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pros and cons of slab rollers needed

updated tue 13 dec 05

 

d milton on thu 8 dec 05


Hi all!
We are looking at the Bailey 30" Basic Roller with the 4' 4" long table as
well as the Rolling Thunder 30" slab roller complete with table. Both are
dual roller slab rollers. Does anyone have either of these and could commen=
t
on what they think of them? What are the pros and cons of each? Which is th=
e
better buy? We are all potters and do some slabwork on the side so it will
not be a frequently used piece of equipment but it will be used enough that
it needs to hold up. Any feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Pat Logue on fri 9 dec 05


I've been using a north star for 9 yrs now. I only broke one gear so
far.North star was very good about replacing it.I've slabbed 12 lbs
successfully, but thats about the limit.It takes patience and mutlple passe=
s
to slab bigger hunks of clay .My wish though is for a bailey with the large=
r
rollers. It would make life alot easier. Folks I talk to say you cant go
wrong with a Bailey.
Dont know anything about the Rolling thunder. Though if its the one from
Axner it looks alot like the North Star in the catalog.
Pat


On 12/8/05, d milton wrote:
>
> Hi all!
> We are looking at the Bailey 30" Basic Roller with the 4' 4" long table a=
s
> well as the Rolling Thunder 30" slab roller complete with table. Both are
> dual roller slab rollers. Does anyone have either of these and could
> comment
> on what they think of them? What are the pros and cons of each? Which is
> the
> better buy? We are all potters and do some slabwork on the side so it wil=
l
> not be a frequently used piece of equipment but it will be used enough
> that
> it needs to hold up. Any feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks!
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________________=
_____
> 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.
>

Marcia Selsor on fri 9 dec 05


I have a 30" Bailey. Because I was at their place and ready to pick
up a slab roller while on a road trip, I took what they had, a one
directional slab roller. I love it but I'd prefer to be able to turn
the slab and run it back through. I built a rolling table the height
of my feed side (slightly different from the 4' table. I just slide
the slab onto the table, rotate it and run through again if I am
playing with a large shape. It takes 25 lb blocks with no problem.
Dual rollers are imperative IMHO.
I doin't know about the Rolling Thunder..it looks like the same
machine as Bailey's..or very similar.
Marcia in Montana
On Dec 9, 2005, at 5:48 AM, Pat Logue wrote:

> I've been using a north star for 9 yrs now. I only broke one gear so
> far.North star was very good about replacing it.I've slabbed 12 lbs
> successfully, but thats about the limit.It takes patience and
> mutlple passes
> to slab bigger hunks of clay .My wish though is for a bailey with
> the larger
> rollers. It would make life alot easier. Folks I talk to say you
> cant go
> wrong with a Bailey.
> Dont know anything about the Rolling thunder. Though if its the one
> from
> Axner it looks alot like the North Star in the catalog.
> Pat
>
>
> On 12/8/05, d milton wrote:
>>
>> Hi all!
>> We are looking at the Bailey 30" Basic Roller with the 4' 4" long
>> table as
>> well as the Rolling Thunder 30" slab roller complete with table.
>> Both are
>> dual roller slab rollers. Does anyone have either of these and could
>> comment
>> on what they think of them? What are the pros and cons of each?
>> Which is
>> the
>> better buy? We are all potters and do some slabwork on the side so
>> it will
>> not be a frequently used piece of equipment but it will be used
>> enough
>> that
>> it needs to hold up. Any feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks!
>>
>>
>> _____________________________________________________________________
>> _________
>> 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.
>

Susan Fox Hirschmann on fri 9 dec 05


I have had a Bailey Slab roller for many many years and have been totally
pleased with it.
Other than the fact it was difficult for me to put together, and maybe I am
just technically challenged, it is a great piece of equipment.

Good luck
Susan
Annandale, VA

Paula Mann on fri 9 dec 05


"We are looking at the Bailey 30" Basic Roller with the 4' 4" long table as
well as the Rolling Thunder 30" slab roller complete with table. Both are
dual roller slab rollers. Does anyone have either of these and could comment
on what they think of them?"

