David Woof on sun 24 jan 10
Just my late night thoughts and I respectfully acknowledge everyone is enti=
=3D
tled to their opinions=3D2C but isn't all that RK silence like riding an el=
ec=3D
tric motorcycle=3D2C or making love in the dark wearing ear plugs and mitte=
ns=3D
? (Spose that could be sorta kicky once just to chalk up a new experienc=
=3D
e but......hummm...back to bed I go...been saving a new pair of those big w=
=3D
ooly car washing mittens for just such a night!!!) =3D20
=3D20
When I throw=3D2C my whole being including all my senses are there=3D2C it'=
s a =3D
dance. I would lose touch with my partner in all that RK silence and senso=
=3D
ry deprivation.
=3D20
Oh another thought=3D2C in today's social and economic climate those empty=
b=3D
owls we accomplished throwers can pump out in an afternoon of camaraderie w=
=3D
ith other clay people represent full bowls and warm clothes for shivering c=
=3D
hildren and beat up moms and dads who never were the "weak and sniveling" i=
=3D
nvisibles so many have swerved both their Lexus and their Dodge Rams to avo=
=3D
id. Not at all denigrating the horror of the Haitian conditions and losse=
=3D
s but I'm guessing there are as many homeless families in LA tonite with em=
=3D
pty bowls.=3D20
=3D20
Not to pick on you James=3D2C just some things you said got me to thinking =
an=3D
d feeling.
=3D20
Best regards=3D2C
David =3D20
-----------------------------
=3D20
Date: Fri=3D2C 22 Jan 2010 21:56:24 -0500
From: James Freeman
Subject: Test driving the Shimpo RK Whisper
=3D20
I spent the afternoon throwing bowls at the local college for an "empty
bowls" project (I must learn how to start saying "no"!)=3D2C and got to use=
o=3D
ne
of their new Shimpo RK Whispers. I thought I might share my impressions. I
must say right off that the RK Whisper is one fine machine. It was an
absolute joy to use.
=3D20
When I saw the new RK Whispers in the studio=3D2C I did not have high
expectations. They look just like the old RK 2's and 10's=3D2C and I though=
t =3D
I
was in for more of the same. A few minutes into throwing=3D2C however=3D2C =
and =3D
I
was a convert. These wheels are solid as a rock=3D2C operate with smooth
precision=3D2C and are absolutely dead silent. The pedal action is smooth=
=3D2C =3D
and
the speed control is extremely precise. They are basically flawless in
operation. It is like stepping out of a Dodge Ram and into a Lexus.
=3D20
=3D20
=3D20
_________________________________________________________________
Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection.
http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390707/direct/01/=3D
William & Susan Schran User on sun 24 jan 10
On 1/24/10 3:27 AM, "David Woof" wrote:
> Just my late night thoughts and I respectfully acknowledge everyone is
> entitled to their opinions, but isn't all that RK silence like riding an
> electric motorcycle, or making love in the dark wearing ear plugs and mit=
tens?
> (Spose that could be sorta kicky once just to chalk up a new experience
> but......hummm...back to bed I go...been saving a new pair of those big w=
ooly
> car washing mittens for just such a night!!!)
> When I throw, my whole being including all my senses are there, it's a da=
nce.
> I would lose touch with my partner in all that RK silence and sensory
> deprivation.
I was of the same mind as you - working at the wheel, using all my senses
and thinking the changes in the noises from my wheel were a necessary part
of the process. My wheel was a Pacifica "Make-Kit", an electric wheel that
came with all the electrical and mechanical parts and I built the wooden
frame to hold it all together. Worked on this wheel from 1980 until just a
few years ago, passing it along to one of my students. Had I given the whee=
l
a name it might have been Miss Squeaky.
I did a great deal of research on new wheels, speaking to a number of
potters, reading the literature, thinking about my own experience using a
variety of wheels and examining wheels at NCECA. I gave a great deal of
thought to published capabilities of various wheels, reputations of the
manufacturers, wheel head size, height adjustments, cost, but though noise
levels were a consideration, it was not a factor that would break the deal.
I decided on the VL Whisper. I think the one thing that swayed me is the
direct drive/free wheeling aspect. There are no belts. The speed control is
very sensitive and when not engaged, the wheel head is free to be turned in
any direction by hand. If I were to give this wheel a name it would be
"Quiet Betty". This is the important part - After a day of "test driving"
the wheel, throwing a variety of forms, getting the height adjusted, I
almost didn't notice that the wheel made no noise. Maybe it's like folks wh=
o
lose one of their senses and others are strengthened to compensate. I no
longer listened for wheel sounds, I only used my senses of sight and touch.
I let my sense of hearing listen to NPR, talk shows as I gave up getting a
newspaper delivered years ago, but with the radio at a much lower volume!
