Donn Buchfinck on sun 16 aug 98
Has anyone who has bought a P- series Soldner wheel from Bluebird had any
problems with it
After 5 years of having it
1. The motor needed to be rebuilt
2. The top had come apart from water leaking down through the angel iron thus
hitting the belt and pooling on top of the motor "see # 1"
3. The frame has rust on it, had to have it sandblasted and re painted
I painted it black now. Like the old ones used to be
I used to work for home depot and I've seen enough orange to last me
4. Most of the bolts that come in contact with the water have rusted
talked to the president of the company and he recommended that I maybe used
too much water on it
"excessive water" is the term he used
heaven forbid that my wheel get any water on it
plus the wheel doesn't have an adjustable motor mount, the original one that
I have access to has one.
Had to buy a c-clamp and a bolt to bolt on the motor to tighten the belt
bill to date after 5 years of use
172.00$ rebuild the motor
50.00$ to sandblast the frame
20.00$ for paint "primer & paint"
20.00$ marine plywood "should have been that in the first place"
16.00$ oil based marine coating
10.00$ misc. hardware to replace all the rusted bolts
total 288.00$
Bluebird recommended that I remove the top and re coat it every 6 months or so
we have a soldner wheel from when soldner made them where I teach, and it has
never needed to have it's top re coated, or it's motor rebuilt
just wanted to know if anyone has had any of the same problems with this wheel
that I have had
Thanks
Donn Buchfinck
Nudefigure@aol.com
Angla Amos on fri 11 jan 02
Disaster!, today my wheel went strange, it goes much faster than it ever
did,
and has very little control over slow speed, so turning is difficult.
It is an Alsager made by Podmore in Sheffield ( No F6707) manufactured
around 1987.
It looks like the variable resister may have gone, there is a lot of play in
it before it starts moving the wheel.
Does anyone know a cheap source of parts for these wheels?
Any suggestions as to the nature of fault and its remedies will be
gratefully received.
Angela
Essex, UK
where cat has decided to finally come out of winter hibernation and try some
of the fresh air/
Rare - Earth - Design on sat 12 jan 02
----- Original Message -----
From: "Angla Amos"
To:
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2002 9:22 PM
Subject: wheel problems
> Disaster!, today my wheel went strange, it goes much faster than it ever
> did,
> and has very little control over slow speed, so turning is difficult.
> It is an Alsager made by Podmore in Sheffield ( No F6707) manufactured
> around 1987.
> It looks like the variable resister may have gone, there is a lot of play
in
> it before it starts moving the wheel.
>
> Does anyone know a cheap source of parts for these wheels?
>
> Any suggestions as to the nature of fault and its remedies will be
> gratefully received.
>
Angela,
If there is a lot of play in the foot pedal it may be a
mechanical fault,
Check the connection rods as these have been known to come loose and
sometimes the resistor cog may jump. Go inside with a small wrench and
a pair of pliers, take off the connection rod and operate the resistor with
your
hand (careful not to touch any wires) there is plenty of room to work
inside.
Check for any loose or missing nuts.
If this works then simply reconnect the rods in the correct position and
that's it.
If the variable resistor goes on an Alsager you will not get any movement at
all.
There are other electronic components just inside the front cover and it may
well
be that one of these has gone. Anyone locally who repairs T.V.'s etc and has
a
circuit tester will be able to check it out for you.
I had a problem some years ago and the manufacturer wanted me to take all
the
electrics out and ship them to England and the ri-ra-ruille-buille they and
I would
have to go through made me say no. I took it to my local repair man and he
checked it out, found a faulty resistor, replaced it and charged me 70pence.
I gave him a tenner.
Regards,
Bob Hollis
Steve Mills on sun 13 jan 02
Get in touch with Gladstone Engineering (Advert in Ceramic Review), They
carry some spares for Equipment made by Ratcliffe Engineering who made
it, and went belly up a few years ago. Some of the control equipment
was, I think made by a company called, I think, Rilton, I have no
address for them, The Rheostat control was made by them at one stage in
the Alsager's life.
By the way, the wheel's age may make a nonsense of the word *cheap*, as
second hand won't (usually) be worth having.
Steve
Bath Potters Supplies
Bath
UK
In message , Angla Amos writes
>Disaster!, today my wheel went strange, it goes much faster than it ever
>did,
>and has very little control over slow speed, so turning is difficult.
>It is an Alsager made by Podmore in Sheffield ( No F6707) manufactured
>around 1987.
>It looks like the variable resister may have gone, there is a lot of play=
> in
>it before it starts moving the wheel.
>
>Does anyone know a cheap source of parts for these wheels?
>
>Any suggestions as to the nature of fault and its remedies will be
>gratefully received.
>
>Angela
>Essex, UK
>where cat has decided to finally come out of winter hibernation and try s=
>ome
>of the fresh air/
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
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