Dave Gayman on wed 5 jun 02
??
Re 1: The wheel, you, and your throwing stool/chair all have to be
considered in the space equation. Kickwheels have perhaps 4-10 inches
greater depth and maybe 12-18 inches greater width compared to an electric
wheel plus throwing chair and working potter -- the chair is built into
most kick wheels. [For those of you with better measurement systems,
that's 10-25cm greater depth and 30+ - 45+ cm greater width.]
Re 2: With an electric motor for centering, production rates between kick
or all-electric should be a wash for casseroles on down in size. My "mug"
days saw anywhere from 75 to 150 mugs with handles in a given 8 to 10-hour
time span -- from pugging to forming of 1-pound [454 g] balls to throwing
(30 sec. to 1 minute each) to leather-harding thanks to overhead fans, on
through to handle-pulling and affixing. My "flowerpot" days saw 50 of
various sizes in a couple of hours. That gave me a nice array of small to
midsize pieces to pack around larger stuff in the kiln with each firing,
and of course it supplied a bunch of perennially good-selling pieces.
Production rates are more dependent on your shop (especially ware-board and
rack setup), your throwing regimen, and your clay (softer = more
production, in general) than it does on the type of wheel. Shops in the
18th and 19th Cs did far greater production than most of us, and until the
mid-19th many of even the biggest used human-powered kickwheels. But
that's not the reason I opine for kickwheels with electric motors for
centering -- historicity in itself is not a virtue, especially when you
remember that until recently large clayworking shops & factories killed
their employees with lead poisoning and silicosis.
Dave
who always recommends a kickwheel with electric drive for centering...
blessed silence, heavenly control
At 09:32 PM 6/4/2002 -0500, Jose A. Velez wrote:
>Pat, here are a few things to consider and my opinion:
>
>1- If your studio is limited in space go with an electric wheel.
>2- If you are concerned about production, go with an electric wheel.
>3- If you intend to throw large pots, go with an electric wheel.
>
>On the other hand:
>
>1- If space is not limited, production is of no concern, you are not
>particularly interested in throwing large pots, and you are more
>concerned with enjoying your pottery time, then a kickwheel is what you
need.
>
>Best regards, Jose A. Velez
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