JohnnyK

15 minutes to Alpha Fired Arts in Sacramento which has most of what I need in stock. They are slowly rebuilding their stock after Covid slowdowns...

15 minutes to Alpha Fired Arts in Sacramento which has most of what I need in stock. They are slowly rebuilding their stock after Covid slowdowns...

15 minutes to Alpha Fired Arts in Sacramento which has most of what I need in stock. They are slowly rebuilding their stock after Covid slowdowns...

A shortage of hands would do me in. I had both thumbs operated on some years ago and the surgeries gave back full use of my hands. The rest of the arthritis is nowhere near enough to make me give up. Electricity to fire the kiln would be another thing. Although I prefer throwing over handbuilding, I could get by without a wheel, but not very easily. My extruder and a flat surface for working with slabs could get me by...

A shortage of hands would do me in. I had both thumbs operated on some years ago and the surgeries gave back full use of my hands. The rest of the arthritis is nowhere near enough to make me give up. Electricity to fire the kiln would be another thing. Although I prefer throwing over handbuilding, I could get by without a wheel, but not very easily. My extruder and a flat surface for working with slabs could get me by...

When I took my first Learning Exchange pottery class, brushing was what we were taught. Then I went to college and dipping was the way to go although I still did brushing at home. Once done with the college classes, I stuck with brushing. Right now, just about all my glazing is done with Amaco Potter's Choice and a few Celadon glazes, and layering is my method of choice. All are fired to ^6 in my electric kiln. However. I am experimenting with a ^5 black clay to see how it works primarily with the Amaco C-1 Obsidian. The next glaze firing will be dropped to ^5 to keep the black clay from bloating and, since the PC has a 5-6 cone range, it will be interesting to see how the glazes react on the black clay. I think I will fire the black separately and at the same time run some test tiles with the glazes that I normally fire to ^6 to see how they react at the lower temp. B-Mix ^5 is my current clay of choice, but I'm going to do some work with ^5 B-Mix w/grog to see how it throws with larger pots...

When I took my first Learning Exchange pottery class, brushing was what we were taught. Then I went to college and dipping was the way to go although I still did brushing at home. Once done with the college classes, I stuck with brushing. Right now, just about all my glazing is done with Amaco Potter's Choice and a few Celadon glazes, and layering is my method of choice. All are fired to ^6 in my electric kiln. However. I am experimenting with a ^5 black clay to see how it works primarily with the Amaco C-1 Obsidian. The next glaze firing will be dropped to ^5 to keep the black clay from bloating and, since the PC has a 5-6 cone range, it will be interesting to see how the glazes react on the black clay. I think I will fire the black separately and at the same time run some test tiles with the glazes that I normally fire to ^6 to see how they react at the lower temp. B-Mix ^5 is my current clay of choice, but I'm going to do some work with ^5 B-Mix w/grog to see how it throws with larger pots...

For me coaching was from the start as a kid. My older brothers where track stars-one was 11 years older the other 5 years older. The oldest went on to be Stanfords best high hurdler (on a scholarship) and went on to be an olympic athlete . The other was also on the record books so by the time I was in Junior high the coaches all knew what I was capable of. I grew up with a pole valult and high jump pit in backyard. I was the Junior highs best jumper. Turns out my older brother pulled his achilles tendon the meet befor the plane left for Toyko Olympics in 64 and dashed him from the team. He then quit his doctors training path and became an art professor later for 25 years in the california UC stystem at UCSB Santa Barbara in print making.  He died of melanoma cancer in 92. My other brother also excelled at art but took his life at 23.That  brother made it almost thru High school before his art interests overran the coaches interests . For me in Junior high seeing both brothers records still on the board the coaches (all track and fild and some gymnastics) had big plans and worked me to death. In late 9th grade I had enough as I wanted to just high jump and they wanted me to run track as well. I have medals from those days still in the long runs 400 and 800 meters and and relays but the high jump records are what I really liked (the western roll at that time). At some point in an endless running around the track one day  in May in 9th grade I had had enough . I told the coach I was done running for him and he should do the 20 laps that day. I turned my interests to art like all my brothers before me. The rest is history except I really cut my own path thru school and beyond. 
For me coaches are all in my past. What I learned form coaches is I was not meant to be in the herd with the rest I excelled on my own paths-What they learned is I was a independent thinker and most coaches where NOT

