Vince Pitelka on sat 19 mar 05
> Does anyone have/use/know about a Walker Pugmill? I have recently
> acquired one and have a couple of questions for anyone who may be
> knowledgeable
> of this pug. Also does anyone know if there are parts still available?
> Or,
> do I have to play McGuiver and make and or find them. Any which way I
> would be
> very grateful for any and all info on our new old pugmill.
Cindy and Mark -
The Walkers have been discussed on Clayart numerous times. The company went
out of business because of lawsuits. The Walker pugmill is very well built,
but because of that big open hopper with the exposed auger, it is one of
the most dangerous pieces of studio equipment out there. Lots of
independent potters have them, and use them perfectly safely. But a Walker
should never be used in an academic studio or a group studio, unless its use
is strictly controlled by a few mature, skilled people.
The machines are pretty easy to maintain and repair with off-the-shelf
bearings and other parts. The blades get bent and are not difficult to
straighten. But you must realize that since the company is out of business,
as the owner/maintainer of the machine, you accept all liability for its
use. That's just the way the law works in such situations.
If you are going to use it, make absolutely sure that the safety shut-off
bar across the front is in perfect working condition, and don't ever let
anyone use the machine without the solid or screened lid closed across the
hopper. There shouldn't be any flexibility in those policies. You do not
want to ever have the machine operating with the hopper completely open. No
matter how safe you think you are being, one slip or trip can send someone's
arm into the hopper, with terrible results. Also, there should always be a
key switch on the control panel. You can purchase a key-operated electric
switch from any industrial electric supplier.
Sorry to be a bummer, but this is a very dangerous machine.
- 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/
Mark Pitney on sat 19 mar 05
Hello All:
Does anyone have/use/know about a Walker Pugmill? I have recently
acquired one and have a couple of questions for anyone who may be knowledgeable
of this pug. Also does anyone know if there are parts still available? Or,
do I have to play McGuiver and make and or find them. Any which way I would be
very grateful for any and all info on our new old pugmill.
Thank you:
Cindy & Mark
The Mudpit
228 Manhattan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11206
718-218-9424
_www.mudpitnyc.com_ (http://www.mudpitnyc.com/)
mudpitnyc@aol.com
Carl Finch on sun 20 mar 05
At 12:02 PM 3/19/2005, Mark Pitney wrote:
>Does anyone have/use/know about a Walker Pugmill?
Mel Jacobson wrote recently that he has one.
>I have recently acquired one
>and have a couple of questions
>for anyone who may be knowledgeable
>of this pug. Also does anyone know
>if there are parts still available?
There was a considerable thread about the Walker 2 or 3 years ago. Not in
the market for one myself, I didn't pay close attention. But as I recall,
the main "spare parts" problem was things like fingers, hands, and
forearms--i.e., the machine had some serious safety issues!
--Carl
in Medford, Oregon
Louis Katz on sun 20 mar 05
Most parts are available from Grangers or other industrial supply
houses or are easily fabricated from steel. I don't think they are
available from a clay company but I could be wrong.
Louis
On Mar 19, 2005, at 2:02 PM, Mark Pitney wrote:
> Hello All:
> Does anyone have/use/know about a Walker Pugmill? I have
> recently
> acquired one and have a couple of questions for anyone who may be
> knowledgeable
> of this pug. Also does anyone know if there are parts still
> available? Or,
> do I have to play McGuiver and make and or find them. Any which way I
> would be
> very grateful for any and all info on our new old pugmill.
> Thank you:
> Cindy & Mark
> The Mudpit
> 228 Manhattan Ave.
> Brooklyn, NY 11206
> 718-218-9424
> _www.mudpitnyc.com_ (http://www.mudpitnyc.com/)
> mudpitnyc@aol.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.
>
>
Louis Katz
WIKI site http://www.tamucc.edu/wiki/Katz/HomePage
Earl Brunner on sun 20 mar 05
I have one. I always liked it. It's the pugmill model we had in school.
They are considered dangerous due to the large open hopper. They are
stainless, any welding done will need to take that into account. Other than
that the parts are pretty straight forward, motor and gear box wise. I've
had a regular electric motor/machine shop work on mine. You can check the
archives on the safety concerns.
Earl Brunner
Las Vegas, NV
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Mark Pitney
Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2005 12:03 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Walker pugmill info.
Hello All:
Does anyone have/use/know about a Walker Pugmill? I have recently
acquired one and have a couple of questions for anyone who may be
knowledgeable
of this pug. Also does anyone know if there are parts still available? Or,
do I have to play McGuiver and make and or find them. Any which way I would
be
very grateful for any and all info on our new old pugmill.
Thank you:
Cindy & Mark
The Mudpit
228 Manhattan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11206
718-218-9424
_www.mudpitnyc.com_ (http://www.mudpitnyc.com/)
mudpitnyc@aol.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.
John Rodgers on mon 21 mar 05
Anyone have any text, drawings, specs, parts books, parts blowups, etc,
on the Walker pugmills that they would care to share??
Thanks,
Regards,
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
Carl Finch wrote:
> At 12:02 PM 3/19/2005, Mark Pitney wrote:
>
>> Does anyone have/use/know about a Walker Pugmill?
>
>
> Mel Jacobson wrote recently that he has one.
>
>> I have recently acquired one
>> and have a couple of questions
>> for anyone who may be knowledgeable
>> of this pug. Also does anyone know
>> if there are parts still available?
>
>
> There was a considerable thread about the Walker 2 or 3 years ago.
> Not in
> the market for one myself, I didn't pay close attention. But as I
> recall,
> the main "spare parts" problem was things like fingers, hands, and
> forearms--i.e., the machine had some serious safety issues!
>
> --Carl
> in Medford, Oregon
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
>
ASHPOTS@AOL.COM on mon 21 mar 05
I have one also but havent used it for a while.. But ,,, i got it for free
because it was messed up.. A guy was using a big stick pushing clay and it got
caught up and beat the machine up.. I have a friend in Miami that has a
machine shop.. We thought we would just replace the seals and rebend the blades.
Well it needed new pillow blocks and also my friend put a new stainless keyed
shaft into it the original was a rusted mess.. Now i have a new Walker.. I
dont use it much because i use my Venco daily for recyle ...
Mark
On a Mtn
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