[Anyone Have A Really Old Creative Industries Model Mp Wheel?]

9 hours ago, Pres said:

I ordered two CI wheels a few years after they came out. Price was good and we purchased the HP and the MP. I never got into the MP so much, but it was a good wheel for the students or for folks working on smaller pieces. The HP at the time was a beast to me, handling anything that I threw at it. I could never torque stop it, unlike the MP. It was always my go to wheel when demonstrating. Both of the wheels are still running today, and I still like working on the HP as compared to the great Bailey wheels in the room. I would believe that the belts may be replacing, and that some lubrication will be needed also, but that you should get many years out of the wheel.

 

best,

Pres

This is really wonderful to read! I think the MP should do ok for me as I don’t throw really large pieces. Maybe 2-3 kg of clay would be the VERY max I’d ever use. I cannot stop the wheel with my own hands when it’s running slow, so I think the power should be good for me and my throwing style. We’re going to open up the undercarriage today and take a look inside. I’ll pay special attention to the belt and lubrication of various areas. There is a grinding sound when I turn the wheel head with my hands (motor turned off) so I suspect the bearings are shot, too. Easy enough to replace here in Taiwan, given the large number of mom and pop machinery fixer-upper stores and specialized hardware stores. (There are even entire stores completely dedicated to just own part, say different kinds of nuts and bolts, in almost every neighborhood, haha!)

[Anyone Have A Really Old Creative Industries Model Mp Wheel?]

30 minutes ago, JohnnyK said:

Hi Kate...Welcome to the forum. Noisy is a relative term. Noisy with relation to what? Is it a noticeable whirring noise or does it howl like a loose fan belt on a car...or somewhere in between? There's a good possibility that it could be a loose fan belt in which case you can tighten it by moving the motor away from the centerline of the unit. If it's more of a grinding type noise, then it could be a bearing. It's been a while since I've had the undercarriage housing off and I don't remember the configuration, so I can't say how hard or easy bearing replacement would be. IMO anything that runs with a belt is going to generate a certain amount of noise...it's just a matter of what you consider noisy and whether or not you can live with it...BTW, Kate, did the wheel come with any kind of splash pan? If not, I can give you an idea of how I made mine. Just look earlier in this thread to get an idea of what I've done.

Thanks so much for the kind welcome, Johnny! I’m happy to be here and find some info on my new old wheel. It actually comes with the original splash pan, which seems to be quite rare? I think I got lucky with that. Other parts also seem to be original and in good condition. I just picked the wheel up today and I’ve yet to take everything apart. The sound is more like a grinding so I think it could be the bearings, though the wheel head is very solid and doesn’t wobble at all,  so... Hopefully when I take it apart tomorrow I can share more details about what might be wrong. I’ll be sure to keep you all updated on this thread. Expect (probably lots) more questions from this newbie restorer!

[Anyone Have A Really Old Creative Industries Model Mp Wheel?]

Hello! I just purchased (for a very cheap price) a second hand CI Model MP that had somehow made it all the way over here to Taiwan. I think it hasn’t been used in a very long time but it still runs well, with a sturdy wheelhead (no wobbles at all) and smooth speed change using the foot pedal. However, it’s quite noisy. Is that typical? I think it needs a bearing and/or belt change, but wondering if these wheels are typically noisy outside of that.