Quote Originally Posted by AquaTex
Thank you for the ideas! And for the Bullwinkle info. Someone on the BYAP forum actually gave me a link to his "goat dung scoria recipe." After a little bit more research, I think I will be ready to experiment!! I do not have goat poop, but I have plenty of chicken manure.

I am going to try to do a kiln or something of the like in a home made fashion. The closer to DIY, the better. Especially down here where resources are scarce! It may take several attempts to get right, but if I can get the correct mixture and fire ratio, I think it will be a really fun, if smelly, project.
One of my other hobbies is pottery, and I recently built a home made kiln. I just did the first bisque firing in it a week or so ago, and it worked perfectly. Here's a link to a video of the firing:

[youtube:1toubrvs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRC_wunARes[/youtube:1toubrvs]

Not to burst your balloon though, but by the time you add up the cost of the kiln and associated components, the multiple times you will have to fire it (and buy propane) to get a meaningful quantity of media, and the labor involved in making the little clay balls, I really think it would be cheaper and easier to just go buy the media. If you do decide to go ahead and make your own, you might want to try using paper clay rather than mixing goat turds in the clay. Paper clay is pre-mixed with macerated paper which burns out during the firing leaving an open and porus clay body.

Good luck whatever you decide to do!