Pres

I have a small fan in front of my heating/air conditioning vents,  they  tucked beneath a countertop and need some help .   I put a fan in the kiln room window to exhaust some of the heat out side when I fire .   I don't even open the windows in the summer,  I live in Kansas more dust  outside than inside my studio.  I clean the area I am working in but I don't tackle every area of the studio.    Denice

No fans.  I bought a eheat Envi wall heater for my space last year.  I have been so happy with it.  Puts out a nice even heat with no fans.  Our winter has been pretty cold this year.  Glad to have the heater.    Since my work space is in the basement, even with 100 degree plus weather, it stays relatively cool. So I don't need a fan in the summer.  I do have a pet spot cleaner that I use for windowsills and corners and places I cannot easily mop.  It sucks up the dust nicely. 

i keep my studios pretty clean and i love fresh air.  windows are usually open if the temp is warm enough.  ac is on in the hot summer if i am working.  yes, i use fans, one in the window in the door in florida blows past me and since the space is not large and it is only a 10 inch fan, the air movement is gentle.  i avoid making dust and move anything that produces much of it outside where i work away from any openings into the studios.
i figure it takes 30 years to get sick from silicosis and at 81, i do not care if i get it at age 111.

I bought a used Brent off of E Bay  four or five years ago.   The previous owner had replaced the motor but still couldn't throw very well on it,  he was a newbie.  When I got it home I noticed the foot pedal was out of adjustment.   It was so bad I thought I would have to buy another,  while researching on the internet I found easy directions to repair it.  It only took a few minutes,  I wonder if  he really needed that new motor he spent $400 on.     Denice

Still feeling lucky to have found a deal on a used wheel (pre-owned, it hadn't been used), several years remaining on original warrantee.
It needed a bat pin upgrade and a bit of commutator polishing, that was right after getting it home.
I went with stainless socket cap heads, washer, lock washer and wing nuts on t'other side, threads prepped with Permatex Never Sieze.
I didn't invest in a special tool for polishing; instead, a soft wooden stick with a piece of 600 grit sandpaper taped on there - there weren't any flat spots, ridges or grooves to clean up.
After working with it for a few years, I twiddled the controller adjustments a bit, wanting a smidge higher rpm at full gas, and a bit less of speed holding.

Pres pull the bottom plate off that foot pedal and use a hair dryer on low on the potentiometer then let it sit 
I have 5-6 Brent wheels and one from the 70s needed a new curcuit board last year and a new power switch this year-that wheel is a model C and has run the longest here.

Heading to London this Spring, thought to go to Stoke-on-Trent til I saw the map. . . . little far!
 
best,
Pres

Pres in the long run its just a short trip really-You got to go-take a bus or train or maybe a plane but its the heart of Ceramics on that Island.

Last Summer, I took a trip to Pittsburgh to buy some materials that I hadn't purchased in a long time. I happened to pull out the receipt today when working on taxes. Added up the mileage, and the lunch for my wife and myself. .  got me thinking. How far do some folks have to drive to get to a ceramics supply store. I sometimes think I am lucky to have Standard Ceramics at least 2 hrs away from me, otherwise I would be looking in there at least once a month.
QotW: How far do you have to drive to get to a ceramics supply store?
 
best,
Pres 

About an hour drive to nearest, or 5 hours to Stoke-on-Trent (aka "The Potteries") with a number of suppliers. 
Pottery association has cheaper clay, but is about 75 minutes drive, or I wait until Summer Potter's Camp and collect it there.

Used to use the old Walker in the same manner, reverse switch worked fine for hold mixing, but I hardly ever did that much. It was very handy when the clay had to have a little more chopping up before pushing it out the other end. Removing the cover over the long auger was a bit of a chore, but luckily I didn't have to do much cleaning out as I limited the clays in the classroom. It was also easy to keep damp in the Summer months when school was out. Wet towels in the hopper, sealed up the output end with the end cap and a damp wash cloth. First run of Fall was dry, but did not over work the machine. It is still running today! What a beast though.
 
best,
Pres

I have to drive to Maine or Massachusetts (I'm in New Hampshire), so I mostly don't. I usually use Sheffield or other inline sources.  

