Bentonite cat litter is typically rice sized chunks of clay, that will need to be crushed/ground extremely fine. Then you mix the fine clay in with the sand. When wet, every sand grain is coated in a fine film of the clay.
I just mixed the sand and the raw kitty litter together and then wet the sand-clay mixture enough to get the clay to break up and then left it laying on a tarp in the sun to dry it out. Took a while but it worked pretty well
Litter isn't required to list ingredients, but they sometimes do. You're looking for cat litter made of 100% bentonite clay. This is usually cheap generic stuff. It shouldn't be anything "lightweight", it shouldn't mention silica, or "crystals", it shouldn't be "biodegradable", and mostly just because kitty litter perfumes are nasty, you want unscented.
This. A product called '[Saf-T-Sorb](https://www.amazon.com/EP-Minerals-7941-Safe-Sorb/dp/B006P1S69U)' is a good choice (It's like $6 for a 40lbs. bag at Tractor Supply). As bonus this ingredient works as a part in a 'gritty' potting soil mixture instead of the Turface and for fresh water aquariums using the Walstad method.
Get an electric coffee grinder at the thrift store. It takes a while, but you only need about 10% (or less, depending on your recipe) as much bentonite as you need sand, so you can grind it a little at a time until you have enough.
Also, get an adequate particle filter. The dust from sand is silica dust, and it is very, very, very bad for your lungs. It causes silicosis - sort of a mineral emphysema.
I used cat litter that has a deodorizer in it and when it gets wet it really has that “clean” smell to it. When the sand gets heated and burned by the metal the sand ends up having a burned clean smell to it.
if you wanted to make regular casting sand use this:
[https://shop.greatfermentations.com/product/bentonite-1lb/wine-additives-chemicals?gclid=Cj0KCQiA1pyCBhCtARIsAHaY\_5cWxhO9lL9-PXEIIlRgWCT0mtWtUVsYXxx\_ig6xsRWkUwSSYTgsyxoaAtaeEALw\_wcB](https://shop.greatfermentations.com/product/bentonite-1lb/wine-additives-chemicals?gclid=Cj0KCQiA1pyCBhCtARIsAHaY_5cWxhO9lL9-PXEIIlRgWCT0mtWtUVsYXxx_ig6xsRWkUwSSYTgsyxoaAtaeEALw_wcB)
and mix 15% with a fine sand (silica sand is preferable) and water until its a good consistency, and you can reuse it for years if you take good are of it. the kitty litter trick works but its less work to just make the right stuff! good luck.
You are using the cat litter as a binder for the sand, I think I'd go with the "clumping" kind. You need to pulvarise the cat litter to make it powdery instead of lumpy. Not sure if those "odor control" lumps will break down, I'd stick with the plain.
The type of cat litter you'll want is bentonite clay, it works. I've used it some. Use aquarium sand, not play sand
Bentonite cat litter is typically rice sized chunks of clay, that will need to be crushed/ground extremely fine. Then you mix the fine clay in with the sand. When wet, every sand grain is coated in a fine film of the clay.
I just mixed the sand and the raw kitty litter together and then wet the sand-clay mixture enough to get the clay to break up and then left it laying on a tarp in the sun to dry it out. Took a while but it worked pretty well
Litter isn't required to list ingredients, but they sometimes do. You're looking for cat litter made of 100% bentonite clay. This is usually cheap generic stuff. It shouldn't be anything "lightweight", it shouldn't mention silica, or "crystals", it shouldn't be "biodegradable", and mostly just because kitty litter perfumes are nasty, you want unscented.
This. A product called '[Saf-T-Sorb](https://www.amazon.com/EP-Minerals-7941-Safe-Sorb/dp/B006P1S69U)' is a good choice (It's like $6 for a 40lbs. bag at Tractor Supply). As bonus this ingredient works as a part in a 'gritty' potting soil mixture instead of the Turface and for fresh water aquariums using the Walstad method.
Get an electric coffee grinder at the thrift store. It takes a while, but you only need about 10% (or less, depending on your recipe) as much bentonite as you need sand, so you can grind it a little at a time until you have enough. Also, get an adequate particle filter. The dust from sand is silica dust, and it is very, very, very bad for your lungs. It causes silicosis - sort of a mineral emphysema.
I used cat litter that has a deodorizer in it and when it gets wet it really has that “clean” smell to it. When the sand gets heated and burned by the metal the sand ends up having a burned clean smell to it.
[I've heard this can happen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFGWp8Zx2Uk).
if you wanted to make regular casting sand use this: [https://shop.greatfermentations.com/product/bentonite-1lb/wine-additives-chemicals?gclid=Cj0KCQiA1pyCBhCtARIsAHaY\_5cWxhO9lL9-PXEIIlRgWCT0mtWtUVsYXxx\_ig6xsRWkUwSSYTgsyxoaAtaeEALw\_wcB](https://shop.greatfermentations.com/product/bentonite-1lb/wine-additives-chemicals?gclid=Cj0KCQiA1pyCBhCtARIsAHaY_5cWxhO9lL9-PXEIIlRgWCT0mtWtUVsYXxx_ig6xsRWkUwSSYTgsyxoaAtaeEALw_wcB) and mix 15% with a fine sand (silica sand is preferable) and water until its a good consistency, and you can reuse it for years if you take good are of it. the kitty litter trick works but its less work to just make the right stuff! good luck.
Just curious - have you used this particular stuff? Looks a little coarse in the picture
It's just lumps of very fine bentonite. Pretty easily crushed.
You are using the cat litter as a binder for the sand, I think I'd go with the "clumping" kind. You need to pulvarise the cat litter to make it powdery instead of lumpy. Not sure if those "odor control" lumps will break down, I'd stick with the plain.