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Adding bat pins to wheel?


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Carefully measure where you need to drill. Center the pin hole and start drilling with a small drill bit and lubricate will oil.

Increase the drill bit size until you have the right size hole. I have done this on several wheel heads. precise measuring is really necessary,

but not that hard to do. Trace the holes in the bat onto the wheel head. Criss cross the circular mark to find the center. Then ding the criss cross with a nail or a punch to help guide the small drill bit on target.

 

Marcia

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Carefully measure where you need to drill. Center the pin hole and start drilling with a small drill bit and lubricate will oil.

Increase the drill bit size until you have the right size hole. I have done this on several wheel heads. precise measuring is really necessary,

but not that hard to do. Trace the holes in the bat onto the wheel head. Criss cross the circular mark to find the center. Then ding the criss cross with a nail or a punch to help guide the small drill bit on target.

 

Marcia

 

 

ive seen drop in bat pins (which id love, im not married to using pins) online others look like allen head bolts, is there a standard for pin head size, what do i use for pin? do i just shoot for diameter of hole for given bolt?

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I do think there is a standard, and I believe it is a 1/4 inch Allen head socket screw. The length depends on your wheel head thickness and arrangement of reinforcing ribs, etc. I would recommend getting a bat and measuring the hole size for fit. The standard spacing now is 10 inches, but was not always a standard. Some bats have two drilling s to accommodate the different spacing (Speedbal for instance.)

 

I purchased my last set by taking worn ones to the special bolts bin at a home improvement store for size comparison. That worked well.

 

John

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I've discovered a great alternative to drilling holes in your wheel head. I don't have holes either and was about to do what you're doing. Good luck with it... BUT some people actually prefer NO bat pins. So, here's my solution:

I tried lots of things before finding this easy solution.

It's called bat mate or something like that. (Without giving the actual name ..). It's basically a circle shaped green, sticky, almost rubber-like material that's about an inch larger than the wheel head. You wet it, place it on the wheel head, then place your bat on top (center your bat on it first, which takes a little time, but no big deal).

I use those "wonder bats" where you take out the center section, leaving the outer bat in place.

This "bat mate" thing holds my bat in place for a whole day of throwing! Even if I don't use my Wonder bats, I just place any other bat on this bat mate and it does a great job!

It's really amazing!!!

 

 

I have a harbor freight pottery wheel. I want to add bat pins. Removable bat pins. This will entail drilling. I was hoping to bring to machine shop. But can't remove head.

 

Advice please.

 

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The standard is 10 inch centers on the wheel head-The hole is 1/4 "

The allen head pin is 1/4 inch shaft with a 3/8" head and is 1 1/4 inch to 1 1/2 inch long you can wing nut them dow or leave them loose. I never have used nuts the pins stay put

4 of my wheels have these holes on 10 inch centers.

Take lots of time with layout use a center punch before drilling-you can make a jig as well measure 3 time drill once.

Mark

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I have one of those harbor freight wheels:

I drilled it: super easy:

Put a bat on it. Clamp the bat to the head: use any old junky drill bit and any ol' drill;

I started with a small bit and stepped it up until the bat pins from my local ceramic supply fit snugly:

Really just took a matter of minutes: nothing fancy. Easy Peasy !!!! Sooo worth it.

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Hmmm.....Adding bat pins doesn't seem that difficult at all. I've been kicking around the idea, of doing that to my classroom wheels, for a while. One of them had pins, which I removed, because we have no bats with pin holes. I have no idea, why they were installed.

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I am in full agreement with Marcia. Using a bat in early stages of throwing makes it easier to remove larger work from the wheel. At the same time, for smaller pieces tile type bats work well. However, I did demonstrate to my students using a piece of paper lightly pressed over the top of a mug, or bowl form and lifting/twisting to remove the piece. I always do this sort of thing when I make them do a few that way just to understand how it is done. When I tell them that many places will not have bats, and they would have to remove the pieces by hand they understand my reasoning. I also did the same with things like Griffin Grips oh my!

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  • 1 month later...

I think Neil is correct. I have purchased the right pin bolts at good hardware stores.. Much more convenient than manufacturers

.Marcia

Marcia,

 

What specifically do I need to look for at a hardware store, to sub for the manufacturers bat pins?

