Kalyssa Posted April 26 Report Share Posted April 26 Hi! I'm fairly new to pottery and I've been using the bat that came with my brent wheel. One side of the bat has an oblong hole. This seems to make the bat move a bit when I'm throwing. It seems that I can't center (even though I've centered fine in a previous pottery class). Also, when I'm centering, the wheel is almost making a knocking sound. Is the bat the problem? If so, how can I fix this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted April 26 Report Share Posted April 26 The knocking is likely from the bat slipping. The oblong hole is not ideal, but that's how Brent makes them. There are other bats on the market that do not have oblong holes, like Northstar, but another solution is a BatMate or Bat Gripper. There's a few on the market but I know Xiem and Bailey both have a version. It's a think piece that sits under the bat and gives it more grip. My students love them. Rae Reich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulk Posted April 26 Report Share Posted April 26 Hi Kalyssa, welcome to the Forum! A few of my bats clunk; the fit on the pins isn't tight. The clunking goes away once the clay is closer to being centered - that's been my experience; once the force on the clay is constant and even, the bats don't move. You might need a few more bats? Compare/contrast your problem bat against one that fits snugly to confirm? Rae Reich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted April 26 Report Share Posted April 26 Also make sure your bat pins are tight. Magnolia Mud Research and Rae Reich 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick White Posted April 26 Report Share Posted April 26 (edited) Often, that clicking sound indicates the bat is not securely fastened to the wheel head because the bat pins are not securely fastened, and both the pin and the bat are wobbling. I lot of potters I have observed believe it is sufficient to just stick a bat pin in the hole and it will solidly stay there. Until it begins to wobble in the hole with the varying pressure on it while centering. Others know that the pin will be loose in the hole and try to accommodate that by wrapping a bit of paper around the pin before shoving it into the hole. Until the paper gets wet and the pin begins to wobble in the hole. The solution is wing nuts to tighten the bat pin to the wheel head from underneath. Wing nuts take some facile finger work to get them started on the pin, and more finger/thumb strength to twist them tight. Sometimes they will work themselves loose and the clicking is the signal to stop and tighten them again. As for the one oblong hole on the bottom of the bat, note that the oblong dimension is aligned with the radius (diameter) of the bat. That allows one to get the first pin set and still be able to move the bat crosswise to set the other pin. The movement is restricted to across the diameter of the bat, not tangentially around the circumference of the bat. Once set the bat should not move either crosswise (because the hole for the other pin exactly fits) or around the wheel (because the oval hole does not have any tolerance in that direction). Thus, the only possible movement is a loose pin not firmly tightened against the wheel head. Edited April 26 by Dick White Added a bit about the oblong hole Rae Reich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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