Gritty wheel head

[kevinpleong]

I bought a brand new Shimpo Whisper VL in the middle of January. I have been using a bat system and have only really thrown porcelain on the wheel. I don’t clean the splash pan very often but I only use a bat when I throw. Yesterday while I was cleaning the wheel I noticed black stuff coming off the wheel and it feels abrasive. I don’t know what it is or how to get rid of it. I use porcelain so there is some vinegar in the throwing water but I didn’t think that would hurt anything and I usually have a bat on top so I don’t know why/what or how to get rid of it. 

 

Thanks

[neilestrick]

First, why vinegar in the throwing water?

Usually when we see black on the wheel head it is simply a tiny bit of the aluminum abrading from the clay. Could just be the abrasion of the bat against the wheel. Does wiping it down not remove it?

[kevinpleong]

1 hour ago, neilestrick said:

First, why vinegar in the throwing water?

Usually when we see black on the wheel head it is simply a tiny bit of the aluminum abrading from the clay. Could just be the abrasion of the bat against the wheel. Does wiping it down not remove it?

Wiping it down doesn’t seem to really help. 

 

I don’t think the vinegar is the problem. To answer your question though, I took an online workshop with Antoinette Badenhorst and she said that you should add a few tablespoons of vinegar to your throwing water if you are using porcelain because porcelain particles are very light and it will sink and separate. Using vinegar deflocculates the water and helps it stay in suspension. This is an excerpt from Ceramic Arts Network by Antoinette Badenhorst, “Adding a spoonful of vinegar in the throwing water gently deflocculates the clay.”