Talisman studio sieve $200 really?

[NoArtist]

My daughter just bought a screen for removing lumps from glazes. It is just a bowl with a screen on the bottom, and you need to brush or squeegee the glaze through. She mentioned that they make a better one with a crank that is like a sieve they sell for processing berries for jam, but they are fairly expensive. I decided to take a look online at the "better quality sieves, and got a bit of sticker shock. Are these things really $200?  Even replacement parts seem outrageous. Just one (out of three total) replacement brush is $8.00 and looks like a dollar store fingernail scrubber. Am I missing something? Is it just the limited production that makes them so expensive, or are there less expensive sources? Or perhaps potters are just more flush with cash than I expected.  

They look relatively easy to make, so I think I will give it a try.  I just found a nice stainless steel sieve at Goodwill for $3.99, and I can get enough 80 mesh stainless screen for making several replacement screens for about $11.  I just need to fabricate, or 3D print, the brush holder, and find the right brushes to use.  Has anyone converted a kitchen sieve for this purpose? Do you just use a manual sieve, pay the price, or make your own?  I am starting to think that potters need to be either relatively resourceful, or wildly successful, since buying everything you might need adds up so quickly.  I suppose you do not really need the hand crank version.  But I can see why starting at a community studio where she did not need to invest right away in all of these things make a lot of sense.  

[neilestrick]

@NoArtist There was a thread recently about the sieving,  HERE. Lots of options.

[dhPotter]

IMO the Talisman is for sieving LARGE amounts of glaze - like 5000 -10,000 grams of each glaze. I make 1500 gram batches of glaze and use the hand sieve, like your daughter bought, along with a small brush. I have a Talisman, bought when I was dipping glazes and making up LARGE quantities at a time.

[liambesaw]

Talisman test sieve is good for small batches, cheap too, but you can make it yourself even cheaper with PVC or abs fittings.

Talisman is nice if you have extra income and are mixing a lot of glazes frequently, I just use a drill brush and a cheap bucket sieve though.  I mix about 5 gallons a month.

[NoArtist]

Thanks. I probably should have done more searching first.  It seems that sieving is something that gets a lot of attention.

[Hulk]

Five bucket size 80 an' 100 mesh, inexpensive via Amaz*ing search - 'bout fifteen bucks

Four inch sieves - I spent ten bucks on some good screen, the plastic pipe and fitting is a few bucks, made four so far (one for me), enough screen left over to make several more.

[Mark C.]

Talisman are for large batches and professionals who make lots of glazes like me.

I own three of them at the moment(a few came with buying out other potters stuff)I use one for whites and one for iron based glazes -I have to much stuff

You need a 80 mesh for any glaze  you make so get a hobby size screen-should be under 20$ as you noted