Lee Love on fri 12 apr 02
posture?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Klyf Brown"
> You have a very good point there. What we need is for one of our
> bright potter/engineer/machinist (Des down under comes to mind) to
> come up with a hydrolic base for wheels. Jack it up to standing height
> for centering and opening, plates and small pieces, and lowering it for
> throwing those tall forms. It could be done, should only add a couple
> of hundred bucks to the price of the wheel.
Hi Klyf,
Don't need a rocket scientist to do this and it doesn't take
$200.00. The age-old hydraulics tool is called the hump. Throwing off
the
hump allows you to control your throwing height. You don't "hunch" over a
hump.
I've mentioned this before: combined with hump throwing, I
think
that the throwing platforms used in Japan are much better for the posture
than
throwing off a low stool. I also have two foot stools on the ground
beside
my kickwheel. When I am not kicking, my feet rest on them so that my upper
leg
is pretty much parallel to the throwing platform.
Back in St. Paul, throwing off my Shimpo Gold, I had the wheel up on
milk crates and sat on a barstool height stool. There was room on the
milk
crates to put my feet to rest or for using my legs to steady my arms when
centering or doing finishing.
I also think that kicking helps the body (I pull with my left foot
and
kick with my right.) A low momentum kickwheel requires the potter to
adjust
his work to his body. An electric wheel often has the potter adjusting
his
body to the speed and power of the wheel.
--
Lee in Mashiko
._____________________________________________
| Lee Love ^/(o\| Practice before theory.
|
| Ikiru@kami.com |\o)/v - Sotetsu Yanagi - |
`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'
| |
|
