Gerry Barbe on fri 26 jul 96
Hi,
The older my Giffin Grip is getting the more off center it seems
to be. The problem is not with the bottom plate which attaches to the
wheel, it's absolutely true. The problem is with the top plate, the one
the feet are attached to. The Grip is ten years old. Now, every time I
trim, the pot is off center.
Anyone else having this problem? Any solutions?
Thanks, Marilyn in Ailsa Craig, glad Home County Folk Fesitval is over.
Whew, what a potting marathon that was.
______________________________________________________________________________
Candice Roeder on fri 26 jul 96
> The older my Giffin Grip is getting the more off center it seems
>to be. Now, every time I trim, the pot is off center.
>Anyone else having this problem? Any solutions?
Yes! I had the same problem. Didn't know why my pots were trimming off
center...figured I must have thrown them off center. Then I experimented
with objects that were definitely symmetrical...coffee cans, soup cans, they
were off center, too when "gripped into position". The flat surface seemed
to check out OK with a level, so that was not the problem.
So...I phoned Giffin...they sent me new foam parts (free of charge), said
perhaps they had compressed...I completely took apart and cleaned the thing,
put in the new parts and it seemed to take care of the problem for me (at
least for now, but mine is 3 years old).
The company was very solicitous and seemed to be truely interested in
helping. Give them a call, perhaps they can help you with your problem.
Candice Roeder
farrellm on sat 27 jul 96
At 11:02 26/07/96 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hi,
> The older my Giffin Grip is getting the more off center it seems
>to be.
Hi Marilyn,
My Giffon Grip has been off center from the day I bought it. Sometimes
when I put the pot on its really bad, I open and close it and its ok.
Sometimes I open and close two or three times before it is ok. The opposite
is also true. It can be on center and if I open -close , its way off. I have
done everything that I can think of to make it work but I still have to do
most of the centering by hand. This is not the bottom piece as that is right
on. I hope that someone can come up with a solution as I can't seem to
master tapping on center.
Marilyn Farrell in N.B. Canada where it has been so wet that the bees
cannot fly, are eating all their honey and are in danger of starving to
death and if they don't get pollinating the vegies ,I might too.
Shrope/Ratcliffe on sat 27 jul 96
Well it finally occurred to me; I must be a purist.
Griffin Grip...never used them.
Mechanical devices are best left to engineers or technicians and we're
artists, eh?, Get the feel for it.....I was always told.
I've always centered and trimmed on a flat clay disk..press down a bit
to lock the pot into place...no little clay tabs...keep one finger of
your left hand centered on the bottom, while you're trimming. For larger
work or spherical forms, do the same thing in a thrown chuck. Clay on
clay is the only way! It's only natural.
No spam intended here, only my two Lincoln's.
Regards,
Peter
http://www.charm.net/~pssr/
John Blossom Pottery on mon 29 jul 96
My advice to those considering a Giffin Grip is to never buy one. It is
equally as fast to center by tapping (and, yes, anyone can learn to do it
with about a half hour practise - use a coffee can). Trimming a bunch of
bowls about the same size? Put a batt on a pancake and draw circles with a
pencil - it's a snap to place a bowl on center using the lines as a guide
and a few pieces of wet clay to hold it in place. Tall pieces? Vases?
Throw a wet chuck - it's much more secure and easy to customize to each
piece in your trimming run.
Why lock yourself into a machine that breaks down and has pieces to lose
when a few basic skills can make you a much more versatile (and faster!)
potter in the long run?
Jonathan Kaplan on mon 29 jul 96
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>My advice to those considering a Giffin Grip is to never buy one. It is
>equally as fast to center by tapping (and, yes, anyone can learn to do it
>with about a half hour practise - use a coffee can). Trimming a bunch of
>bowls about the same size? Put a batt on a pancake and draw circles with a
>pencil - it's a snap to place a bowl on center using the lines as a guide
>and a few pieces of wet clay to hold it in place. Tall pieces? Vases?
>Throw a wet chuck - it's much more secure and easy to customize to each
>piece in your trimming run.