The bearing replacement went relatively well, with only a few hiccups. I think when the top bearing originally failed, someone replaced it with a bearing that had the correct ID, but a larger OD and they just crammed into place and used epoxy putty to seal it up. It probably lasted years before it failed again. This is a lot of work, so I'd only recommend doing this if your bearings are completely seized up. (To test, remove the belt and see if the wheelhead free spins. ) Removal and replacement of the bearings requires the old bearing mounts to be deconstructed, so you can't save and reuse them with this method.
I began by unplugging the wheel and turning the wheel on its side and removing the belt and pulley shield. This allows access to the bottom bearing. Loosen the belt by loosening the wing nut near the motor - this provides the tension to the belt. Once the belt is a little loose, just rotate the pulley and walk the belt off. Remove the pulley by loosening the two headless locking bolts. If it doesn't slide off easily, just soak it in "PB B'laster" spray. (I ended up using a lot of this spray, so you might want to wear gloves and safety glasses). Next, turn the wheel upside down and brace it up so that as you pound down on the wheelhead there is some room for the wheelhead to drop. If things are really rusty, soak the axle and bearing in a little Blaster.  Using a piece of hardwood, protect the wheelhead axle as you gently hammer down on the axel. This will allow you to use gear puller to pull the bottom bearing off. Once the bottom bearing has been removed from the axle you can turn the wheel right side up and remove the wheelhead. 
Next, remove the upper bearing from the wheelhead. Mine was completely seized onto the axel and I had to cut it off (gently) with a cutting disk. The wheelhead is a combination of plastic and metal, so be careful when cutting near it. (If you completely blow it, I think Shimpo makes a 25mm wheelhead that you just add whatever length axle you need. This was my plan B that I never had to do) After cutting off the upper bearing, I soaked the axle in a mixture of water and molasses (10:1 ratio) for about 10 days. Vintage motorcycle restorers use this to gently remove rust from metal parts and it worked remarkably well. I just lowered the axle into a bottle filled with this mixture and supported the wheelhead so it wouldn't fall over. 
With the wheel head soaking and out of the way, I was able to remove the old bearing mounts. The direct fit replacement is an NTN 6005LLU/LP03 which I was able to find at  misumiusa.com (originally I had tried a pair of bearing I bought from McMaster, but I didn't like them, so I found the originals, which I'm super happy with) With the new bearings in hand I was able to design a new bearing mount. I made both the top and bottom mount the same, it really doesn't matter even though the originals are different heights. The main important parts are that the four mounting bolts end up in the same place and bearings line up so the wheelhead can slide right in. A friend machined the bearing mounts out of Delrin, but they could have been made by 3D printing or by sending a 3D model to a service bureau for printing. 

Even though the original set up did not have a shoulder bushing, I decided to add one because I wanted to know that the wheelhead would bear directly onto the inner bearing ring. I just ordered the closest size from McMaster and cut it down by clamping my hacksaw to the table with a 6mm offset and just ran the bearing back and forth for 10 minutes to slowly cut through the flange.  (https://www.mcmaster.com/7119N182/_)
After test fitting everything, I cleaned up the table and ran a bead of silicone adhesive where the top mount would seat. Then I bolted everything together loosely, installed the wheelhead, made sure everything could free spin easily and tightened everything down. I remounted the pulley and belt, tightened everything and now the wheel works good as almost new.

I go both ways...books and videos. Since I got into ceramics a little more than 10 years ago, I've accumulated over 50 books on the various aspects of pottery, about a third on just glazes since that's what I think makes a pot. For me, it's part of the learning process. Videos have also played a large part in my learning and understanding of the field along with the 3 community college courses I've taken.  Like Tom says..." learning with/from others, there's nothing else like it; same for opportunity to help others learn - there's nothing else like it, and no matter how much one may try to fully appreciate the opportunity when it's happening"...I totally agree! Been there, done that and look forward to continuing in the future!

