clay lover Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 Those of you with the Thomas Stuart wheels, have you ever not been able to get the head off to remove the pan? I've had the wheel a few years and take it off often, but today, IT AIN'T COMING OFF! I did call Skutt, they said ,"Try Harder". Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 I don't have a Thomas Stuart wheel but have you tried heating up the head, I know it won't heat up much but a little might make the difference. A heat gun or setting a pot of boiling water on it is a couple of ideas I have come up with. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 WD40 Spray + wiggle it left and right fast like a steering wheel, then pull directly upwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay lover Posted October 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 I've been wiggling like mad, and reversing the direction and wiggle some more. Will try WD40, wonder how I'm going to get it to the right place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 Try tapping it with a wooden mallet, both on the head and around the collar where it connects. After you get it off, go to your local auto supply store and get some anti-sieze lubricant to put on the shaft. Put the lube on every few months to prevent this in the future, as specified in your manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEP Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 This was the advice given to me by Laguna regarding a Pacifica wheel: Put on a pair of work gloves with a grippy palm surface. Set the pedal so the wheel is spinning very slowly. Grab the wheel head and twist it in the opposite direction. Worked like a charm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLowes Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 I find that several sharp raps with a rubber hammer so that the head vibrates will shake mine loose. After the last incident, I regularly take the head off and grease the shaft and receiver with a molybdenum grease. So far, so good. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 I never take my head off-I'm fond of it-it does make my neck sore. Hitting your head with a rubber mallet sounds like it may work well. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Mea's recommendation sounds excellent. Combine that with WD-40. To get it in there, just get the can with the litte red straw and put it under there the best you can and spray and wiggle, then do the trick Mea recommended. Then I would lube it every few months for sure. I constantly lube mine after every tray cleaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay lover Posted October 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 What I deserve, I guess, I've never lubed it, and it didn't come with a Manuel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 If you are still having trouble turn the wheel on end and with a plastic extenstion tube- spray or drip some penatrating oil onto shaft (like liquid wrench). If its on its side or end this should seep down the shaft into the head-let grafity work for you here. or another sray type from hardware store. Let sit a few hours-tap then do what everyone has said. It should with some elbow grease pop off. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mug Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 Ovoid beating it. The penetrating oil will work... sometimes the best thing to do is leave it set. You might have to turn it upside down so it will soak in better I have restored a lot of old metal items...The worst case of sticking was three days, spraying on WD-40 two or three times a day. Came right off the the third day. Anti-sieze or grease is good stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perkolator Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 same exact problem in all the HS classrooms i've visited that use the TS-style wheels...also likely why they all get left so dirty after use. i simply used a small piece of 2x4 (rubber mallet would be a wiser tool of choice!) and gave the wheel head a few solid (but not beating) whacks at an angle, close to the center where the pin's fused. usually it's enough to break loose the corroded connection, which the grease/anti-sieze was long-gone from. maintenance maintenance maintenance! i did notice on some of the really stuck wheel heads, that the aluminum head itself was slightly worn in the "notch area" which increased the problem - maybe a bad casting or just too much abuse from day to day use w/o servicing? definitely use anti-sieze and not regular grease on this connection. i've never fully understood the pottery wheels with removable heads vs one with a removable splash pan. i'd guess that 8/10 that i've ever used have some sort of slight wobble that i always associated with the removable wheel head design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay lover Posted October 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 I've had it for 4 years, and never had a problem before, but I have not been using any lube on it. I got it because of the big pan and removable had. Studio stays much cleaner. and ALL trimming go into pugger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 same exact problem in all the HS classrooms i've visited that use the TS-style wheels...also likely why they all get left so dirty after use. i simply used a small piece of 2x4 (rubber mallet would be a wiser tool of choice!) and gave the wheel head a few solid (but not beating) whacks at an angle, close to the center where the pin's fused. usually it's enough to break loose the corroded connection, which the grease/anti-sieze was long-gone from. maintenance maintenance maintenance! i did notice on some of the really stuck wheel heads, that the aluminum head itself was slightly worn in the "notch area" which increased the problem - maybe a bad casting or just too much abuse from day to day use w/o servicing? definitely use anti-sieze and not regular grease on this connection. i've never fully understood the pottery wheels with removable heads vs one with a removable splash pan. i'd guess that 8/10 that i've ever used have some sort of slight wobble that i always associated with the removable wheel head design. The manual suggests removing the head and turning it 180 degrees if you notice a wobble. The reason for the design is that it allows for a much larger splash pan that holds way more stuff than the traditional small 2 piece pans. A pan that large in 2 pieces would spill all over when you took it apart. I've got 11 TS wheels, some with the removable pan, some with the built in pan. Each has their benefits and drawbacks, but they're both better than the little pans for keeping the studio clean. Yes, you do have to do some very minor maintenance- putting some lube on the seating- but it only takes a second every few weeks. My students know to tell me if a wheel head is getting hard to remove. And as Perkolator said, use anti-seize lube, not grease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nancy S. Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Had the same problem last year -- I had to 'rock' the wheelhead and whack it a bit to loosen it, and since then I have been using the anti-seize goo. That really helps to keep it from sticking. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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