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pros and cons of clayboss wheel and kick wheel

updated thu 3 feb 05

 

pattravis on tue 1 feb 05


Hi, Juanita. I am new to ClayArt, have been a lurker for a few months.
Wonderful reading; invaluable information.
Regarding the Clay Boss - my daughter-in-law has used a Clay Boss for
more than a year without any problems. I have the Big Boss, also a
Creative Industries wheel and I would venture to say the pedals are
identical. The only difference is that the motor on the Big Boss has
more horsepower (which accommodates more clay).

Surely there is a simple way to adjust the pedal should you encounter
problems with it.

Pat Travis pattravis@cox.net

Juanita Choo on tue 1 feb 05


Dear All,

I hope to get an updated opinion for Clayboss wheel. I am seriously
considering purchasing this wheel mainly because of its affordable price.
However, I have reservations because after googling for comments on
clayboss, I have read some complaints regarding sticky peddal. I think that
could really drive me crazy. If any of you own/owned a class boss, I would
really appreciate your input on this. Currently the lowest sale price for
clayboss is going for about $520 (delivered and all) and I can't find
anything else that would be within that price range. Second hand wheels are
hard to come by and I've had no luck for a year already. The only other
cheaper brands I know are Baileys in the $600s.

Right now I am also considering a kickwheel - Thomas Stuart because its also
$$ friendly. but because its so large and I only have one bed room place, I
wonder if it'll be feasible to keep it outside the house, with a tarp for
shelter, I know its sounds crazy. Any comments appreciated. Thanks!!

juanita

John Rodgers on tue 1 feb 05


Juanita,

If space is an issue, stick with the idea of the more compact electric
wheel.

I seem to recall that the Clayboss is a Creative Industries product. Am
I correct???

Axner sells a foot control that fits other wheels I think. II think is
is a special edition of a Soldner foot peddle. As I understand it, it
has a very fine "feel" and very finely controls power.

It would be worth your while to call Axner's and talk to them about it.

In my experirence with the Creative industries wheels, given the
prices, they were OK, but I hated the foot controls. CI would do
themselves and everyone else a big favor if they abandoned their control
and engineered a new one - and using good materials and not going cheap
in the materials and construction.

I have had two power wheels, both Brent CXC. In between the two, I used
a number of different wheels, including the CI wheels. I liked the CI
wheels enough that I would have bought one, but for the crummy foot
pedals. The Brent's had very good, very smooth, foot controls, and
because of it, I went back to the Brent CXC when I purchased again.

My $0.02.

Regards,

John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL

Juanita Choo wrote:

>Dear All,
>
>I hope to get an updated opinion for Clayboss wheel. I am seriously
>considering purchasing this wheel mainly because of its affordable price.
>However, I have reservations because after googling for comments on
>clayboss, I have read some complaints regarding sticky peddal. I think that
>could really drive me crazy. If any of you own/owned a class boss, I would
>really appreciate your input on this. Currently the lowest sale price for
>clayboss is going for about $520 (delivered and all) and I can't find
>anything else that would be within that price range. Second hand wheels are
>hard to come by and I've had no luck for a year already. The only other
>cheaper brands I know are Baileys in the $600s.
>
>Right now I am also considering a kickwheel - Thomas Stuart because its also
> $$ friendly. but because its so large and I only have one bed room place, I
>wonder if it'll be feasible to keep it outside the house, with a tarp for
>shelter, I know its sounds crazy. Any comments appreciated. Thanks!!
>
>juanita
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>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.
>
>
>
>

Scott Bennett on tue 1 feb 05


Hi Juanita,

In regards to your Clayboss, I recently purchased 3 of them. I opened a
small studio/teaching space in Birmingham, Alabama. I already owned a Brent C and
CXC, but wanted 5 wheels to start classes. Price was of great concern to me
and the Bailey was my second choice (I've heard they are comparable if not
better). I also wanted at least 1/2 hp and a steel frame/table. I've been using
the Clayboss as much as possible to see how they will hold up. I admit I was
disappointed by the cheaper foot pedal, I've grown accustomed to Brent's
which is much smoother. At first, the speed adjustment was choppy, but has since
become smoother. I had to replace the electronics of one after about a month
and had very good service from the company. I'm not going to say they are
like a Brent CXC or a Shimpo Whisper, but so far they seem to be holding up for
the money.

scottologist

liam wertenbaker on tue 1 feb 05


the bailey wheels are in that price range and have a wonderful peddal. i've
been looking for a new wheel for about 8 months and the shimpo and baily had
the best peddals i've tried.

liam

>From: Juanita Choo
>Reply-To: Clayart
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: Pros and Cons of Clayboss wheel and kick wheel
>Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2005 00:52:54 -0500
>
>Dear All,
>
>I hope to get an updated opinion for Clayboss wheel. I am seriously
>considering purchasing this wheel mainly because of its affordable price.
>However, I have reservations because after googling for comments on
>clayboss, I have read some complaints regarding sticky peddal. I think that
>could really drive me crazy. If any of you own/owned a class boss, I would
>really appreciate your input on this. Currently the lowest sale price for
>clayboss is going for about $520 (delivered and all) and I can't find
>anything else that would be within that price range. Second hand wheels are
>hard to come by and I've had no luck for a year already. The only other
>cheaper brands I know are Baileys in the $600s.
>
>Right now I am also considering a kickwheel - Thomas Stuart because its
>also
> $$ friendly. but because its so large and I only have one bed room place,
>I
>wonder if it'll be feasible to keep it outside the house, with a tarp for
>shelter, I know its sounds crazy. Any comments appreciated. Thanks!!
>
>juanita
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>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.

Vince Pitelka on tue 1 feb 05


> I hope to get an updated opinion for Clayboss wheel. I am seriously
> considering purchasing this wheel mainly because of its affordable price.
> However, I have reservations because after googling for comments on
> clayboss, I have read some complaints regarding sticky peddal. I think
> that
> could really drive me crazy. If any of you own/owned a class boss, I would
> really appreciate your input on this. Currently the lowest sale price for
> clayboss is going for about $520 (delivered and all) and I can't find
> anything else that would be within that price range. Second hand wheels
> are
> hard to come by and I've had no luck for a year already. The only other
> cheaper brands I know are Baileys in the $600s.

Juanita -
We bought six CI Clayboss and four Bigboss wheels three years ago, and have
been using the heck out of them ever since in an academic setting. We
simply do not have a single complaint. I am not familiar with any problems
with sticky foot pedals. The Bigboss is more powerful, but I understand
that the Clayboss wheels have been upgraded to the same motor as the
Bigboss.

It's a good wheel for the money.
- Vince

Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/