200 miles, 4 hours one way to Denver.  A couple of mountain passes, but we have friends and family in Denver so it's always fun to make a trip out of it.  Restaurants, museums, shows.  You make it count.  And all my friends and family know where the clay shop is, so I can pay for it over the phone and they will stop to pick things up for me.  It works.
 

right now, mapquest says i can get to highwater in clearwater, fl in 14 minutes and it's recommended route is 5.2 miles.  maps do not show that most of that is through heavy garbage truck  traffic to the landfill and all the many trucks servicing the  industrial areas.   i choose to drive 5.3 miles on normal highways.
at home in wv, it is about 65 miles to baltimore or 65 miles to alexandria va.   i love going to baltimore and visit lots of places while i am there.

I am lucky,  I  have a supplier that is about a 20 minute drive.  The next closest supplier is in Kansas City which 175 miles from my house.   I needed a bag of Flinthill Clay to complete a project, my supplier didn't carry it anymore  so I had to order it from Kansas City.   They had bought the  Flinthill Clay Co.,  I paid 25$ for one 25lb bag of clay and 25$ freight on it.   My local ceramic shop doesn't have much clay in stock right now.   I hope what I have in my shop will last me until they get more clay in.    Denice

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...

@Callie Beller DieselSounds like a trip to the supplier is time for all sorts of get togethers. Hope you have time to get to the pot shop!!!
 
best,
Pres

Last Summer, I took a trip to Pittsburgh to buy some materials that I hadn't purchased in a long time. I happened to pull out the receipt today when working on taxes. Added up the mileage, and the lunch for my wife and myself. .  got me thinking. How far do some folks have to drive to get to a ceramics supply store. I sometimes think I am lucky to have Standard Ceramics at least 2 hrs away from me, otherwise I would be looking in there at least once a month.
QotW: How far do you have to drive to get to a ceramics supply store?
 
best,
Pres 

About 40 minutes. It's an easy drive, never any bad traffic since it's all interstate highways in the 'burbs. I don't mind going there because near it is a Japanese market that has really good carry-out sushi. I always time my trip so I can get lunch there.

It's a rather long run to Los Angeles basin, Bay Area, or Sacramento - allow four or more hours one way.
So far, have stopped in whilst on the way to somewhere else, or on the way home from somewhere else...

I have a supplier about 10 minutes away. that said there was no supplier within a 8 hour drive most of my 50 year career . So I had to be my own supplier and thats almost still true today. I do buy a few items locally when I'm in need between my usual truck orders.Its a small shop with no equipment for sale usually

Seventy five miles is the closest, in Seattle, but requires taking a ferry so it's about 2.5 hrs travel one way. The second closest shop is in Tacoma, one hundred miles away, but just under two hours drive, so that's where we shop. I coordinate with a potter neighbor to make supply runs.

Last Summer, I took a trip to Pittsburgh to buy some materials that I hadn't purchased in a long time. I happened to pull out the receipt today when working on taxes. Added up the mileage, and the lunch for my wife and myself. .  got me thinking. How far do some folks have to drive to get to a ceramics supply store. I sometimes think I am lucky to have Standard Ceramics at least 2 hrs away from me, otherwise I would be looking in there at least once a month.
QotW: How far do you have to drive to get to a ceramics supply store?
 
best,
Pres 

Nearest one to me is about 20 minutes, but that assumes you aren’t going through the industrial area when they’re backing and loading cars in the train yard. This causes many a long traffic line because of the one lousy intersection.
But if I go to the supplier, it’s usually a good 4 hour errand, because the place I get shipping supplies and the place I get my bags and tissue are also on the way. Plus you have to allow for the gossip time while you’re there, the Tim Horton’s run, etc etc. 

Last Summer, I took a trip to Pittsburgh to buy some materials that I hadn't purchased in a long time. I happened to pull out the receipt today when working on taxes. Added up the mileage, and the lunch for my wife and myself. .  got me thinking. How far do some folks have to drive to get to a ceramics supply store. I sometimes think I am lucky to have Standard Ceramics at least 2 hrs away from me, otherwise I would be looking in there at least once a month.
QotW: How far do you have to drive to get to a ceramics supply store?
 
best,
Pres