I just completed my first thow on the new wheel, it went fairly well. I had minor issues getting started on the new wheel during the centering phase. The bat came off of its mount (I guess I didn’t have it secured well). I considered removing the bat all together (as is reccomended when getting adjusted to the wheel), but the bat was already coverd in clay debris, and the bat mounts would have to be removed, so I reattached the bat and continued from there. Next time I think I will start bat-less. The base wheel-head itself is quite nice and I don’t see any problem with using it without a bat, except for the clean-up thing. I like being able to remove a bat to clean it.
The end piece wasn’t exactly the greatest thing on earth, but perfection wasn’t my goal on this first throw. The goal on this throw was to become familar with this new wheel. All of the things I encountered with the wheel tonight I can adapt to and adjust for, with the immediate exception of the wheel making my table wobble. I need to seek a more stable structure to put the wheel on. The wheel itself only weighs 27lbs, but yet has a centering capacity of over 25 lbs, so it really relies on the structure it is seated on for stability. There are some legs availible for the wheel that I have given thought to, only problem there is that I would have to sit while working with the wheel, which would require me getting a potter’s stool (because none of my furniture sits at the right height), so there is a whole mess of things required to go that route.
In addition to the wobble, there was a slight defect in the clay, which had I been more thorough in the preperation of the clay, would not have existed (or would have been detected). The defect was in the form of a patch of slightly course clay. There was also a defect in the final piece because I moved to quickly to bring the piece to its final height. This resulted in a slightly fat base.
Even though the piece didn’t turn out that well I will post some pics of the finished piece once I do the completion prep and it is fully dry. I will also at that time post some pics of my previous works, both wheel and hand-built. It should be no suprise to anyone who knows me well that the most round and most uniform piece was created as a hand-built piece from a square block of clay (as opposed to the standard ball).
I should be ready to post in about 2 or 3 days, depending on whether or not I decide to glaze. I have no intentions of attempting to get this piece fired.
