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pug mill (walker)

updated fri 19 may 06

 

Sally Guger on sat 13 may 06


Hi Paul,

The one I have has that metal tamper that slides along from one end to the other. It also has a kill switch that works really well- it's right where you can hit it with your knee if you somehow get your hand caught!! A careful person who never ever puts their hands anywhere closer than the top edge of the mixing area will love the machine. Thanks for the info. that yours sold for $500. Sally




Paul Herman wrote:
Hello John and Sally,

Sally, I just sold my old Walker of 30 years to a friend for $500, in
working condition. A lot of tons have gone through it, and many years
ago I rebuilt the gearbox, when Walker was still in business.

John, it's a real meat grinder, watch out. Hands and fingers hell,
there is a record of death from Walker. I used the tamper only, and
in those times you are tempted to poke your hand in there, use a
stick. A 1x4 with a chisel shaped end works well. When you see how
easily it munches the end of the stick, it further impresses you to
keep your hands out of there.

It's a great machine, and I don't normally let loose of things like
that, but just wanted to see it used. The Peter Pugger has spoiled me.

Best,

Paul Herman

Great Basin Pottery
Doyle, California US
http://greatbasinpottery.com


On May 13, 2006, at 6:27 PM, Sally Guger wrote:

I'd say make me an offer if you are interested. Maybe John will
tell us what he paid for his? (I'm in Southern Wisconsin.)


> John Rodgers wrote:
> I have needed a mill for a while and settled on a Walker mill for my
> purposes. After searching far and wide for several months, I found
> one a
> few hours away and bought it.

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Sally Guger on sat 13 may 06


Very interesting that the Walker Pugmill would come up- just when I'm trying to get enough money together for a Peter Pugger for a high school ceramics dept. I'm selling a New Wave by Axner and also there is a Walker Pugmill in the art dept. as well. For reasons that John described, the Walker shouldn't be used near a bunch of students who are always anxious to help!! It still works fine- I used it and liked it years ago- the high school guy who bought the Axner New Wave wanted to take the Walker home with him for $75. I said it should stay with the art dept. But selling it for or a more reasonable (from my standpoint) amount would help us get a used Peter Pugger that I have my eye on.

The Walker works fine- it has new bushings or whatever they are called and there are a few spare parts that were bought up by the former art teacher.

I'd say make me an offer if you are interested. Maybe John will tell us what he paid for his? (I'm in Southern Wisconsin.)

John Rodgers wrote:
I have needed a mill for a while and settled on a Walker mill for my
purposes. After searching far and wide for several months, I found one a
few hours away and bought it.

The Walker mill is huge! Came on a steel stand with rollers, making it
easy to move around in my shop - incidentally everything in my shop is
on wheels except my potters wheel. The screw is driven through a
transmission by a 3/4 hp motor mounted at a 90 degree angle to the
shaft. On this machine the shaft, blades, and hopper are all stainless,
and all new bearings were installed. So there had been considerable work
done on it to keep it up.

The Walker mill is clearly not something to mess around with. The hopper
is very large, the shaft blades are exposed, and it has no screen in it
for hand protection. If one did something stupid one could lose a hand
and/or fingers in a heartbeat. I understand clearly why the company got
shut down through a lawsuit. Even so, the machine is great for my purposes.

The Walker mill is not a vacuum type, which makes it less desirable than
some of the newer machines, but then this one was far less than the
prices of even the cheapest new machines on the market. But the price
was right and lack of de-airing is not a problem for me. Another
feature I liked about it was that parts can be bought from Grainger.

A great tool for the shop. Already saving my wrists, not having to wedge
so hard.

Regards,

John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL

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Paul Herman on sat 13 may 06


Hello John and Sally,

Sally, I just sold my old Walker of 30 years to a friend for $500, in
working condition. A lot of tons have gone through it, and many years
ago I rebuilt the gearbox, when Walker was still in business.

John, it's a real meat grinder, watch out. Hands and fingers hell,
there is a record of death from Walker. I used the tamper only, and
in those times you are tempted to poke your hand in there, use a
stick. A 1x4 with a chisel shaped end works well. When you see how
easily it munches the end of the stick, it further impresses you to
keep your hands out of there.

It's a great machine, and I don't normally let loose of things like
that, but just wanted to see it used. The Peter Pugger has spoiled me.

Best,

Paul Herman

Great Basin Pottery
Doyle, California US
http://greatbasinpottery.com


On May 13, 2006, at 6:27 PM, Sally Guger wrote:

I'd say make me an offer if you are interested. Maybe John will
tell us what he paid for his? (I'm in Southern Wisconsin.)