I go both ways...books and videos. Since I got into ceramics a little more than 10 years ago, I've accumulated over 50 books on the various aspects of pottery, about a third on just glazes since that's what I think makes a pot. For me, it's part of the learning process. Videos have also played a large part in my learning and understanding of the field along with the 3 community college courses I've taken.  Like Tom says..." learning with/from others, there's nothing else like it; same for opportunity to help others learn - there's nothing else like it, and no matter how much one may try to fully appreciate the opportunity when it's happening"...I totally agree! Been there, done that and look forward to continuing in the future!

I go both ways...books and videos. Since I got into ceramics a little more than 10 years ago, I've accumulated over 50 books on the various aspects of pottery, about a third on just glazes since that's what I think makes a pot. For me, it's part of the learning process. Videos have also played a large part in my learning and understanding of the field along with the 3 community college courses I've taken.  Like Tom says..." learning with/from others, there's nothing else like it; same for opportunity to help others learn - there's nothing else like it, and no matter how much one may try to fully appreciate the opportunity when it's happening"...I totally agree! Been there, done that and look forward to continuing in the future!

The summer means more time growing, tending, and selling vegetables and more time doing yardwork on my 3 acres...less time in the studio...

The summer means more time growing, tending, and selling vegetables and more time doing yardwork on my 3 acres...less time in the studio...

I'm not going to wedge.  Had carpel & bicubital tunnel surgery (from contracting) and after finishing my studio build I wouldn't dream of not getting a pugmill.  For the younger folks out there who plan on having a long career/hobby; any tool that can save your back/knees/wrists/elbows/lungs is paying you forward by extending your body's usable lifespan IMO.

I had 3 bones taken out of my wright wrist in 2012-I have not wedged  any clay from a bag  of new clay since then to speak of. I bought a peter pugger (used shortly after surgery) and do wedge that output either. I can wedge but choose to do so very rarely. I work with  high fire porcealin and have not seen any issues without wedging. 
At one time I weged the heck out of clay. These days  why bother the clay really does not need it out of the bag or pugger.
If the clay is homogenous and air free its ready to throw in my world.
I feel the montra of must wedge all clay is a false statement and should be questioned.
Modern clay is air free and homogenous these days ,at one time that was not the case
 Test the the limits and see if it matters you may find it does not.
My hands /wrists are much happier now-If I had it to do over I would have not wedged for the past 40+ years either 

One of the things I do when storing a bag of clay that has been opened with some of the clay removed is to put a wet piece of towel about the  size of a hand towel in the bag before closing it back up. That seems to keep the clay's moisture at an adequate level during storage...

Just last week I ran into my college ceramics professor at our local supplier's facility...almost didn't recognize her with the damn masks, but her fading fire engine red hair gave her away. Instead of teaching ceramics these days, she is teaching art classes online. She did tell me that she is deeply involved in bringing the NCECA to the Sacramento, CA area in 2022. I have kept her apprised of my progress since I took my last class (Raku) with her in '17. I find it somewhat amusing to think that, as a student in college, I was 20 years her senior...

Not sure what is the issue here but it is common to cut the shaft to size. Potentiometers with long shafts are often used  to accommodate varying backsets. 

I just checked the operating manual that I have and it is the same one @Bill Kielb notes in his response...go with that. I used those basic instructions with my B23H for a year with good outcomes for low fire work until I installed and Orton digital controller. I ultimately sold that kiln to someone who just wanted to do low-fire work and bought a used FX23 to do cone 6 work and just plugged the newer kiln into the Orton controller.

Open up the foot pedal again and send us a couple of pix of the guts...

No offense here, blackthorne...no apology needed or accepted. What was the source for the ones on your tiles? I like the presentation and could incorporate them on some of my vases...

They're still a myth to me

I just checked the operating manual that I have and it is the same one @Bill Kielb notes in his response...go with that. I used those basic instructions with my B23H for a year with good outcomes for low fire work until I installed and Orton digital controller. I ultimately sold that kiln to someone who just wanted to do low-fire work and bought a used FX23 to do cone 6 work and just plugged the newer kiln into the Orton controller.

10,000 Years of Pottery by Emmanuel Cooper that I got from a friend as a Christmas gift...just getting into it...