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like John and Mark said..,1/4" Allen head screw pin. 3/8" shaft threaded.I think they are about 1 1/2-2" measure he thickness of you wheel head to be sure. I have extra long pins when I use he raised wheel head extender so I can use my large bats over he splash pan.

I got some square bats that came with 10" centered and 9" I think centered holes on each batt. I think they were creative industries. they were a good buy for the price.

 

Marcia

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like John and Mark said..,1/4" Allen head screw pin. 3/8" shaft threaded.I think they are about 1 1/2-2" measure he thickness of you wheel head to be sure. I have extra long pins when I use he raised wheel head extender so I can use my large bats over he splash pan.

I got some square bats that came with 10" centered and 9" I think centered holes on each batt. I think they were creative industries. they were a good buy for the price.

 

Marcia

Thanks Marcia.

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Hmmm, I couldn't find anything on Lowe's site, unless I wasn't looking in the right spot.

 

I found some screw on Amazon, but any good matches were not available.

 

I've noticed that Bailey's site has bat pins.  Those would be the same as any others right?

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they will be correct for any wheel head since their purpose is to hold bats onto a wheelhead.  do you have a bat with holes in it so you can make sure you get them lined up right?  try for one with two round holes.  some now come with a single round hole and a slot.  guess that is for sloppily installed pins.

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they will be correct for any wheel head since their purpose is to hold bats onto a wheelhead.  do you have a bat with holes in it so you can make sure you get them lined up right?  try for one with two round holes.  some now come with a single round hole and a slot.  guess that is for sloppily installed pins.

Yep, I do have a bat at home, that I plan to take into my classroom, and use that to mark off the wheel heads there. 

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I was taught pottery by a sadist who wouldn't let us use bats, while at the same time demanding super thin pots. The good thing about that was that the beginner learns new skills and a better feel for the clay. With practice there are a lot of pots that you can lift off the wheel head without drying it with heat and while still sloppy wet and ways to sort of plop it down so that it springs back into shape. This is not a bad skill for a beginner to develop. Sort of like it's a good idea to make beginners learn to tap on center to trim. When I taught in Denver, I copied my teacher and no bats were used in the beginner's class, in other classes they were used if absolutely necessary for bowls shapes. I much rather use a heat gun for a few seconds to a couple of minutes to lift a ready to finish pot  (handle, foot) than mess with bats and covering things with plastic. Almost the only use I have for bats is my  30 inch bats that I use to trim large bows because my wheel head isn't big enough.

 

Jim

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I was taught pottery by a sadist who wouldn't let us use bats, while at the same time demanding super thin pots. The good thing about that was that the beginner learns new skills and a better feel for the clay. With practice there are a lot of pots that you can lift off the wheel head without drying it with heat and while still sloppy wet and ways to sort of plop it down so that it springs back into shape. This is not a bad skill for a beginner to develop. Sort of like it's a good idea to make beginners learn to tap on center to trim. When I taught in Denver, I copied my teacher and no bats were used in the beginner's class, in other classes they were used if absolutely necessary for bowls shapes. I much rather use a heat gun for a few seconds to a couple of minutes to lift a ready to finish pot  (handle, foot) than mess with bats and covering things with plastic. Almost the only use I have for bats is my  30 inch bats that I use to trim large bows because my wheel head isn't big enough.

 

Jim

That's indeed a good way to learn.  Either adapt, or fall behind, kind of like submerging yourself in a foreign language to learn it. 

I wish I could do something like that, for my students, but there just isn't time. 

I have not yet been accused of being a sadist, though I have been called a  "Fun Hater" on many occasions.

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Hmmm, I couldn't find anything on Lowe's site, unless I wasn't looking in the right spot.

 

I found some screw on Amazon, but any good matches were not available.

I think the correct term is "socket head bolt" or "cap screw" or even "socket head cap bolt"

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A tip:

go to Enco or other industrial supplier online or local and buy a 3/8" "spotting drill". You only need High speed steel, not carbide.

They will be about $5 online.

Use the bat to line up the holes and as a guide for the spotting drill and use the spotting drill to mark your holes. Then move on to regular drill bits increasing in size and with lubricant.

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