QotW: Do brand names matter to you when buying pottery equipment?

[Pres]

Hi folks, little late here, but then again no new questions in the QotW pool. 

I am getting a little older in the years, but still in pretty good shape for any age. However, I have a sister in law that has been looking for a better solution than a shovel for snow work. She would be too intimidated by a big snow blower, and over the years I have seen little use for that much here in central PA. We have been looking at powered snow shovels that use a battery set up for power. It looks a bit like a snow blower on a stick! I purchased one on line, had the best rating, and as the concept is new of the last few years, thought I would try one for her. It works well for light 3-6" of snow. push it along and direct the snow everywhere. However, as it is a new company, new machine it really doesn't have a brand name reputation, other than the ratings on line.

This got me to thinking about whether brand name matters in pottery. Years ago, probably in the 80's I bought two belt driven wheels from a company that was brand new. Saw the wheel ad in CM magazine. I tried to find out as much as I could about them, but this was before internet. I needed wheels, but had a very small budget. Purchased one with a full horse, and one with a 1/2 horse. They are still running today in the HS studio. These wheels really were of great value for the price as they allowed me to get 2 for the price of one full horse Brent. They were Creative Industries HP and MP. Later on, I purchased a Brent CXC for my self, as I had always liked Brents, and they were proven work horses. I later bought a Bailey extruder for the school as it had a great reputation for well built large barrel extruders. That quality led me to take a chance on their new wheels, and I ended up with 4 of the various Bailey wheels in the studio. 

The point here is

QotW: Do brand names matter to you when buying pottery equipment?

 

best,

Pres

[Mark C.]

Yes especially if they have a reputation behind them and thats over the decades

Not all companies make all things best

For example Brent makes great wheels that last a long time(they started with wheels only and where one of the 1st to make quaility wheels with all speeds) -they are not alone as there are others now doing the same now making great wheels

Brent slab rollers work but the cable system and boards for thickness are not as easy to use and require adusting alot compared to say a Bailey slab roller

Bailey makes great long lasting slab rollers that are easy to make any slab thickness (If I recall slab rollers where one of his 1st items)

Take North Star for example they knocked off many products and made slab rollers with plastic gears in the start which failed, now they are using metal gears-this example is a company changing for the better over time-if you had an early model you suffered

Soldner made great foot pedals and  pretty good wheels and was one of the 1st in with a clay mixer that worked ok  (back then schools used dough mixers)

Walker mixers came on the scene at around the same time. Soldners mixers worked great but are brutal on you body as you have to bend over to load it and scrape it out.

I have run a few tons thru one back in my prime and it killed me then

Peter Pugger was the 1st all around mixer and pug machine all in one (they where the 1st)  and makes a Soldner mixer look  like a stone Age tool

Petter Puggers added vacuums to the machines and they are a dream to use now 

So yes Brands make a differeance but no one brand does it all the best

So you want to spend $200 on a wheel and those toy ones on Amazon from China look good  and they are cheap ,well you will find out the hard way that Brand names make a difference 

 

[LeeU]

I think as a generality brand names do matter. As the info in Mark's post indicate, the devil is in the details (ex. Peter Pugger vs Soldner mixer--good to know!) so the quality and features must be differentiated among the brands that are making the same equipment/tools.  It's not too hard to get details, feedback, and tips from ceramics groups, but I've found some have very few active members with real expertise vs. a lot of members who do not know what they are talking about (and don't own that!).  This group is a most reliable source of  good data, and the "resident experts" are so generous with sharing their experience and knowledge.  Brand info may also be garnered from local  potters guilds,  from supplier web sites, info straight from the manufacturer, print/Internet materials etc.. As long as I do my homework, I can usually get a good idea of what rises to the top for quality, performance, customer service and so on, and then I check it out further. I always confirm ease of contact, all policies, returns, tech support, and reputation over time. 

[Pres]

@Mark C., I know what you mean when you talk about the Brent cable system. First slab roller I bought for the school was a 14. It would roll out slabs well, but the maintenance and the whacky cable system to have to replace when cables shredded was a beast. I really hated the spray grease bit, but eventually came up with butcher paper system to keep that to a minimum.  The Walker was also a beast, but didn't take a lot of maintenance, and would run forever. The HS is still using the one I bought many years ago after the district bought an old Amaco extruder. Bet not many out there have had one, and it is best left aside.

Good run down on the equipment from a pro's standpoint!

 

best,

Pres

[Callie Beller Diesel]

Most of the brands we’re familiar with have pretty solid reputations, and I think certainly in North America we’re blessed with a number of good choices. I bought my Brent C almost 20 years ago, and I’ve never had so much as a hiccup out of it. 

That said, it was also a pretty guilt laden purchase at the time, because of our financial situation. It was justifiable in my case because it was always my intention to work as a professional potter, but the $1700 was 2 months take home pay at the wage I was getting at the time, and it took some doing. 

There’s some real and valid concerns about accessibility when it comes to learning to throw. I completely understand why there’s a sudden prevalence of those small, cheap wheels on the ‘Zon. For the price of an intro course, you can work in your own space and not be limited by time or access to equipment. I can’t help but think that if someone were to make a version like that, but that didn’t give up with a sad puff of smoke  if you looked at them sideways, it would allow a lot more people to enjoy the craft more easily, or to build a business initially.