Sarsaparilla Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Hello everyone, I am new to the forum here. Last fall, I was given a pottery wheel by one of my mentors. She had it in her basement and hadn't used it for a while. I moved to Nevada and brought it with me, and have not had the chance to use it until now. Well, it works, but the foot pedal is stuck "down." It seems to be too loose, so it just stays "on" from its own weight. But the speeds seem correct otherwise and everything works well aside from the pedal flopping down onto itself to be on high speed all the time. I don't know what model the wheel is, and it used to be in the college she worked at. I have photos of it as well but cannot really find any identifying marks on anything but the motor (Morse). I can see a sticker on the inside of the pedal that looks like instructions on how to adjust it, but there doesn't seem to be a good way for me to open it up. The pedal is totally covered and the one screw that was exposed, I took out, and it didn't do anything. The two holes you can see on the bottom don't lead to any screws or anything inside. I know it is most likely a simple adjustment, but am not sure how to get at it to adjust it. The side bolts where the "hinge" is that turns it are tight, so I can't pry them off or adjust them tighter to try to fix it that way. Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Sweet Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Looks like it may be an old Max wheel. Gear driven? If it is, you might look up the following discussion: http://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/8093-the-max-wheel-1500/ You may find a direction to follow in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Sweet Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Looks like it may be an old Max wheel. Gear driven? If it is, you might look up the following discussion: http://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/8093-the-max-wheel-1500/ You may find a direction to follow in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarsaparilla Posted June 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Looks like it may be an old Max wheel. Gear driven? If it is, you might look up the following discussion: http://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/8093-the-max-wheel-1500/ You may find a direction to follow in it. It looks similar to some of the Max wheels, but I'm not positive since it doesn't have any clear marking what it is. It weighs a ton, I managed to drag it from my porch into my apartment to take a photo, but it's too heavy for one person to pick up (me, anyway!) Actually, I just found some more photos I took when I first got it, and it does have an "Alpine" label on the crossbar of the legs. I think the wheel was given to her in the 80s or 90s, and had been there before then, obviously. Found this topic about them--I seem to have gotten a real antique! At any rate, maybe I'm better off asking a repair place? Since getting a new pedal seems like overkill (and maybe not possible, though I don't know how hard that would be--this is my first wheel). I know I could fix it if I could just open the pedal up, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Sweet Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 I looked at your referenced URL, and did a bit of research. Found a listing for "Anji's Pottery Warez" on http://www.angelfire.com/md/Anji/index2.html And if you click on one of the numbered links it gives you an opportunity to email the artist. Don't know how old that site is or if anything is still valid. Found another possibility through a Google search on "Anji's Henderson & pottery" which cited an article about an art show which she apparently authored and gave the following email address: vual7@yahoo.com Again, I don't know if it is still valid as well. Try it, you never know..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Sweet Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 I looked at your referenced URL, and did a bit of research. Found a listing for "Anji's Pottery Warez" on http://www.angelfire.com/md/Anji/index2.html And if you click on one of the numbered links it gives you an opportunity to email the artist. Don't know how old that site is or if anything is still valid. Found another possibility through a Google search on "Anji's Henderson & pottery" which cited an article about an art show which she apparently authored and gave the following email address: vual7@yahoo.com Again, I don't know if it is still valid as well. Try it, you never know..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazenerd Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Pluck six hairs from Freds' beard; soak in axle grease and wrap around pivot pins. Will work like a dream for another 5.89 days. Nerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarsaparilla Posted June 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Well, I emailed her-- we'll see if it's still a valid address! Has anyone here replaced an entire foot pedal? If it comes to that, I'd like to know it's possible. It seems like such a simple fix to adjust it, though, and I'd be surprised if I'd have to replace it: this wheel was made before the time of making things unable to be taken apart so you don't mess with them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 Its an old alpine wheel the nameplate says so as well as the telltale feet. Call A.D. Alpine as they are still in business.They made that heavy gearbox wheel back in the day. That pedal most likely can be adjusted as well-you just need to know how to dismantle it. I would call they as they are east coast/midwest based-forget the email you need to talk to a human about this If you want a new pedal they are your only option,but I doubt they make them anymore http://www.alpinekilns.com/contact_us.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarsaparilla Posted June 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2016 Called Alpine, left a message, sent an email. Let's hope someone there remembers the wheels or knows someone who does! I am going to a wedding next week and will get to see my mentor who gave me the wheel and will ask her if she knows anything. Since she used to teach on them, maybe she had a pedal problem like this before and has some insight. I'll let you know what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarsaparilla Posted June 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2016 Alpine called me back and told me that all I had to do to open up the pedal was push in on those little bolts on the side! It hadn't really worked before since it had some crusties on it, but I got the pedal open. Here's what was inside. I am not sure the potentiometer is causing the problem, but then again I have never had to adjust one. I made a video to show Alpine what it was doing. Would adjusting the potentiometer fix this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarsaparilla Posted June 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2016 Good news! The fix was a simple solution. Turns out the first screw I removed is what is used to adjust the "looseness" of the foot pedal. All I had to do was screw it tighter and now the wheel doesn't fall over on itself. I can start making pottery now! The man who talked to me at Alpine was a lifesaver. Now I don't have to buy a new pedal (or wheel, for that matter). Here are a few pictures of the screw that needed tightening-- it was the only screw on the bottom of my foot pedal. When you tighten it, it causes the metal bar to push against the nylon actuator and prevents it from being too loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted June 23, 2016 Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 The man who talked to me at Alpine was a lifesaver. Now I don't have to buy a new pedal (or wheel, for that matter). Alpine-foot-pedal.JPGAlpine-foot-pedal2.JPG Probably Joe C. He owns Kiln-Ray, which bought out Alpine a few years back. He's good people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perkolator Posted June 23, 2016 Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 Glad you got it resolved and it was so simple! I've got an old Alpine gear driven wheel at home that was "broken" when I got it -- needed a fuse! My pedal looks much different. Those old wheels are torque monsters with that gear drive though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 I turned down an old Alpine wheel years ago as weighed about a ton . The gearbox are torque beasts as noted above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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