have seen class plowing projects so cool 😊
This is so dang neat! I often wondered how people in the ancient world survived.
I love that one, and I really like the charcoal firing. That’s something you could actually do in the city without getting the fire department called on you🐝🤗❤️
Thanks, yes.
@@AncientPottery 🤗
I really like old pottery styles❣️
You seem to have a natural gift for knowing when, what to explain and when to just let the work speak for itself, editing, music etc. I've seen channels ruined because the artist was no longer what drew us all there and became a mirror of everyone else's imput. Our opinions are ok but just that. If anything sparks the Andy we all know and love, great and of course growing and learning is a good thing, but please continue to create and edit as you decide in the end. That's my opinion. Thank you for all you do. BTW - cool little oil lamp.
I know what you're saying. A lot of things have been ruined by overly relying on user feedback or focus-groups to make decisions. In this case though my build videos generally lag far behind my other videos in number of views. So I am trying to understand why and make changes that will improve my number of views on build videos. This one is actually doing pretty well, but it is possibly just the subject grabbing people's attention. I do try to improve with each video. Thanks for the feedback, very much appreciated.
Totally agree! It is so obvious when people start to apply the general marketing strategies. Then we lose the individuals we love to follow. Love your vids, Andy!!! I think they are excellent and dynamic
@@AncientPottery I'll look at this video again with a view to give you specific feedback
What would happen if you mixed up a slip of a decent amount of copper carbonate and clay? Would the clay turn black?
Also I would like to say that it is very easy to make copper carbonate at home. Take hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar and in equal proportions in a glass dish and bring to a little boil in microwave. Remove and bring outside and place copper metal pipe in the mixture. This will make a reaction causing bubbles of hydrogen and turn the solution blue (this is copper acetate) When the reaction stops take out the copper metal with a filter and take the copper acetate solution and apply baking soda to it slowly. Another reaction happens and the copper carbonate forms a precipitate and drops out of the copper acetate. Filter out with coffee filters and dry and your done.
Thanks for that tip. You would need to keep the percentage of clay pretty low like maybe around 20% otherwise it would start to become less black and more brown or whatever color the clay is. In reduction copper carbonate will make a weird red halo.
@@AncientPottery After a few minutes of research I found these possible reasons for the red.
Heated metallic copper reacts with oxygen to form black copper oxide. The copper oxide can then react with the hydrogen gas to form metallic copper and water. After the funnel was removed from the hydrogen stream, the copper was still hot enough to be reoxidized with air.
cupric oxide (CuO). This red-coloured solid is a component of some antifouling paints. The compound can appear either yellow or red, depending on the size of the particles.
For your next video u should make a tea pot with tea cups and use it at the end of the video.
Great idea, thanks.
As requested in my latest poll (in the community tab of my channel) this video incorporates more explanation of what I am doing. What do you think? Is this better? Does the voice-over make this build video better and moire useful for you? Here is my previous build video without voice-over czcams.com/video/KGgXG9b0csI/video.html Is this better? Your thoughts mean a lot to me in making my content better. Thanks!
Voiceover was great, same with the music. I would still appreciate it if you could include the weight or amount of clay used for the project
Love it, thanks!
Voice over was good. I always like the pace of your videos. Things move fast enough but not too fast.
Andy, you do quite well at articulating your words and you get your point across with a fairly good economy on words. I am learning a lot from you doing things the way they have been done for hundreds of years BM(Before Micheals). While the use of captions, Text's or Marquee's scrolling across the screen do add to the learning experience, I would be afraid that the added time you would have to spend on editing them in might diminish the quantity of your work. Videos that have strictly music hold my attention a mere 20% of the time and dissatisfy me the remaining 80%. Whether i am watching knife/sword making from the backwoods of rural China, Tuna carving in Taiwan or furniture making in Mexico, i would rather hear the background noise of production than laid over music.
In the last week that i have been newly watching all about pottery, i have found that your lessons are well worth watching. KaransPotsandGlass is amazing in her ability to teach as she is a pottery teacher for high school student. However, Simon Leach, who appears to be a highly enduring and accomplished potter in the CZcams community is very difficult to follow. Sadly, despite his appearance as an enormous talent, Simon's vocalizations just do not hold me.
