wayneinkeywest on mon 23 feb 04
I found the thread on whether to unplug one's wheel
or not interesting. I smiled with the poster that
mentioned the dog stepping on
the pedal, sending a new piece of "art" off into
the ether. Been there, done that, the dog was
highly amused...something to chase .
For the record, I have the wheel plugged into
one of those 6-way power strips with a lighted
on/off switch. Easy to see if it's been left on,
because I mounted it at eye level.
Because I live at the end of the earth, the
power supplied by the "local" utility is not
always reliable. I think (though I can't prove) that
we have more outages, brownouts, and other
fluctuations than anywhere else in the US.
(Our power comes 155 miles down a chain
of islands from Miami.)
I put this wheel on a surge suppressor the moment
it entered the studio. Everything in our house is
on either a supressor, a UPS (uninterruptible
power supply) or both. The house is also equipped
with a lightning protector. It's still not enough.
Things burn out with alarming regularity, like
refrigerator compressors, pump motors, VCRs...
Just for grins, Saturday I plugged a garden variety voltmeter
in to an outlet adjacent to the one the wheel is in, and
watched the power flux between 97 and 137 volts.
Repeatedly!
I suppose I should have measured the wheel rpm at the time
to see if that varied as well...hindsight is 20/20.
Can that happen with electronic speed controls on these
wheels?
Needless to say, off to the local office supply for (yet)
another UPS. The wheel seems happier, and
I seem to throw better. May have been changing the
rpms after all (?)
The neighbors hate losing power. Everything in my
house beeps constantly when we do and the dogs howl
right along in time with the beeps. The cats are not
amused.
Suits me fine. Call it the price of progress.
I wonder what the old kickwheel potters did when
their wheel started to squeak...or is that the root of
the expression "The squeaky wheel gets the grease"?
Ok, enough rambling...time to go shut off the beeps.
Wayne Seidl
Laurie on tue 24 feb 04
>
> I suppose I should have measured the wheel rpm at the time
> to see if that varied as well...hindsight is 20/20.
> Can that happen with electronic speed controls on these
> wheels?
Yes, Wayne, it can and does. My wheel is located where I have to plug
it into an outlet shared with a small refrigerator. When the fridge
compressor kicks on the wheel speed drops for a half second or so. Not
a huge amount but enough to notice it for a few RPMs. But at least I
always have cold drinks in the studio!
Laurie
Sacramento, CA
wayneinkeywest on wed 25 feb 04
Thanks, Laurie. Noticed today while throwing that at slow
(we're talking S-L-O-W!) speeds I use for what I call "chunking"
or carving out bits while the piece rotates, the wheel would
"stop" for a millisecond or two, and then restart. Only noticed
it because you can hear the motor cut off and back on.
Plugged my meter back into that outlet and noticed a
severe voltage drop at the same times. I need a
recording oscilloscope to prove there's a
problem. Power company says it's not a problem
(of course not, they're not trying to chunk at 2 rpm!).
I've learned not to bring drinks into my work area.
Found the cat chewing on the soda straw end one
day, found the dog drinking my coffee (out of his
favorite cup...mine, :>) on another. Can't keep my
eye on two things at once, and I'm afraid I'd grab a
container of glaze and... guess I'd only do that once, huh?
Does anyone have a suggestion for the most speed
stable wheel on the market? I imagine this topic
would have come up, but a check of the archives
didn't show one.
Wayne Seidl
> >
> > I suppose I should have measured the wheel rpm at the time
> > to see if that varied as well...hindsight is 20/20.
> > Can that happen with electronic speed controls on these
> > wheels?
>
> Yes, Wayne, it can and does. My wheel is located where I have to
plug
> it into an outlet shared with a small refrigerator. When the
fridge
> compressor kicks on the wheel speed drops for a half second or so.
Not
> a huge amount but enough to notice it for a few RPMs. But at least
I
> always have cold drinks in the studio!
>
> Laurie
> Sacramento, CA
>
>
____________________________________________________________________
__________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your
subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Carol Tripp on wed 25 feb 04
Hi Wayne,
I have a Bailey and it is the smoothest wheel ever - even at extremely slow
speeds.
Best regards,
Carol
Dubai, UAE
Wayne wrote, in part:
>Does anyone have a suggestion for the most speed
>stable wheel on the market? I imagine this topic
>would have come up, but a check of the archives
>didn't show one.
_________________________________________________________________
The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE*
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
Lee love on wed 25 feb 04
wayneinkeywest wrote:
>Does anyone have a suggestion for the most speed
>stable wheel on the market? I imagine this topic
>would have come up, but a check of the archives
>didn't show one.
>
>
Motorized kickwheel with a very heavy flywheel?
Lee In Mashiko
John Rodgers on wed 25 feb 04
The Power company can come out and put a piece of test equipment on your
machine or one the electrical circuit the machine is one, and test it
for twenty four hours. The est equipment will give a running record of
the energy cycle for the period. BTDT.
When I had my Alaska shop, I needed to have the power consumption of a
kiln tested through a complete firing. The power company rep came to my
shop, installed a black box with a meter and printer on my kiln
(actually it plugged into the wall and my kiln into it. This thing ran
for twenty four hours, and monitored the power draw through that plug.
