Viking Potter 51 Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 As a newbie I didn't know the first thing about equipment so when a friend gave me an old Model 402 Amaco potters wheel that had been converted to motor drive, I didn't know that it was considered to be a relic. It has been cut down so you can sit at the wheel and an angle drive was added so the motor is horizontal. initially it had a single speed AC motor hooked up and that spun the head clockwise at a pretty quick pace. Not knowing any better, I started making stuff but admitt that it got to be a challange cause wide thin things tended to spin out of shape very easily. And right now $400 is just not in the budget for a decent wheel. On the internet there are tons of examples of building your own wheel. I am handy enough, but I didn't need a home built wheel, I need the one I have to work better. I will add that I am very content with the wheel's heavy frame, metal splash/drip tray and general layout. The solution was to use part of the "build your own" formula and fit a variable speed 1.5 hp electric motor to my old wheel. I already had the dead treadmill, I just needed the electronics from E-bay. $50 and I have a varialbe speed setup that now turns counterclockwise. Seems like a lot of these older wheels could serve very well with a motor/controller upgrade. Link to post Share on other sites
DBPottery 7 Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Nice work! I wish I could have even found a used potters wheel when I first started. I gave in and just spent what I had to. I wouldn't have cared if I had to put a little work into it to get it working if I did find one used. Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Coyle 116 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 with a 1.5 hp variable speed you should have no trouble. You came to the right place if you help on ceramics. Post a picture or two of your setup when you get done. Link to post Share on other sites
Pres 2,395 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 That particular model has a pretty small foot print as compared to one that I had in my classroom and have at home in the basement. This was a very durable wheel, but as you can see from the size of the flywheel it is pretty big on the floor. http://www.google.com/imgres?start=166&client=firefox-a&hs=NHs&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=sb&biw=1536&bih=735&tbm=isch&tbnid=HV656TgHnpYDJM% Link to post Share on other sites
Viking Potter 51 Posted March 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 If this works, here are pictures of the wheel and the motor mounted. I am using a piece of plastic tube as a coupler hoping that if something bad happens it will slip before someone gets an arm torn off. Link to post Share on other sites
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