I fear that both the quality and the quantity of your work would suffer if you were to lean towards the "I Recreated a 600 Year Old Pot (Tonto Polychrome)" style of presentation
@@gottagift Thanks for your honest opinion. I like Simon Leach but I think his biggest problem is that he doesn't edit his videos. I also will ramble and talk to the camera but then I spend a lot of time editing that down so that the dialog is short and to the point. I have to put background music under my working for a couple of reasons. For one my studio is on my back porch and the sounds you would most hear are not the sounds of making pottery but traffic and kids playing and car alarms and sirens and other ambient sounds of the city. Also I often play music when I am working then just remove all sounds from the video when I edit it, then I need to add some sounds back in or it sounds jarringly silent, so I add background music. If I ever have a proper indoor studio then I will be able to have just the sounds of pottery making.
Amazing timing! I was just today wondering about how copper carbonate would behave in a low fire setting, since I'd only seen mention of it before in glazing. This was really informative. As usual, the music is superb. And yes, I do like the voice over. It doesn't interfere with the visual, it's information-rich, and it provides some nuances that might be missed otherwise. Nothing but positives on this one.
Thanks Dave!
What a fabulous idea for a video! It's fun sometimes to try something from a whole different culture than the one we are used to replicating. Your little oil lamp is marvelous!!
Thank you. Primitive pottery is universal, almost every culture has some form and the techniques can be applied to just about any form.
I'm totally going to do that I'm totally going to make one of those pots
Great!
Wow great video and what a cool idea to make an oil lamp. As morbid as it sounds I would like to make a funeral urn for ashes lol
I never would of thought olive oil would burn.
Oh that's actually a great idea, I would do that.
..... very well presented young man ......
Thank you
You can make the top hole smaller and leave off the spout, make a "pearl" that is bigger than the opening of the top and can hold the wick up in it's hole. Then you only stick It on the wick and the wick through the opening into the oil and drop the pearl on the top hole. fire the wick and there you go.
Lovely tutorial! The lamp looks wonderful :) Thank you for sharing. I wonder if a similar technique can be used to make a teapot.
Sure you could, it kind of looks like a tiny tea pot anyway
Super cool
Thanks
Nice video, really low cost fun
It definitely is, thanks.
I can't wait for a video showing how to seal it mine keeps leaking over time a decent amount
Oh sorry about that. I’ll put together a short in the next day or two for you.
@@AncientPottery thanks btw the short was great
I do like this format. Thanks for sharing your skill and knowledge.
You're welcome
In one of your older videos, you tested pots you had sealed in different ways to see how well they held water. If I recall correctly, at least one had the bottom of the pot get kind of damp, and the table beneath it got slightly damp from that. Does the oil in your lamp do the same thing? If so, I might make a clay trivet or something to set the lamp on, so I don't get oil on my table.
Yes, I think that might be wise. I am currently thinking of ways to seal a vessel like this. The seepage isn't dramatic though.
Perfect little oil lamp. I wanna try to make it thanks for the nice video
Glad you liked it.
Good point that a small oil lamp is better than a large one for most users.
For sure
Thankyou 😊Ima go make one! ( after I watch you do it again)...
Awesome
Love this!
Thanks
Beautiful work!
Thank you very much!
I like the voice-over. Your considered choices are informative. What we see being done just makes more sense with comments added. I have also gained a lot of information from such videos where the artist would casually throw in extra info that helped me a lot
Awesome, thank you!
To cool man!
Thanks
Very cool 😎 Thank you 💗
You're welcome
Wow ❤️
Thanks
That was awesome, Andy!
Glad you enjoyed it!
another great video 👍
Thanks!
Very cool !
Thanks
@@AncientPottery I know everyone is always giving you advice on videos and I seem to be no different lol 😂 I agree with some who say just do what you do and we will enjoy. BUT. Lol I have been thinking of putting an off set foot ring on my Mimbres bowls so they have a built in display stand . Foot rings is a popular search I would imagine for potters and who knows some primitive potters might want to consider this for decorated interior pots or bowls. Any who just thoughts. But we all enjoy your productions and skill sharing what ever your doing !
Such a beautiful form, I’ll have to give making one a shot next time i can get my hands on my clay. Awesome video as always, man!
Thanks a lot.
It so cool! TY
You're welcome
This is going to be my first project. As soon as the ground thaws enough that I can dig the clay (I live on a mountain back east), I'm going to make this. Thank you!
Good deal, let me know how to comes out
Very cool
Thanks
That’s a neat project! All around a great video thanks andy
Glad you enjoyed it
Very cool project
Glad you liked it
@@AncientPottery was very interesting have seen some “re-enactment “ Roman clay lights produced as a flat concave plate with the wick in the centre and a small handle but this is next level 😌
Awesome Job Sir
Thanks
Oh I love this style! I'm definitely a stream of conscience guy. I also like the make it and use it videos
I was thinking of you yesterday when my pizza stone I've had for many years broke. I wonder if something that big (16") could be made?!
