SHIMPO VL WHISPER

[Teala62]

Does anyone have experience with the Shimpo Whisper VL?  People say shimpo’s Have bad torque and slow down with even $10 pounds. In the class I am taking the teacher has us using & pounds to throw off the hump. I have been trying to find a used wheel unsuccessfully and am thinking that maybe I should just get what is available locally—which are the shimpos.

I have one man who has a skutt who said he would send pictures after he called me.     He asked me so send my email address so I did , but I have no video .  I think when I am not in there area they do not want to take a chance—not sure why—but I had seen an old shimpo  that the lady told me she would send the video the next day and she emailed me and said she sold it  before she could make a video on their phone.  So  I’m thinking of just buying what I can.  I just need people who actually use the shimpo VL whisper to tell me what they like and what they dislike.

[fergusonjeff]

I use a Whisper every day.  It has decent power for most throwing (everything from mugs to large platters).  It is possible to slow it down at times, but it is rarely a limitation.  The quietness is great and I really like the free-spinning wheel head when the pedal is up.  I have used it daily for 6 years now without the slightest problem. 

I recently decided I needed a second wheel and purchased a high-end Skutt (Thomas Stuart) wheel.  This certainly has more power but I can't say it has allowed me to do anything the Whisper did not.  The Skutt is really loud by comparison.  I thought I would really like the extra power, but I still use the Whisper for about 90% of my throwing. 

[Teala62]

I was looking at getting a used Thomas Stuart priemere, but the guy has not written back.  I did not need the 1hp motor, but I could get it and save money. I doubt anything will work out. I then decided to consider the shimpo because they are available here. I am still torn because the 1/3 hp TS has that nice big pan to keep your bucket in, but I was concerned about the noise and how I would move it by myself into my house.

[Stephen]

22 hours ago, Teala62 said:

Does anyone have experience with the Shimpo Whisper VL?  People say shimpo’s Have bad torque and slow down with even $10 pounds. In the class I am taking the teacher has us using & pounds to throw off the hump. I have been trying to find a used wheel unsuccessfully and am thinking that maybe I should just get what is available locally—which are the shimpos.

I have one man who has a skutt who said he would send pictures after he called me.     He asked me so send my email address so I did , but I have no video .  I think when I am not in there area they do not want to take a chance—not sure why—but I had seen an old shimpo  that the lady told me she would send the video the next day and she emailed me and said she sold it  before she could make a video on their phone.  So  I’m thinking of just buying what I can.  I just need people who actually use the shimpo VL whisper to tell me what they like and what they dislike.

Got two of them. One has been used for a dozen years and the other for eight. Also had Brent, which I sold. All were bought new and cost about the same and when it came to getting rid of one the Brent was picked. I don't think either of us even considered selling our Whispers.  

We don't make gigantic stuff or throw off the hump, but never noticed any power issues at all. I can definitely say, at least with ours, that that 10lbs mark is not true although I doubt either of us has thrown with anything over 20lbs more than once or twice but I'm not sure. I mostly throw large mugs and smaller things. My partner throws larger bowls and such as well as some pretty large platters occasionally. I'm not sure what she throws those from but they are pretty big. I'll ask later and update this. I bet it's around 10-12 lbs though, maybe less.

Here's a link to some clay weights for common items you will likely make if you are making functional pottery 

It is super quiet and the Brent and a Clay Boss we had around for a while seemed very loud in comparison although some potters say they love the sound of a loud pottery wheel so I guess its just preference.  

[Mark C.]

I have thrown on whispers mostly doing workshops elsewhere . They are super quiet and you should find they will do most everything you need.I liked them as I could talk over the lack of sound to a group of folks. The down side for me what the cheap plastic splash pans and the lack of power on larger items. These wheels have held up in a open studio environment in Hawaii for at least 7 years.I think the power thing is a bit overrated. You will just learn to work with them slowing down.

[Stephen]

hey Mark, curious why the splash pan matters? The newer one has a splash pan that clicks in place a little more snugly and might be a little heavier plastic so they must have had complaints about them slipping but neither of us seem care one way or the other. Now we don't throw very large so maybe it's we don't use for bracing when you do? I clean after every session (reducing garagio dust) so quick and easy to pop out and clean.

[Mark C.]

I just saw them while demonstrating a few times on them-the art center director told me they are flimsy and That was  as my experience as well with this splash pans.Since they are always cleaning them many times a day (art center vs private use) the flaws turn up faster.I thought the foot pedal cord was wimpy as well. I could slow the thing down by throwing dryer as well.

I think for hobby use or light use these wheels are just fine.Just not fine for me personally

As to leaning on the splash pan many folks starting out do that a lot so this may matter. I am not around beginners at all much other than a few workshops over the years.If you are going to make a splash pan make it heavy duty.I'm sure they had complaints . The best feature is they are quiet .

This is not a feature I care much about myself. I can talk fine overbuy rents and listen to tunes as well.

[Stephen]

thanks Mark, well we've both liked ours just fine. bit beyond hobby but much less than you for sure.

[docweathers]

I have a new whisper VL and love it. It's absolutely quiet and extremely responsive to speed changes, almost to a startling extent.  I've never had any problems slowing it down even with very large 20 pound plus lumps of clay.  However, I may not be stressing it as much because of the way that I throw dry with custom roller based tools. 

One of the reasons that I  bought it is that the  direct drive internal mechanics are a lot simpler than any other wheel. To me, that means less to break.