>
>Why lock yourself into a machine that breaks down and has pieces to lose
>when a few basic skills can make you a much more versatile (and faster!)
>potter in the long run?
>>>
I do think that John here has basically a good point. But I would offer
some thoughts that IMHO will open a real can 'o worms here on the clayart
list.
I think that as potters we do find many innovative an interesting ways to
solve the myriad of "problems " that occur on a day to day basis in our
studios. This is indeed one of our strong points as problem solvers. And I
am sure that for many of us, there are also financial issues that preclude
spending hard earned money for needed equipment. We have all do this, I
continue to do this on a limited basis.
I do think, however, that at times potters are severely cramped by whatever
myopia is affecting us at the time. We often err on the side of frugality
(at times read cheap) and end up creating our own worst nightmare because
we chose to build a part, a piece of equipment, etc. This is not to say
that we can't do it better or even better and cheaper. The question is a
matter of time and energy and how best to devote it. I'm a good
electrician, a very good plumber, and a competant carpenter. I chose to
have a carpenter come in to my shop and build a second floor addition. I
could have done it, in twice to four times the time, and probably at a
greater cost. The point is that I am far better at doing what I do full
time then playing at construction. In fact, I am sure my clients would not
expect me to take off two weeks to build this addition then getting their
merchandise to them.
Now the other side of the coin is that I recently had a very expensive
fiber kiln built for me. It has all the bells and whistles I asked for,
except the combustion system was infantile. Being well versed in this area,
I finally retrofitted it to my specifications with the correct North
American and Pyronics parts to make it not only terribly efficient, but
bring it up to correct combustion specifications. SO yes, we can do lots of
stuff ourselves, with the proper experience and information
Regarding the grip. In my very humble opinion there has been only a few
really inovative and inventive products since the invention of the potters
wheel. At the top of my list is the Giffin Grip, the motorized clay mixer,
and the oxygen probe.
I have tapped pots to center for years. I have used a clay pad/ring/chuck
for years. They all work. In fact, perhaps they would even be my first
choice if I were trimming. But when one has employees and needs to train
them, I'll get the grip in a minute without thinking about it. It has truly
revolutionized the trimming process, both for me, and for my employees.
Much of the product I make requires specific chucks to trip spares, etc.
These I cast out of plaster, cut in half, and then secure into the grip. A
rubber band (large) holds the two pieces of plaster cluck in index. The
grip keeps them on center. By using a slight lever action in the space
between the two plaster parts, the clay piece can be inserted and removed
without recentering the chuck in the grip. When trimming spares from 200
plus mugs a day, the grip, IMHO, is a necessity in my shop.
And I would certainly provide an undesputable (indesputable?) testimonial
to my two grips, both well over 7 years old that wehn cared for like any
piece of equipment or tool, they will last a life time when treated
properly, and the $130 or so spent for each of them has been well over
shadowed by the time it has saved me.
Jonathan
Jonathan Kaplan
Ceramic Design GroupLtd./Production Services
PO Box 775112
Steamboat Springs CO 80477
(970) 879-9139 voice and fax
call before faxing
"Show up, pay attention, be a good listener, tell the truth, don't be
attatched to the results!"
June Perry on mon 29 jul 96
Dear John:
When the Giffin grip is working it is faster than anything. I won one in a
raffle and decided to give it a try. It is definitely a time saver - when it
is working!
Besides using chucks, or little clay tabs, my usual method is to wet the
wheel head slightly and set the pot on the slightly moistened wheel head and
center and pat down. My wheel head has concentric circles so I usually don't
even have to deal with the centering part. This works better for me than the
little clay tabs. When I am done trimming it is easy to pop the pot off by
giving a slight twist or push and then run a sponge quickly over the pot rim.
There is no wasted clay or possibility of inadvertently distorting the pots.
But the Giffin grip works best of all when it is on!
Regards,
June
Elca Branman on mon 29 jul 96
I'm with Jonathan on th e Giffin Grip..well designed, well produced and
backed up by the integrity of the company.I think its like the abortion
issue...if you don't believe in abortions, don't have one.. ditto Giffin
Grips and other technology...Elca Branman elcab1@juno.com
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