Great idea, I'll bet I could make a dandy pizza stone. Thanks for the feedback.
@@AncientPottery I'll be waiting for the video! 😁
Nice work I'm going try to make one of these soon
Go for it!
I think this video was really well done. You explained every step very well and gave excellent visual presentations too. This definitely raises the value of your content.
Thanks Chad. That means a lot coming from you!
I love this project, many possibilities and doesn't take forever to make, thank you. (Plus one of them looks like a mini teapot)
Thanks, I am already starting to see people's attempts at this project, glad to provide a little inspiration.
Great video! I couldn't help but notice that that vase you also fired in the video looks Hohokam inspired.
Thanks, yes it was. Not a buff clay unfortunately but close.
I have done lots of pottery but not expert it's kinda fun. Unless kiln blows up your project.
I like the voice over and music. I wonder if the lamp could be salt glazed. Michael
I don't see why not.
hello from new hampshire. my children and i have been watching your videos and are so excited to give pottery making a try.💕
Wonderful! Thanks for watching.
Nice one Andy..cool small project to make .think ill make a pair of them..liking the voice over as well..Question what reason did you make the lamp in two halves when your normal method is to coil/ pinch up in one piece?
It was easier to make in 2 halves especially for that small form. Thanks
Great work. Greeting from Jerusalem
حياك الله
Thank you
What a G
You did great in explaining your process. What was the song you played?
Sorry it was so long ago I don't remember the music I used. I get all my music from Epidemic Sound
I was curious too so I had to find it. It's "Roots and Recognition feat. Melanie Bell - Footprints in the Sand".
I made my own lamp this weekend. It is more of an 18th century style lamp, But is was still just as fun!. Thanks for the inspiration.
That is awesome! You are welcome
I soooo would like to do this one day in my own Garden 📜💪📣this so beautifull
You should!
So do you have to worry about the porous earthenware and the olive oil seeping thru it?
Trying to figure that out right now. It didn't come through initially but after a week and a half it is kind of impregnated with oil now. It doesn't seem to catch fire, now will the oil eventually polymerize and form its own barrier or does it need to be sealed with milk or starch or some other method? Time will tell.
Please, share how to adjust the wick so as to give greater or lesser light. And is this how they might have done in ancient times? My guess is that users have to use some type of forceps to pull the wick up to brighten it
My area of speciality is making things with clay, not the use and adjustment of oil lamps.
As I was watching the video I thought of something. What about a hollow tapered clay stopper. Make the inside diameter just small enough to add some resistance to the size of wick being used. You could poke the inside lightly with a toothpick to roughen it for more friction. The outside of the stopper would fit inside the spout of the lamp. To pull more wick for more light, I would use a stiff wire or stiff wire bent into tongs. To reduce the flame you would remove the stopper and pull the wick from the bottom with the tongs. You could even make a clay topper to extinguish the flaming wick. I would go so far as to make a lid for the fill hole with a marble ball top. Don't forget to add an air hole or two incase the top seals too good and stops oil flow to the wick. I would love to see a three wick oil lamp, Andy! I would also love to see an oil lamp like this painted black and white in a native style.
I did it all for the pookie, What the pookie what the pookie
Well it would be hard to do it without a puki that's for sure.
🙏🏼
Hi Andy I'm trying to make the oil lamp
I also like the one you made last year do you have a video for that one? Thank you.
No, that lamp was made as part of the Ancient Potters Club, my Wednesday night Zoom class.
DOes it have to be Olive Oil or could I use any other vegetable oil ?
Another engaging video Andy. A neat little project, presented with simple steps and a layed-back tone. I always learn something and enjoy the music part, as well.
In my experience, that copper carb is a pale sister to black copper oxide. Oxide seems to coat more uniformly because it's less reactive to temp.
Thanks again Andy,...from Scholle, NM 🌶️
Thanks. I have never used copper oxide, something to try.
@@AncientPottery Ya never know, but it might go a long way in solving the maganese/brown issue. Try it with some yucca or bee binder... 👍
A tabla drum would look great next to your oil lamp! 😁🙏
@@jeffreyconnell8410 A drum is actually a project I am doing some research on right now.
@@AncientPottery Nice one Andy! I'm with you... 👍
Are oil lamps useful for firing pottery?
👍
I have an electric kiln for borosilicate glass that maxes out at 1700f is that hot enough to fire clay?
