Biglou13 Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 I may be getting one of these at good price. It's an older one with the 4 round "belts" and from what I'm told is the older pedal design. The belts need replacing. Which I've already sourced. Any opinions / comments on this wheel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 I have a friend who swears by Pacifica wheels. He's got at least a dozen in his college studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 I think it's a good wheel. I have a GT800 (the larger motor, I think) which I bought in the 80s. I've used it pretty heavily the last few years after it sat in storage for about 10. It's been used outdoors, in 100+ degree heat. I've had to replace the belts (simple) and probably will need to replace the pedal linkage soon. Other than that it still works like a champ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 i have used a pacifica 400 since i bought it in 1972. have replaced the belts once, about 3-4 years ago. the pedal was replaced in the 90s because my house was damaged by lightning and the wheel had been left plugged in. it is the newer pedal electronics. if nothing else, you should LOVE the quietness of it. building a workstation around it was easy and now everything is within reach. yes, leave the wheel unplugged when you are not using it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 The flakeboard deck under the plastic will expand if it gets wet. The foot pedals can give you trouble. Our local art cener has about 12 of these and at any given time a few are down for the count.-I heard the director does swear at them but in a different way than Neils friend. I toured the factory in 1980 before Laguna bought them out. I like the noise free but did not like the decks.I think the older ones are made better. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susanmcgilvrey Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 I made one of those from a kit back in the '80s, finally bought a new wheel about 7 years ago because the old belts were slipping and I couldn't center larger poundages of clay (and I got an Arts Council grant that perfectly covered buying the fancy Thomas Stewart wheel). Aside from the slipping belts (where did you find fresh, round ones?) it served me well for lots of years, big platters, etc. Someone suggested belt-dressing to deal with the slipping but by then I'd bought the new one and fell in love with the super sensitive SSX foot pedal controller on the Stewart wheel. The Pacificas seem to be fine for the price point (vs Brents) unless you plan to really punish them, but if you have just a few hundred more dollars (cost of a laptop that is toast in a couple of years) and lots of years to keep throwing, I'm loving the Stewart wheel,wishing I'd bought it much earlier. It depends how much and large you are working, too. Most wheels seem pretty over-powered for most people who never throw more than 1-5 pound pots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 its an upgrade from harbor frieght wheel but mid grade at best.The above post says it all. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Up in Smoke Pottery Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 bought mine used in 2008, haven't any trouble. it does have the older style pedal. No trouble with the top warping, and I typically have a sloppy mess around my water bucket. Largest amount of clay on it so far has been about 30 pounds at a time. I have had less trouble with my pacifica than my friend has had with their brent, but I agree with Susan it does not compare to a thomas stewart. Chad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biglou13 Posted September 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 Had issues with potentiometer whit HF wheel ..it's moth balled Changed belts on laguna. It runs well and quiet.... One of the four belts seems a bit longer than the rest. This causes a slight slapping sound to other wise very quiet wheel.? it functions fine but there isin't much tension on belts. Do they need more tension? The control box mount is flimsy is there a fix? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted September 27, 2014 Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 i guess there might be a problem with a foot pedal for those of you who actually use a foot to run it. my right foot is damaged and i have used the "foot" pedal by hand for more years than some of you have been alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted September 27, 2014 Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 Oldlady -Could you use the foot pedal with left foot? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biglou13 Posted September 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Tensioned belt on laguna Pacifica 400 wheel. It's now quiet. There are som wheel pedals that need constant pressure to keep wheel speed. I like the ones that don't makes hand control easy. I'll do hand control as an exercise. I'd like to get on a shimpo with pedal and "shifter" hand control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 mark, good suggestion, i am old and hard to retrain. have tried it and i am afraid that i will try driving the car with the left foot and cause an accident. it was hard enough to learn that after driving fords for all these years, some designer thought moving the lights and wipers to the opposite side would be better than leaving them where they had been since the 50s. just have to justify the job, i guess. biglou, i know someone who has one of these for classes she teaches. maybe she doesn't want it anymore. shall i ask? susan, i just contacted the current manufacturer, just asked, sent the money and they arrived. like magic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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