j.a.velez on fri 1 feb 02
Gentlepersons:
Sometime ago somebody posted a comment about the difficulties of going =
from an electric wheel to a kick wheel. I am having the opposite =
experience. I used to have a kick wheel I had built myself. Although I =
suspect the flywheel should had been heavier, I had developed some =
proficiency in centering and throwing. I decided to move to an electric =
wheel thinking I would be able to be more efficient and also possibly =
throw larger forms. Recently I bought a Pacifica 800. I have found, to =
my surprise, quite a bit of difficulty in centering clay in the electric =
wheel. I believe the most difficult aspect of this is how to judge the =
speed. In the kick wheel once I roughly centered the lump at very low =
revolutions I then kicked as hard as I could to center the clay and from =
there somehow coasted down for the rest of the process. The =
relationship between physical effort and required revolutions for a =
particular shape sort of became second nature. On the electric wheel I =
do not have a clue and tend to believe most of the time I am going to =
fast. Interesting enough, prior to purchasing the electric wheel I went =
to the local High School to give a demonstration on a combination =
kick/electric Lockerbie wheel and felt comfortable using it in both =
modes. But the feeling of the Pacifica is completely different. I am =
sure it is a matter of practice until I get used to it, but it surely is =
frustrating. At any rate, I thought I would see if others have gone =
through this and if there are any rules of thumb that might be helpful =
through this transition.
Regards, Jose A. Velez
Penni Stoddart on sat 2 feb 02
Jose,
I too went through this transition. Exactly as you described. I spent the
past summer in a period studio at our local pioneer village using of course
a kick wheel. In the fall my generous Grandmother sent me money from England
which translated into just enough for a new Pacifica (400 series).
It took me a long time to get used to the speed and felt like I was a
beginner again unable to centre. Very frustrating at times. I did manage to
get a lovely mug off the wheel fairly soon that will go to my Gran as a
thank you.
My only advice is to keep at it.
Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice,
practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice.
~~~~
Penni Stoddart of Penelope's Pots
President, Artisans London (Ontario, Canada)
I live in my own little world, but it's ok... they know me here
Cindy Strnad on sat 2 feb 02
Dear Jose`,
If I remember right, Pacifica wheels have a pretty
fast top-end speed. Someone correct me if I'm
wrong about this. With my Brent B, I center at top
speed, but on the Pacifica, I would recommend you
slow it down a bit. Not sure what you'll use the
full tilt for--trimming, maybe, if you like to
trim fast. It takes some practice to get the hang
of the foot pedal. For me, not too much, as I had
been sewing nearly all my life, but for you, maybe
a bit longer. Make sure you're sitting in a
comfortable position. Your knee should be slightly
lower than your hip. Raise the wheel and get a
taller seat if necessary. If you're sitting in a
crouched up position, you will find it very
difficult to control the foot pedal, and your hip
joint will begin to ache after a while.
If you throw standing up, I mounted my foot pedal
on a vertical 2x4 slightly to the right of my
wheel. I control it with my thigh. Now that did
take some getting used to. ;)
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
USA
cindy@earthen-vessels-pottery.com
http://www.earthen-vessels-pottery.com
Dewitt on sat 2 feb 02
At 11:15 2/2/02 -0700, Cindy Strnad wrote:
>Dear Jose`,
>
>If I remember right, Pacifica wheels have a pretty
>fast top-end speed. Someone correct me if I'm
>wrong about this. With my Brent B, I center at top
>speed, but on the Pacifica, I would recommend you
>slow it down a bit.
Yeap, high end is pretty fast, BUT the instructions tell you how to
throttle it down to a more manageable rate.
deg
---------------------------
Dewitt Gimblet
dewitt@texas.net
Austin, TX
---------------------------
Philip Poburka on sat 2 feb 02
Dear Jose,
It is a matter of practice and familiarity.
The feel you have for the Kick wheel took time, and the transition to an
Electric one will take some time too, though probably not much.
I had started on a Kick wheel also, and when I first tried a really old
'Electric' one, I was thrilled!
But it was much slower than most electrics are, so maybe that allowed an
advantage.
I have seen that many Potters seem to run their Electric Wheels too fast,
both in throwing and trimming, and it is a good point you bring up here for
them to consider as well.
Except for the initial Centering, I run the Wheel pretty 'slow' for almost
all else, as rib-smoothing and some pulls...as too, most of my work was
small to medium. I remember some troubles spinning things too fast sometimes
on various electric Wheels I was on...as night-classes and such.
Eventually I got myself an early (1940s?) 'Skutt' wheel which cannot go very
fast no matter what, and grumbles variously at any speed.
Well...you'll get the feel-of-it pretty soon...some wheels have a 'humm'
which will rise or change with the speed...sometimes that is a companion to
the speed one tends to like for certain things, and when hearing it you feel
you are in the right spot...but some are pretty silent too.
Eventually I will make myself a proper 'Stand-Up' Kick wheel, the kind that
has the 'lever'... that will be nice!
Good luck,
Phil
Las Vegas...
----- Original Message -----
From: "j.a.velez"
To:
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2002 8:51 PM
Subject: Kick vs Electric Wheels
Gentlepersons:
Sometime ago somebody posted a comment about the difficulties of going from
an electric wheel to a kick wheel. I am having the opposite experience. I
used to have a kick wheel I had built myself. Although I suspect the
flywheel should had been heavier, I had developed some proficiency in
centering and throwing. I decided to move to an electric wheel thinking I
would be able to be more efficient and also possibly throw larger forms.
Recently I bought a Pacifica 800. I have found, to my surprise, quite a bit
of difficulty in centering clay in the electric wheel. I believe the most
difficult aspect of this is how to judge the speed. In the kick wheel once
I roughly centered the lump at very low revolutions I then kicked as hard as
I could to center the clay and from there somehow coasted down for the rest
of the process. The relationship between physical effort and required
revolutions for a particular shape sort of became second nature. On the
electric wheel I do not have a clue and tend to believe most of the time I
am going to fast. Interesting enough, prior to purchasing the electric
wheel I went to the local High School to give a demonstration on a
combination kick/electric Lockerbie wheel and felt comfortable using it in
both modes. But the feeling of the Pacifica is completely different. I am
sure it is a matter of practice until I get used to it, but it surely is
frustrating. At any rate, I thought I would see if others have gone through
this and if there are any rules of thumb that might be helpful through this
transition.
Regards, Jose A. Velez
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j.a.velez on sun 3 feb 02
Phillip:
Thanks for sharing your experience in switching from a kick wheel to an =
electric one. Your experience with speed confirms what I thought. I =
have already made some adjustments and feel confident that in a short =
time will develop that "second nature" that comes with practice.
I can really understand now why some people are partial to kick wheels, =
the inertia of the fly wheel does provide a feeling you can not get in =
the electric wheel.
Again, thanks to you and others that shared their knowledge and =
experience.
Jose A. Velez
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