Scott Harrison on mon 11 apr 05
I have a 24" Northstar Slab roller with the big wheel handle and my
high school kids still managed to strip some teeth from the gears. I
didn't see what they were rolling through at the time but it wasn't
soft clay I'm sure. Kids can bend a crow bar in a sandbox with no other
tools...
Northstar sent out easily replaced gears and an extra set just in case,
no charge. Great company!
Scott Harrison
South Fork High School
Humboldt Redwoods CA
J Lutz on mon 11 apr 05
First let me thank everyone who responded. I'm overwhelmed by the response.
After an unproductive call to North Star (not my first) I went off to the
hardware store. I nearly panicked when the fellow there didn't know what I
was talking about. Apparently there are several names for these little
buggers. Fortunately I had taken the pieces of the one that shattered. So
once I was able to explain what the pieces were supposed to look like and
how it was supposed to work he understood. The only ones they had were much
heavier that the original so I'm hoping I'll have a longer life with these.
When I tried to get the remainder of the original pin out of the shank
nothing was working. I used one of the new pins to try to dislodge the old
one. Finally 1/2 of it loosened and I was able to pull it out. It had split
vertically. But the other 1/2 was really stuck. After much pounding and
praying I was finally able to hammer the new one in far enough to knock out
the old 1/2.
I purchased extra pins for the next time. I'll tape them to table leg now
all I have to do is remember that's where they are when I need them. Ah,
old age is h. . . . !
Thanks again for all the help
Jean Lutz
Earl Brunner on mon 11 apr 05
You say the new ones are heavier and you hope they will last longer, as several people have suggested, the original ones are designed to break BEFORE damage is done elsewhere. If the new ones are heavier, and DON'T break, then possibly something else will. I'm curious as to how North Star was unproductive, I have always had great service from them. My North Star slab roller even came with several extra of the pins.
Is it possible that your clay is on the hard side? Or that you are not taking it down to thickness in stages?
J Lutz wrote:
First let me thank everyone who responded. I'm overwhelmed by the response.
After an unproductive call to North Star (not my first) I went off to the
hardware store. I nearly panicked when the fellow there didn't know what I
was talking about. Apparently there are several names for these little
buggers. Fortunately I had taken the pieces of the one that shattered. So
once I was able to explain what the pieces were supposed to look like and
how it was supposed to work he understood. The only ones they had were much
heavier that the original so I'm hoping I'll have a longer life with these.
When I tried to get the remainder of the original pin out of the shank
nothing was working. I used one of the new pins to try to dislodge the old
one. Finally 1/2 of it loosened and I was able to pull it out. It had split
vertically. But the other 1/2 was really stuck. After much pounding and
praying I was finally able to hammer the new one in far enough to knock out
the old 1/2.
I purchased extra pins for the next time. I'll tape them to table leg now
all I have to do is remember that's where they are when I need them. Ah,
old age is h. . . . !
Thanks again for all the help
Jean Lutz
______________________________________________________________________________
Earl Brunner
e-mail: brunv53@yahoo.com
Mike Gordon on mon 11 apr 05
On Apr 11, 2005, at 1:14 PM, J Lutz wrote:
> First let me thank everyone who responded. I'm overwhelmed by the
> response. North Star
>
> Thanks again for all the help
> Jean Lutz
Jean, let me caution you about using a heavier duty pin. North Star
makes their pins the way they do to keep the user from stripping the
gears. Look into why you stripped the pin in the first place. We had
one in the H.S. class I taught in that got all the abuse you can
imagine. Putting too large a piece of clay into the rollers then
cranking on that big wheel to get it through, using clay that is too
hard, not rolling the clay out in stages a little at a time. All these
habits will shear the pin off. But better the pin than the gears. Mike
Gordon
>
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Vince Pitelka on tue 12 apr 05
> Kids can bend a crow bar in a sandbox with no other tools...
That's a good one. I'll remember that.
Now I realize how I came to the misunderstanding that you were in Hayfork.
When I read "South Fork High School, I never thought South Fork of the Eel.
I immediatley thought "South Fork of the Trinity" and the only town of any
size that is close to the South Fork of the Trinity is Hayfork. Not a bad
extrapolation, however inaccurate.
- Vince
J Lutz on wed 13 apr 05
In response to Earl, Mike and Scott about why my slab roller may have broken.
I'm aware of all the issues with using soft clay etc. In fact when it
broke the clay I was using was so soft that I debated whether to keep it
for throwing instead.
I don't usually take it down in thickness gradually because I cut it off to
nearly the thickness I need or I pound it down with my fists to get it
close to the thickness.
As to my dissatisfaction with North Star -
When I purchased the slab roller the screws that adjust the roller wouldn't
stay put. The nuts that are supposed to hold them in position wouldn't hold
tight. I could just continue to screw them down regardless of where the
nuts were positioned. When I called North Star I got someone who just
couldn't/wouldn't understand what I was talking about. At the next NCECA I
stopped at the booth thinking that if I could talk to someone face to face
and actually show them what I was talking about they could solve the
problem. Well I was told that that was just the way it was and I should
learn to live with it.
A few years after that I acquired a North Star Extruder and had problems
with the bead die among other things. When I called them I got someone who
said that he had never use it so he didn't know what to tell me.
Now when the pin broke in the slab roller I was reluctant to call them
based on my past experience. However, I did finally call because of the
encouragement I received from so many people on this list. The fellow I
talked to seemed to think it was pretty funny and told me to go to the
hardware store as the pins were cheap. He did tell me the size to get. I
have to assume that since he recommended the pins from the hardware store
he must be aware that they are thicker than the ones they use.
As a result I'm not a big fan of North Star.
In any event I have the slab roller back in working order thanks to all the
advice I received from this group.
Jean Lutz
Prescott, AZ
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