It printed a continuous paper tape of the activity. When the kiln was
off the power was flat-lined on the tape, but it showed clearly the
power consumption increases as the kiln went through it's cycle and
then shut off. With this tape and the numbers on it, I was able to
calculate the actual total electrical cost of firing the load. I fired a
full load of porcelain - cone 6 - and it cost me $8.++!
The power company can come out an monitor your power. They may charge
you for it, but it can be done. In my case there was no charge because
my need was as a business customer rather than a residential consumer.
We were at the time looking at getting 3 phase power installed, which
meant upgrading to a demand meter and some other stuff. More money for
the Power Company, so they were really willing to help out.
Regards,
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
wayneinkeywest wrote:
>Thanks, Laurie. Noticed today while throwing that at slow
>(we're talking S-L-O-W!) speeds I use for what I call "chunking"
>or carving out bits while the piece rotates, the wheel would
>"stop" for a millisecond or two, and then restart. Only noticed
>it because you can hear the motor cut off and back on.
>Plugged my meter back into that outlet and noticed a
>severe voltage drop at the same times. I need a
>recording oscilloscope to prove there's a
>problem. Power company says it's not a problem
>(of course not, they're not trying to chunk at 2 rpm!).
>
>I've learned not to bring drinks into my work area.
>Found the cat chewing on the soda straw end one
>day, found the dog drinking my coffee (out of his
>favorite cup...mine, :>) on another. Can't keep my
>eye on two things at once, and I'm afraid I'd grab a
>container of glaze and... guess I'd only do that once, huh?
>
>Does anyone have a suggestion for the most speed
>stable wheel on the market? I imagine this topic
>would have come up, but a check of the archives
>didn't show one.
>Wayne Seidl
>
>
>
>>>I suppose I should have measured the wheel rpm at the time
>>>to see if that varied as well...hindsight is 20/20.
>>>Can that happen with electronic speed controls on these
>>>wheels?
>>>
>>>
>>Yes, Wayne, it can and does. My wheel is located where I have to
>>
>>
>plug
>
>
>>it into an outlet shared with a small refrigerator. When the
>>
>>
>fridge
>
>
>>compressor kicks on the wheel speed drops for a half second or so.
>>
>>
>Not
>
>
>>a huge amount but enough to notice it for a few RPMs. But at least
>>
>>
>I
>
>
>>always have cold drinks in the studio!
>>
>>Laurie
>>Sacramento, CA
>>
>>
>>
>>
>____________________________________________________________________
>__________
>
>
>>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>>
>>You may look at the archives for the list or change your
>>
>>
>subscription
>
>
>>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>>
>>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>>
>>
>melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
>
Malcolm Schosha on wed 25 feb 04
--- In clayart@yahoogroups.com, wayneinkeywest
wrote:
> Thanks, Laurie. Noticed today while throwing that at slow
> (we're talking S-L-O-W!) speeds I use for what I call "chunking"
> or carving out bits while the piece rotates, the wheel would
> "stop" for a millisecond or two, and then restart. Only noticed
> it because you can hear the motor cut off and back on.
> Plugged my meter back into that outlet and noticed a
> severe voltage drop at the same times.
...................
Wayne,
I have no idea what type of wheel you are using, but that might
factor into the problem. I have found wheels with single speed moters
(Shimpo) more reliable than those with variable speed moters.
Malcolm Schosha
Laura Kneppel on wed 25 feb 04
That's funny, Wayne!
Luckily my dog lays a few feet away on the floor and sleeps while I'm
on the wheel. She just likes having the company but so far hasn't asked
for drinks or hors d'oeuvres! :-)
And you are right, the speed issue is more noticeable at slow wheel
RPMs. I only notice it when I'm decorating, too. When I'm throwing or
trimming I can't say that I have even really seen a speed drop when the
fridge kicks on. It's a small fridge and I *could* move it, but the top
makes such a handy shelf!
Laurie
Sacramento, CA (where we've had wind gusts up to 61 MPH today and rain,
rain, rain! - oh yeah, I guess it IS still winter!)
On Feb 25, 2004, at 5:13 AM, wayneinkeywest wrote:
> Thanks, Laurie. Noticed today while throwing that at slow
> (we're talking S-L-O-W!) speeds I use for what I call "chunking"
> or carving out bits while the piece rotates, the wheel would
> "stop" for a millisecond or two, and then restart. Only noticed
> it because you can hear the motor cut off and back on.
> Plugged my meter back into that outlet and noticed a
> severe voltage drop at the same times. I need a
> recording oscilloscope to prove there's a
> problem. Power company says it's not a problem
> (of course not, they're not trying to chunk at 2 rpm!).
>
> I've learned not to bring drinks into my work area.
> Found the cat chewing on the soda straw end one
> day, found the dog drinking my coffee (out of his
> favorite cup...mine, :>) on another. Can't keep my
> eye on two things at once, and I'm afraid I'd grab a
> container of glaze and... guess I'd only do that once, huh?
>
> Does anyone have a suggestion for the most speed
> stable wheel on the market? I imagine this topic
> would have come up, but a check of the archives
> didn't show one.
> Wayne Seidl
| |
|
