DMCosta Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Hi All, I'm considering purchasing a slab roller. I am eyeing the Shimpo mini slab tabletop roller. It makes 16x24 inch slabs. I have my own studio with a small kiln so I think that size will work. Anyone own this or have any slab roller recommendations? ~Dianna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 I cannot say enogh good things about a bailey roller -any size. I have seen a few northstars fail back when the gears were plastic. I think the shimpo would be better than a northstar but have zero simpo experience. Bailey made his name with slab rollers back in the day. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bciskepottery Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 I have the Northstar portable slab roller; works fine for me. Bought it about six years ago, no troubles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 one of each. the bailey is best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I've had a bailey for 15 years works like a new one still. I saved money by building the table, it came with the instructions on how to build it. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I think northstar redid the design and now uses metal gears? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bciskepottery Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I think northstar redid the design and now uses metal gears? Mark Yep. Steel gears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtRoads Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I have a 30 inch North Star on a North Star table and it has worked well. I use a board to set the height (those measuring devices don't yield a consistent height for the slabs but a board does). IF I were buying today I would get a Bailey. Just because I'm positive it's better just from reading recommendations from people like Mark C. and Old Lady and Denise. I noticed the plastic casing around the gear has cracked but no problems with the gears as of yet (yes they are metal now). But the machine works well and I roll out 25 lb clay slabs, just cutting the slab in 4 length wise pieces. Haven't seen an issue in 4 years of use. If I have another really profitable year I'll probably get a Bailey at year end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I love my 30"wide Bailey. It is now 12 years old. I had an early Bailey from the 80s. They are always working on improving designs.Then I needed a larger one. I prefer double rollers. I think they do a better job and less warping. I had a Northstar at the Univ. and a scouter student tried to roll out oil based clay and broke the plastic gear. Steel gears are better and hopefully. Northstar is a good company. Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I might add in that I was planning to a lot of slab work so I wanted a slab roller that was easy to use and durable. If your not planning on doing that much tile or slab work the smaller North Star might work for you. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 If you're looking to save space and money, You can buy the North Star roller assembly and attach it to your own table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay lover Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I bought the Slab Master, from Clay King, several years ago and it has worked hard for me. I saved much money and got a product that is easy and dependable to use. I has 30" double rollers and is adjustable with one wheel, a feature I especially like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I have the Bailey 30 inch power roller and long table. The table is used on glaze day for glaze work. I altered the machine so it now has a foot pedal on a cord for on off. This machine is a workhorse. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 my problem with the northstar is that it needs the clay that you feed it to be close to the thickness of the slab you want. i have been told this by so many people who have them that i believe it must be written in the instructions that come with it. mine was used so i did not have them. they also assume you want to use 2 pieces of canvas. what a pain when the bottom one gets stuck! whatever you get, get a long piece of canvas and fold it, leave the fold on the opposite side of the rollers. or get thick printers blankets. if i want a 1/4 inch slab. i use 2 of the large 5 gallon paint stirring sticks from home depot. after putting whatever canvas or whatever you use on the table under the rollers, put one stick at each side and tighten the screws down to allow them to just pass through. the silly measurements glued to each side are a joke. my bailey has been working for me since 1991 or so. i did wear out the first canvas. i have the driveboard one and use its tabletop all the time. i envy mark his motorized one. they make a tabletop version if that is what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtRoads Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I have the Bailey 30 inch power roller and long table. The table is used on glaze day for glaze work. I altered the machine so it now has a foot pedal on a cord for on off. This machine is a workhorse. Mark POWER !@#@!!@@# Had no idea a power one existed. I had checked suppliers in the past and never saw one. Googled a few times before I found it. Looks like you have to order it direct from Bailey. This is on my must have list now. I really like to keep this business on a pay as you go basis. However, I may have to make an exception and scratch around for an extra $3.5K and get one soon ... before year end. I would have allocated for one last year if I had known a power version existed ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta12 Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I bought a portable North star last year. I am limited on space and for what I do, it works great! I am going to try to find the printer blankets that Old Lady speaks of. I think I would like that better than the canvas. Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I ordered direct from Bailey-Pm me when you get close to purchasing as I made a few modifications from the stock model that really work well. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 As a hobby potter I can't justify spending much on equipment to use occasionally. But I feel if we had a roller at the centre I could get more people using clay rather than just underglazing/acrylicing slip-cast items. I've been looking at the Scarva mini roller http://www.scarva.com/en/Scarva-Mini-Slab-Roller/m-3783.aspx?gclid=CPi_yKfEncQCFTDHtAodvEAASw&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=UnitedKingdom, but even that is above our budget. I asked on several forums about low-cost rollers, and no-one said they owned one, so no idea how good they are. Other half is now in the process of making me a roller that I can keep at home, or take to the centre and bulk roll out slabs for the others to use. I got him to watch all the YouTube and CAD videos that I could find, and he's going to make his own version, incorporating the best bits of everything he's seen. I'll post pictures once he gets started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mug Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 What is the prefered way for the rollers to work? Looking at the tabletop Bailey the board moves back and forth. I imagine this moves at the same rate as the roller, but would the linear and the rotary motion be as good as the double roller? Would the double rollers be better? There seems to be more than one story about the clay distorting when its fired. If you could avoid flipping and compressing each side it would be a time saver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Here's a question, that just popped into my head, as studios, especially school studios, have to make do with less, and have some things be multi-purpose, could a small printing press work to roll slabs? My classroom has one, which we rarely use. I do lino-cuts all the time, but we just use barens to do the printing. Honestly, for my classes, I'm actually fine with using the slat and rolling pin method. If I were to spend big money on a piece of equipment, it would be for a wall mount extruder. I have two hand extruders, and they cause almost as many problems as they solve. Still, I was just wondering if anyone had tried to use a printing press for slabs, or if it would even be a good idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 What is the prefered way for the rollers to work? Looking at the tabletop Bailey the board moves back and forth. I imagine this moves at the same rate as the roller, but would the linear and the rotary motion be as good as the double roller? Would the double rollers be better? There seems to be more than one story about the clay distorting when its fired. If you could avoid flipping and compressing each side it would be a time saver. The top of the clay feeds at a different rate than the bottom of it ... At least on my 30" Bailey it does. But flipping it does not even it out unless you are decreasing the thickness at the same time. And yes, the clay memory of the experience of going through a slab roller is significant and has to be addressed. Basically you are telling the clay to lay flat and go this way ... The stay flat you can't change much but you can roll across it and change the direction of the particles somewhat. This is why it is hard to make your cylinders anything but straight up and down with a slab roller ... Even if you push out the sides to round it out they will tend to pull back in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 My power 30 inch does not use drive boards unless you want to. One canvas on bottom and for the top I use a piece of specialty cardboard like stuff called slab matt. You can find this in any ceramic magazine. The ad is for slab matt.I buy thier seconds directly from them.Usually a larger piece which I cut down for my needs. This leaves no texture on slab surface-dries fast and I have used them for years. The machine has a very acurate thickness gauge but will be affected by thicker materials run thru it as they take up space as well. For example if you dial up 1/4 inch and run thick canvas and and a slab matt you will have less than 1/4 inch as these materials also went thru as part of the 1/4 inch. After some use one gets used to the gauge. Back in the day this machine really did not cost that much as we use it every week. For a hobbist it makes no sense. I could also say that about a pug machine but folks buy those all the time. I will add that the long formica table is used almost daily as part of valuable horizontal shop surfaces. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMCosta Posted March 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Thank you all for the great insight! You've given me a lot to consider, and I'm SUPER excited to finally purchase a slab roller because a lot of my work is derived from slabs. I'll be in touch when I have it in my studio and working... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 if you have not yet bought the slab roller, you might want to see the ad for Bailey's tabletop one. it is on sale for $388. they have a special sale right now until sunday on Mayco glazes, too. i know nothing about it and do not get anything for recommending it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Looks like all Bailey slab rollers are on sale now. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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