3. A presoaked wood mold is filled with the thickening clay.  The clay is then hand- pressed into the mold.  The molded tile then takes shape and is allowed to set for approximately 45 minutes.

When the clay is firmer, the tile surface is flattened and smoothed with a water saturated wood trowel.  This is a difficult process because it must be timed so that the clay is not too tacky or too stiff.  This is how the "regular" square tiles are made.  To make "super" square tiles a press is used on the tiles when they are semi-hard.

After the process of shaping the tiles is complete, they are left to dry in the sun anywhere from one to three days.

4. When the tile is dry enough to pick up, it is stacked on edge in order circculate air on the backside of the tile.  The dry tile is stored on edge awaiting complete drying and placement in the kiln.  Hand-stacking in a honeycomb pattern in the kiln is a very labor-intensive job which significantly affects the finished product.  Historically, Saltillo tile has been fired with almost any combustible refuse available but tires were most commonly used due to the sustainable heat.

Today, almost all Saltillo is fired using natural gas. The kiln water smokes for 4 to 8 hours, fires for 18 to 24 hours, and cools for 72 hours before unloading.