I purchased a double roller Bailey slab roller this fall. I did have some
struggle with putting it together (I guess my wimpy arms couldn't tighten
the table top down enough so it wouldn't work until my husband really
cranked it down below the level of the bottom roller).

After the proper adjustment, it works like a dream and the clay rolls
through very smoothly.
Paula Mann
Fort Collins, CO

Artistic Villas on fri 9 dec 05


We have had a DRD/II 30" for about 10 years of continuous daily use and
abuse with minimal to no maintenance under harsh conditions.

We roll 10-20 slabs a day 25" x as long as we can, 1/4" - 1" thickness.

I don't think there is anything else that could be said to recommend it
more highly.

We have also just gotten a DRD 30" electric for our new location and its
going very well so far though we have not gotten to abuse it as much
yet!

I can't conceive of even considering any others.

Artistic Villas
by Deborah & Donald Schnell
http://www.artisticvillas.com

800-253-7107

Donald Schnell Studio, Inc.
http://www.donaldschnell.com

Bougainvillea Leasing Ltd.
http://www.stjohncars.com



-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@lsv.ceramics.org] On Behalf Of d milton
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 11:46 PM
To: CLAYART@lsv.ceramics.org
Subject: pros and cons of slab rollers needed

Hi all!
We are looking at the Bailey 30" Basic Roller with the 4' 4" long table
as
well as the Rolling Thunder 30" slab roller complete with table. Both
are
dual roller slab rollers. Does anyone have either of these and could
comment
on what they think of them? What are the pros and cons of each? Which is
the
better buy? We are all potters and do some slabwork on the side so it
will
not be a frequently used piece of equipment but it will be used enough
that
it needs to hold up. Any feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks!

________________________________________________________________________
______
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.

Kathi LeSueur on sat 10 dec 05


>>We are looking at the Bailey 30" Basic Roller with the
>>4' 4" long table as well as the Rolling Thunder 30"
>>slab roller complete with table. Both are dual roller
>>slab rollers. Does anyone have either of these and
>>could comment on what they think of them?>>>>
>>

My first slab roller was a Brent. I could never get an even thickness
with the full slab. I sold it to someone who didn't care and bought the
Bailey 30" electric with the table. That was twelve years ago. The
machine is used daily and has never had a problem. I think it is well
worth the extra investment.


Kathi

>>
>>

Lauren Bellero on sat 10 dec 05


>We are looking at the Bailey 30" Basic Roller with the
>4' 4" long table as well as the Rolling Thunder 30"
>slab roller complete with table. Both are dual roller
>slab rollers. Does anyone have either of these and
>could comment on what they think of them?

i have a rolling thunder and have no complaints. when i
was at nceca this year, i asked one of the sales folk
(can't remember which company) why someone would spend
more bucks on their (similar) slab roller over
the lesser priced rolling thunder. the answer was that
the more expensive one had a lifetime warranty or guarantee,
and that each side of the height adjusters worked
independently so that if you did not want an even thickness,
that could be accomplished. i haven't yet found an
application where i would want the difference in thickness,
but it would probably be worth it if you had the need.

all the best,
lauren
--
Mudslingers Pottery, Lauren Bellero
http://mudslingerspottery.net
39 Leroy Place, Red Bank, NJ 07701
732.747.4853

Marilu on mon 12 dec 05


Hi We have a "Rolling Thunder"(Axner) slab roller and like it
very much. Accurate and easy to use. We like the double
rollers and that you can roll both ways. It was nice
for us to only have to buy the head and fit it to our
own size table. We made the table long and use it as
a spare work space. When we looked around we found
this to be the best for the money. I don't know if
you have much need for a tapered edge on one side
but that was the only difference we found. This has
one control that raises and lowers both sides at the
same time. Some people that we talked to
complained that some of the slab rollers
that taper and that you need to adjust on both
sides start to get hard to get even on both sides-
especially as they get older. -Marilu