FYI - had the wheel delivered, free shipping, set it up, turned it on -
NOTHING! No sound, no motion, no nothing. Called up Shimpo, explained the
problem. Tech at the other end of the line asked if I had a couple simple
hand tools (screwdriver, etc.) and asked if I would be willing to take the
cover off the foot pedal and make and adjustment. I sat at the wheel, phone
at my shoulder, while the tech walked me through making an adjustment to th=
e
foot pedal. He said they test each wheel at the factory, but the pedals
occasionally come out of adjustment during shipping. Guess mine was dropped
off the boat. The tech stayed on the line after I had reassembled the pedal
and had me put down the phone and throw a pot to make sure the wheel
operated properly. Spent about 1/2 hour with the guy on the line. I was ver=
y
pleased with the support from Shimpo.
I'm now going on 4 years with the wheel, not a single problem since that
first foot pedal adjustment issue. Still listening to talk shows on NPR,
still happy with my decision to buy the VL Whisper.
Bill
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
Lee Love on sun 24 jan 10
On Sun, Jan 24, 2010 at 2:27 AM, David Woof wrote:
>Just my late night thoughts and I respectfully acknowledge everyone is ent=
=3D
itled to their
>opinions, but isn't all that RK silence like riding an electric motorcycle=
=3D
, or making love in
>the dark wearing ear plugs and mittens?
Aren't most electric wheels like making love to a vibrator? You
loose most of the tactile experience you have on a Korean wheel or a
Woodley. Even the cone drive wheels give you more tactically than
the fully electronic wheels. Cone drive is like manual transmission
compared to an automatic.
> When I throw, my whole being including all my senses are there, it's a da=
=3D
nce. =3DA0I would >lose touch with my partner in all that RK silence and se=
ns=3D
ory deprivation.
The lack of annoying sounds is what is important.
>who never were the "weak and sniveling" invisibles so many have swerved bo=
=3D
th their
>Lexus and their Dodge Rams to avoid. =3DA0 Not at all denigrating the horr=
or=3D
of the Haitian
> conditions and losses but I'm guessing there are as many homeless familie=
=3D
s in LA
> tonite with empty =3DA0bowls.
The horror of a catastrophe like the earthquake in Haiti is so hard
to comprehend that it allows us to compare it to our more chronic
problems we see around us all the time. It doesn't mean we can't
help in both cases.
--
Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D97tha=
t is, "T=3D
he
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
James Freeman on sun 24 jan 10
On Sun, Jan 24, 2010 at 3:27 AM, David Woof wrote:
Just my late night thoughts and I respectfully acknowledge everyone is
entitled to their opinions, but isn't all that RK silence like riding an
electric motorcycle, or making love in the dark wearing ear plugs and
mittens? (Spose that could be sorta kicky once just to chalk up a new
experience but......hummm...back to bed I go...been saving a new pair of
those big wooly car washing mittens for just such a night!!!)
When I throw, my whole being including all my senses are there, it's a
dance. I would lose touch with my partner in all that RK silence and
sensory deprivation.
David...
I never rode an electric motorcycle. As to your other analogy, a gentleman
never tells (and neither do I)!
A quiet wheel is far from being a form of sensory deprivation. The absence
of noise, and in particular the incessant drone of a 60 cycle hum, brings a
certain peace and allows for an "of the moment" total immersion in one's
thoughts and actions.
I fully appreciate the throaty V8 roar of my old Dodge Ram. Nothing quite
like feeling the shake and hearing the loping burble of a tall cam in a big
hunk of American iron at idle, or of tearing across the landscape to the
symphonic howl of open windows, open exhaust, and Deep Purple's "Highway
Star" blasting out of overstressed speakers. But one experiences a far
deeper and more peaceful connection to the landscape while gently sliding
through in silken silence. At first the silence is eerie, perhaps a bit
other-worldly, and you believe yourself cut off from the world. One soon
realizes, however, that the background noise, far from connecting you to th=
e
world, is rather nothing but distraction. While I am not a "new-age" or
spiritual person, I can still understand that one could more easily find
peace while meditating in the silence of a mountaintop or high desert than
amongst the clash and din of a construction site or factory floor. While
there is certainly nothing wrong with hot, screaming, monkey-love (unless
it's with an actual monkey), you might give your earplugs and fuzzy mittens
a try some time. You just might like it. You never notice just when a
tooth ache goes away, you just notice that you feel really good.
I'm not going to touch the empty bowls bait.
This has gone from a simple product review to a discussion that is equal
parts weird and fuzzy-headed, so I am going to bale now!
Be well, my friend.
...James
James Freeman
"All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I should
not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed."
-Michel de Montaigne
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/clayart/
Johanna San Inocencio on sun 24 jan 10
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Lee Love wrote:
> Aren't most electric wheels like making love to a vibrator?
Ok Lee, where was the spew warning?
Johanna
"A man is as free as he chooses to make himself,
never an atom freer."
The Raven, Lillith by George MacDonald
>
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