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Hi there lovely potters I am based in Auckland, New Zealand. I am in need of some HELP in getting my pottery wheel to work which I bought second hand from ebay. But before buying I didn't check that it is made for US electric requirement of 115v Excitingly I opened up the box and plugged in the wheel, and that's when I realised that it wrong voltage for NZ! I bought the step down transformer from 230 to 115v 500W and hooked up the wheel again, this time the green light on the side of the wheel was lit, but still the wheel was not going. I checked the troubleshooting manual on Shimpo website, it said that if the two LED lights on the circuit board are not lit then the board is faulty. I followed the steps and the LED lights were not lit. But I am still in doubt that if it's a faulty/damaged board or it's something to do with wrong voltage. the seller is absolutely sure that the wheel was perfectly fine when he shipped it. I should also mention that when I first plugged in the wheel without the transformer, there was a small spark on the power socket, But I guess that it may have been the loose adaptor and I hope that I haven't blown off the motor!! Are there any folks out there who have experienced similar situation or have better knowledge of these things? Much appreciate your time. cheers, Hitesh

Tell me about menders (amaco, marx, spectrum, archie bray). Do they work? Is it worth trying for the repair of small cracks in thrown pieces or hand built such as where attachments are made? Which brand have you found to work the best? Thank you. Christina

Hi folks, once again no questions in the QotW question pool, but I will attempt to raise another once again. I was making a list of parts I needed to repair my kiln the other day, and had taken off the switch panel of the L& L and taking a few pictures made determinations on the web site using the serial # of the kiln to choose replacement parts. I also had checked into areas of if this burns out, replace it, but also replace x, y. or z. This got me to thinking about the types of things that have made me grow experience wise in the HS studio, and in the shop at home. . . making repairs! I know that many out there have a handy better half that do repairs, others have friends or other potters nearby always handy to fix something or at least lead the way. Still others out there will call in a specialist to repair the kiln, fix the wheel or such. Over the years I have found that my understanding of the equipment is often better than some of the so called specialists that I have had looking at things. Not going further. . . QotW: When something breaks down, how do you deal with it? best, Pres