> John Rodgers wrote:
> I have needed a mill for a while and settled on a Walker mill for my
> purposes. After searching far and wide for several months, I found
> one a
> few hours away and bought it.

Chuck Wagoner on sun 14 may 06


I have a Walker that I would like to sell. Mail me off list if you are
interested.

Chuck Wagon (er)

Rockville, IN 1 hour west of Indy.

Sally Guger on sun 14 may 06


When emailing Chuck off-list, don't forget that I need to sell the high school's Walker so the kids will all be safe!!!!! Sally. (I mentioned mine first!!)

Chuck Wagoner wrote: I have a Walker that I would like to sell. Mail me off list if you are
interested.

Chuck Wagon (er)

Rockville, IN 1 hour west of Indy.

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Bonnie Staffel on mon 15 may 06


Dear Claybuds,

Yes, you can get your hand caught in the auger, and with the knee =
switch,
can shut the machine off, but there was no backup or reverse switch. =
You
really have LOST YOUR HAND. I had a Walker for a number of the early =
years
in our studio and the person using it dropped the metal dipper into the =
bin.
Needless to say, it could not be removed without dismantling the =
machine.
My husband was not a happy man that day. There is an impulse to try to =
grab
the fallen item too, which immediately gets you caught. I got rid of =
mine
when I closed my studio in Charlevoix and moved to Campbell Folk School.
Hope your insurance covers liability in your case. I might add that it =
was
about the worst $500 you spent that day, IMO.

Warm regards,

Bonnie Staffel

http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
DVD Throwing with Coils and Slabs
DVD Beginning Processes
Charter Member Potters Council

Marcia Selsor on mon 15 may 06


We had a Walker at the University where I taught. The blades on the
auger were razor sharp.
I had a sign above it..."JAWS III" That Walker was stainless and we
only used it for porcelain.
There were over thrity bolts to undo to clean it out.

Never had a mishap with it but we did have a mishap with an ancient
pugmill at the art school
where I got my degree. Someone lost part of a thumb. It was a
veritcal machine that opened.
and they did reattach the thumb.
I just bought myself a Bailey pugmill at NCECA..floor demo. Loads of
safety precautions on it including a guard to keep out
anything bigger than 2 x 2".


Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com

Earl Brunner on wed 17 may 06


When I bought my Walker a couple of years ago, it
appeared to be in pristine condition, but had some
hidden damage. The stainless steel blades were in like
new condition, but I think the previous owner had tried
to run it with dried out clay in it and stripped the
brass gears in the gear box. In a fit of frustration
or anger he then hit the condenser on the motor with a
hammer or something and smashed it. I took the parts I
needed fixed to the same electrical machine shop that I
had work on some of the parts for the City's Soldner
mixer and they had no problems working on/ordering the
parts, They had a replacement condenser in stock, they
had to order the gear box parts from some place in
Europe and they rewound the starter coil on the motor I
think.

With my original purchase price and the repairs I'm
into it for less than a $1000.00 but it's in great
shape. Nobody uses it but me, and the key to the
switch on the motor is hidden.

Earl Brunner
Las Vegas, NV
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On
Behalf Of Ingeborg Foco
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 11:22 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Pug Mill (Walker & New Wave)

" Hello Bonnie and everyone.
> It was interesting to hear of the good experiences
you had with your
Walker!
>
> I have a question for the person who mentioned
getting parts for them
through Grainger. The high school guy who is retiring
and wanted to take it
with him, said Grainger never heard of a Walker and
didn't know what a
pugmill was. He said something about getting a part
called a "spider?" Can
anyone give me more info. on their experience with
getting parts from
Grainger? I would never want to sell anybody something
potentially
unusable."



Sally,

Grainger is a great store that has a huge catalogue.
You do however have to
have a commercial account. If they don't have what you
need you can order
it. Generally, they will have it by the next day.

A spider gear is a standard part used in many
applications and is available
at many parts stores. It is a rubber gear having I
think 6 points hence the
name spider. It is used to connect the motor of the
pug mill to the drive
shaft. (two moving metal parts separated and connected
with a rubber part)
Periodically you have to change the spider gear since
it can get chewed up
during use, especially if you don't regularly check the
tension and tighten
things accordingly. Been there!

Grainger does not carry pug mills and most likely they
don't know what one
is. You can however, buy the motors and other things
that make up a
pugmill. My deairing pump one day was totally "Kaput"
and I purchased a
similar model thru Grainger....had it the next day.

Hope that helps.


Ingeborg
the Potter's Workshop & Gallery
P.O. Box 510
3058 Stringfellow Road
St. James City, Florida 33956

239-283-2775
>
>

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Michael on thu 18 may 06


Hi Sally,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Unfortunately we cannot get it
at this time. Thanks, and good luck with it. Michael