nbpottery

Thanks, Neil. I am glad to hear that the wobble looks normal to you. I have a feeling that the belt sound won't resolve itself, though I will hold out hope. We have been running it for hours with no change. I suppose I should contact Shimpo and ask what they think. I would normally open things up and take a look, but I don't want to do that with a brand new $500 item that is under warranty.

Hi all, I just purchased a Shimpo Aspire for my wife. Now that we are settled down, we are slowly building a pottery workshop. We are very excited. The wheel arrived this morning, and we started testing it out. Upon starting up the wheel, I immediately noticed some things that didn't seem right. The wheel clunked unlike any wheel I have ever used. I figured this couldn't be normal. I noticed a slight but significant wobble in the wheel. The wobble can be seen from across the room. I did not notice this degree of wobbling on any of the wheels I have used before. I am not sure if this is simply a design feature, but the hand lever does not engage the wheel until it is about halfway turned. This seems odd to me, but it is conceivable that this is some sort of safety feature. I contacted Clay-King, and the rep told me that the clunking was not abnormal and should resolve within a few hours of use. I guess the wheels sit for a long time and the belt needs to be "broken in." I am not sure if the wobbling would also resolve. We have been running it for about three hours on full speed—no changes observed. I was hoping to hear perspectives from some more experienced artists. Any ideas are appreciated. Also, see attached for a video documenting these issues (forgive my calling the bats pans, the brain does crazy things). Thanks in advance.