Tracy Shea on wed 7 jan 04
Hi Friends-
I have been the somewhat apprehensive owner of an Artista portable wheel =
for almost 24 hours now.... I've exchanged it once. Wish me luck. =20
So, I thought I'd share my story for anyone contemplating this wheel. =
I LOVE the idea of a light, easily transportable wheel after hauling my =
wheel to and fro for a year now. =20
I picked it up yesterday morning from OHio Ceramics Supply ( whose =
service thus far has been wonderful) and couldn't wait to try it out. =20
To my dismay, it slowed down enough to be a bother while I centered 3 =
pounds of clay, at about 1/2 it's top speed. Slowed down when I went =
for my first pull at medium/slow speed, and slowed down when i trimmed =
the excess clay at slow speed. My 40lb seven year old daughter was able =
to slow it down- But it did function. . . . . ..... =
$400??????.......... maybe inexpensive for a wheel, but a chunk of =
change to me. =20
So, I called Creative Industries. Their customer service department's =
first suggestion is that I take it back to the distributor. Of course, =
I have to ask questions, so I wanted to know what plan B would be if the =
distributor would not take a used wheel back. ( Much to my relief, OH =
ceramics supply was great about it!)=20
CI told me that I would have to pay $30 in shipping to repair my wheel, =
under warranty, that was less than 24 hours old! =20
I have to say I was really bothered by the fact that they didn't seem to =
have a "new defective" policy in place. It seems unfair for me to have =
to pay a shipping charge on something that is brand spanking new, =
defective upon it's first use. =20
Anyway, I have a replacement. But, it does still slow somewhat at 1/2 =
speed or slower- while I center, during the first pull, and when I trim =
at the end. =20
To all of you Artista owners- what has been your experience thus far? =
Is this just how this wheel works? It will function as a second wheel, =
for demos and for beginners, but if it were my primary wheel, I would be =
very unhappy right now. I read the archives on this and I really want =
the wheel that the CI rep said centered 50 lbs of clay without =
slowing..........
My review?? so far i'm disappointed. The positive side is that OH =
Ceramics supply treated me very well in spite of my experience thus far. =
Thanks for enduring the long post- i thought it might be useful for =
anyone who's considering this piece of equipment.=20
Oh, and thanks for y'all who responded to my kiln snag- i fixed it, and =
bisquing today!=20
Tracy Shea
Garrettsville, OH
http://www.geocities.com/sheatek/SheaClay.html
Earl Brunner on wed 7 jan 04
there are so many variable when talking about wheels
and the way people throw. I KNOW that you can throw
25-30 lbs on this wheel, because I stood next to my
friend Andy Watson in the Creative Industries booth at
NCECA last year and watched him do it. I could not
stop the wheelhead with my hands. I am getting one of
these for my "demo" wheel. MUCH easier than dragging
my Brent CXC around.
I don't know if there was something wrong with the
first wheel you bought or if it might just be your
tecnique. I don't know what your experience level is.
I do know that I have students who can't "make" the
clay stick to the wheel head for a variety of reasons,
they pre-wet the masonite bad and it's too slippery,
or they don't get it wet enough and "skin over" their
ball of clay by handling it too much prior to trying
to throw. My point being that sometimes you might
have to change the way you do something to make it
work. I'm sure that I might have to apply my pressure
differently on the Artista than on my CXC, but I'm
also sure that I could throw a pretty big pot on it.
As far as the shipping thing goes, don't fault
Creative Industries fr something that first of all
didn't happen and second of all is pretty much
standard policy for most companies.
The pri
--- Tracy Shea wrote:
> Hi Friends-
> I have been the somewhat apprehensive owner of an
> Artista portable wheel for almost 24 hours now....
> I've exchanged it once. Wish me luck.
> So, I thought I'd share my story for anyone
> contemplating this wheel. I LOVE the idea of a
> light, easily transportable wheel after hauling my
> wheel to and fro for a year now.
> I picked it up yesterday morning from OHio Ceramics
> Supply ( whose service thus far has been wonderful)
> and couldn't wait to try it out.
> To my dismay, it slowed down enough to be a bother
> while I centered 3 pounds of clay, at about 1/2 it's
> top speed. Slowed down when I went for my first
> pull at medium/slow speed, and slowed down when i
> trimmed the excess clay at slow speed.
=====
Earl Brunner
e-mail: brunv53@yahoo.com
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