Bill Jones on tue 29 oct 02
After reviewing the comments concerning the wheel review in the July/August
issue of Pottery Making Illustrated, I would like to take this opportunity
to answer a few concerns raised by members of the Clayart list.
1. We opted to present the review on potters wheels using the same
methodology used for presenting information on extruders in 1999 (by Daryl
Baird, reprinted from his book "The Extruder Book") and slab rollers in 200=
0
(by Jonathan Kaplan). Feedback suggested that these reviews facilitated the
readers purchasing decision because they were able to get an initial
overview of what was on the market. It put a good deal of information in on=
e
place so it could all be reviewed at one time.
2. For electric potters wheels we started with the same methodology, but
decided to do some product comparisons and put in actual feedback from a
group of potters. When Jonathan Kaplan provided testers with questionnaires=
,
the results were inconclusive because there were too many variables among
the 30+ potters present. According to Jonathan, and as he stated in the
online version, individual preferences made it impossible to make any
apples-to-apples comparisons. And further, there is really no purpose in
ranking wheels because individual preferences are totally subjective and do
not make for any objective comparisons. We were convinced that there is a
potter's wheel out there in the market place for every user at any level of
skill, education, and price range.
3. My decision as editor was to provide the wheel article in the July/Augus=
t
issue based on the previous proven format and feedback in 1999 and 2000 and
to eliminate the inconclusive data garnered from the surveys. We thoroughly
stand behind and support Jonathan Kaplan's review and testing methods (they
far exceeded anything done to date for our industry), and we recognize the
difficulty in assessing products in such a highly individualistic
environment.
4. So what about next year? In 2003, we will review electric kilns, and
Jonathan will head up the effort once again. Because the number of variable=
s
with kilns is even greater than those of electric wheels, we will focus our
attention on kiln components, i.e., elements, add ons, refractories, etc.
Once you determine your firing requirements, you'll be able to ask the righ=
t
questions of manufacturers to get the kiln that will match those needs.
The point of our tool review program is to provide information as to what i=
s
available in the marketplace for equipment available to potters. Armed with
such information, consumers have a starting point where they can talk to
other potters and discuss features with manufacturers to determine what
equipment will best suit their needs. If you would like to see any
particular component or concern discussed concerning electric kilns, please
email either Jonathan or me and we=B9ll assess your request for inclusion in
the survey.
Bill Jones
Editor, Pottery Making Illustrated
http://www.potterymaking.org
| |
|
