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I remember someone here mentioning something about building a kickwheel for doing ceramics projects and was wondering if you went with one of the available kits or if you built your own?
Anyone have pics of their assembled kits or homebrew wheels?
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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NOW YA DONE IT!!!! iam a potter.....without a potters wheel. and mikey 1st thing you need to learn is this: ceramics are the stuff that people pour into molds and paint!!! pottery...is what you do on an wheel or hand build. i had a kick wheel in sarasota, but left it sit outside and the bottom rotted away. also had a brand new $800 BRENT wheel, that burnt up in my house in pa. check the internet for POTTERY WHEELS. there are a bunch of manafactures.....and the kickwheel kits are no longer $200.00 the kick wheels cost almost the same as a professional electric wheel.
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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I got the pottery fever BAD last year !!! Searched for the right equipment and found a nice video on E-Bay on all the how tos and that kinda calmed me down for now. But, still, this is something I want to add to one of my corners here in the shop some day. Wow, now that I look at it, my cornerspaces are dwindling!!! First, find out what equipment will fit your needs then check out E-Bay. Personally, I like the looks of the motorized one. Happy throwing !!
-------------------- John Smith Kings Bay Signs (Retired) Kissimmee, Florida Posts: 817 | From: Central Florida - The Sunshine State | Registered: Jan 2000
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OP.. hey, the stuff is made of a ceramic material, not pot, so it's ceramics. Bowls and pots can be pottery but handmade tiles dont fit the description.
Anyway.. I've been lookin online at several wheels and it seems much like everything else in the artist realm, they're severely overpriced. The kickwheel kits are cheap, but when they want to ship you a 200 pound concrete kickwheel I'd rather buy the steel and weld it, and cast my own wheel instead! I'm getting closer to going this route.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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the wheel its self is not that hard to build. main components are 2 pillow block bearings and a 1 inch round shaft anywhere from 28-36 inch long...the frame for the shaft and weight(the part you kick) need to be mostly kieln dry lumber, so it will not change shape after you build it.the one i had in sarasota was all 2x4 bolted together with carrage bolts nuts and washers. it was very sturdy. the bottom of the 1" shaft rides inside a bearing which is setting below the weight. the other bearing is right under the head of the wheel. but it need to absorb and not transfer the centrifical force into the clay that you have on the head. ive seen quite few wild potters wheels, one guy took a car, cut 1 side of the rear end off, turned it vertical, made a seat and had the gear shift and gas pedal back there...this is your kinda project...hehehehe
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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How does one build a kiln? Mostly kidding, but what does one look for in a used kiln. Do you have to have special wiring? Or is single phase 220 okay? Perhaps there are other options as well.
-shane
-------------------- Halo Graphics Clearlake Oaks, CA http://www.halographics.com ntshane1@halographics.com Posts: 308 | From: Clearlake Oaks, CA | Registered: May 2001
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get a kiln that fires as high as you can find for what you can afford, and pay attention to the glazes you want to use because some of them fire at cone 10 and wont work if the kiln only fires to cone 5. My kiln runs on regular ol' single phase 220V but a real high firing kiln will most likely run on gas.
Otherwise you can build your own kiln if you dont mind using gas to run it. You can use the burners from gas furnaces to do it, the hotter the better. There are some books out that show you how to build a kiln, you might want to look those up.
I also have a pit for pit/raku firing.. pretty much just a hole in the ground. Set the pieces in and light it up, the next day you have some neat finishes. Toss some other minerals and metals into the fire and you'll be amazed to see what results.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
building a kiln is a masonary thing. iam not a mason...but they can be a from 2'x 2' to a walkin cantonary arch type. i worked at a 1800's village in pa as the potter, wore bib overalls and thru pottery on their kickwheel on the weekend and gave verbal explanations of how pottery/ and potter were important and how it was done in that time period. they had a walk-in gas fired brick kiln. only problem was they did salt glazes in that kiln(once you fire salt(very dangerous)in a kiln, its forever a salt glaze kiln. everytime you fire it up to ..it will bring in the salt once it reaches temp. as for buying a kiln...well the electrics are nice and run on 220v, most need a 60 amp or better breaker and be perpared to drop your jaw when you get the electric bill!!!!!! as to firing of clays...you can buy clays that fire from 07 to 10, ...most porcilin(white clays) need cone 10..near 2700 degrees. a cone 07 is down around 1100. most clays you buy will bisk fire at 07 and glaze fire at a 2-5, which is 1400-1800...roughly... cone numbers go from 0 to 10 are high temp 0-any 01-08 are low fire....as for making glazes....get out your chemistry 101 books......
[ April 04, 2002, 12:27 PM: Message edited by: old paint ]
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
oh well.. what i was refering to was if you build a potters wheel, you need lumber that is completly dry and and wont warp. was saying in other words i wouldnt build a wheel with PT lumber and expect it to stay true.
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Bowls and pots can be pottery but handmade tiles dont fit the description. 
![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)
Opps, Guess you were talking pottery kiln.
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