1700 F is plenty hot enough, I almost never fire that hot.
How is the wick brought out as it burns down? I'd hate to have it slip down into the oil and either go out or start a fire.
Thanks for a cool video😀
As long as there is fuel, it rises along the wick, and does not allow it to burn out, in the correct oil lamps (as in this video), the wick is horizontal, not vertical, to make it easier to draw out the oil. It’s hard to burn oil just like that, you need a very high temperature.
My clay seems to be too porous. Vegetable oil as well as lamp oil seep through the sides and bottom. I make oil burners (clay plug with hole for a wick) that fit on top of bottles, but they absorb lamp oil, catch fire and burn like a torch !😆
After a week and a half with the oil sitting in my lamp it did soak into the lamp. So I wondered if it might catch fire and lit the wick. It burned just fine and the fire never moved from the wick to the pot. I suppose the lamp could be sealed with any of a number of methods before use. For example milk sealing czcams.com/video/YuKn76tSU-Q/video.html I think over time the olive oil will dry along the outside of the pot forming its own seal, time will tell.
Can clay withstand strong acids, bases and high temperatures? I'm setting up a laboratory but I wanna make my own equipment and your videos have proven super useful
No idea about acids and bases. The temperature depends on the clay, every clay has a different melting point, you will need to test it to find out what that is.
Comments for the algorithm
How long does the fuel last?
No idea, I actually haven't used it enough to say
What type of clay are you using?
Wild clay that I dig and process myself
Great job! Does oil absorb into clay?
I have already tried 4 times to fire a simpler clay lamp, but it constantly cracks, I burn it on a fire, as in your video about firing clay without a kiln. I have already added a 50/50 grog with clay, I hope this time it will work. I noticed that they crack, not when fired, but when cooled.
It's most likely your clay or you are firing in very cold weather and they are cooling too quickly.
Oh and yes it will absorb oil, check out this video czcams.com/users/shortsvniKNWe-JuM
@@AncientPottery Thanks, it's freezing outside right now, maybe I should try it in the fireplace at home.
well surely the oil leaks through the clay, right? how'd you seal it?
Yes, over time it was kind of a mess. I hope to make a follow up video soon
@@AncientPotteryI'll be looking forward to it :)
Can you do a class with air dry?
I do not use air dry clay, I would not be the person for that class
Could you pls do a class? Online? I am in Israel
I do have online classes - ancientpottery.how/classes/
😎👍🏼
Hi Andy i want to make small clay whistles for fun Can i fire them like you did in a charcoal pit maybe use a coffee can to cover the whistle then surround it with charcoal in a small pit like you did ??
I have zero experience with making whistles but I think that would work just fine.
Instead of olive oil could I use bacon fat in the lamp? Very cool!!
Maybe?
loving your technique and video's, but a small critique, in european ancient pottery, the pottery has flat bottoms since they didn't use puki's like native americans did, pottery in europe was made on a woven mat, this would enable the potter to turn the pot as they coiled
Yeah, this was never intended to be an exact replica of anything European or Middle Eastern. Just my take on an oil lamp. And of course it has a Southwestern twist, that's how I roll.
Actually quite a lot of early pottery is exclusively round based.
The Carinated Bowl tradition in Britain (~4000 BC) was entirely round based, and flat based pottery doesn't emerge for centuries after that tradition diverges into later styles. It is very likely that formers of some sort where employed in a fashion similar to pukis when making round based pottery in Europe because of the sheer faff of doing it without, though it is doable.
I have an oil lamp (3x 3) that an old boyfriend bought for me years ago with a piece of paper that says “ Roman Terra Cotta circa 250 AD”. It’s been sitting in a cabinet for many years. Is this thing worth anything to anyone? I hate to see it sit in the dark with no one to appreciate it. Please let me know what to do with it.
You could use it as an oil lamp or you could maybe get something out of it by selling on eBay
I am in Israel Andy. Can I use this little oil lamp and put oil in air dry? I like that clay and easy for me. But I want an oil lamp! I'm so afraid of fire and other clays and so don't want my little lamp to burn or explode. help
Don't be afraid, be bold
Did the Indians have oil lamps before the Spanish came? If so what oil did they use?
They did not, although they definitely had all the right materials. One plant they grew that had a high oil content was sunflowers.
@@AncientPottery I know sunflowers were domesticated somewhere back east, and peanuts somewhere south in Mexico, but I hadn't heard that they were grown in the Southwest.
yes they had oil lamps
@@raditicat so what kind of oil did they use in them before the Spanish came with olive oil?
@@joanhuffman2166 The oils they had available