Welcome to Outpost Pottery, I'm MJ Perry. If you're looking to get started throwing or looking for your first Beginner's Potter's wheel, you're in the right place.
I do reviews on Potter's wheels. I've purchased 5, 6, 7 Potter's wheels in the past three years.
So I like to throw, and I like to teach people to throw, and these are some of the best.
Now this is a Potter's wheel I bought about one year ago and I used it to teach on a lot.
This, although from a different brand is an upgraded version of this wheel. Let me tell you a few of the new features that I see in this one. First, my favorite is that this comes off, the splash paint comes off. It's got these nifty compartments on there, where you can put your sponges, your clay trimmings your other tools and, and it comes off, which makes it easy to clean too.
But the reason I like it is not because it's easy to clean, but because I can put on my wheel Head here a Giffen grip. This was one of the main drawbacks of this previous version because the splash pan didn't come off. It's fixed. I don't know if you can see the bolts down there, it's fixed on there, which it wasn't a big deal to clean, but you couldn't put the gift and grip on there.
This is what, in my experience, that production potters that are putting out 500 pieces a day that have a lot of potters there with them in their studio. Jonathan Martin, friend of mine here in town who supplies, Magnolia - Chip and Joanna, here in town with a lot of their mugs. This is where I learned about the giffen grip from him. So this makes trimming pots super fast and super easy. I know there's a lot of ways to trim and I'm not ragging on any of them, but if you want speed And to get her done, I like the Giffen grip.
So honestly that was worth it for me right there. Just to have the, the splash pan come up. Another thing I like is that the cord comes off. This is like, you'd have in like a rice cooker, like on a computer. And that might seem like a small thing. Cause every power cord in every Pottery wheel I've ever had is attached. But when you're holding these things and carrying them around, they're kind of clunky and big and a little bit heavy And you can trip and I've tripped several times.
So I liked the power cord comes off. This one feels more stable. The wheels feel stable. The body feels stable. Once you guys take it, we'll look underneath the two of these here. They're virtually identical underneath here. All the guts are the same. I don't see much if any improvements on that, just a little cleaner underneath the new one.
Now one of the downsides On this newer one, in my opinion, is this crank shaft, the hand crank with foot pedal. I don't feel like this one is as Tight and snug as the previous iteration. This version it's tight. It's snug. I've let this loose with kids, a ton of kids and it's still working great. This one just doesn't feel as tight. I don't think that's going to be an issue. It certainly Wasn't just now. And I actually really liked how easy it was to change speeds. This is pretty, I don't know if responsive is the right word, but you push a little, it goes a lot faster On this. We on this throttle here, the hand crank. Now They seem to be about the same Level of power. You're not going to send her probably more than 10, 15, maybe 20 pounds of clay on these, but you don't need to send her that much when you're getting started. Honestly, you're not going to throw anything in this 10 pounds for at least a year, in my opinion.
And the last thing you need to know, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a mistake is forward. Usually in the pottery world means It's going counter-clockwise. But in this one forward means just go in clockwise and reverse is counter-clockwise. So a lot of left-handed people will throw with that. Counter-clockwise sorry, with a clockwise rotation and on this one that is forward, but usually in the pottery world, that's backwards. Just so you know, if you're the 95% of people that are going to be throwing in the counter-clockwise direction, that direction is reverse on this one.
Now one more small advantage is this One is about a pound lighter than this one. Not a big deal. I would say both of these are in the portable category, not quite as portable as a Shenpo Aspire, but very portable. And you could haul it around wherever you needed to go to do a demo, to do a workshop, to sell it a fair, whatever it is.
Now, one more thing you need to know is that the, there is no Bat pins. And if you can see no bat pins in this wheel had, this is a nine and three quarters inch wheel head, which is the same, which is like a little shorter 25 centimeters. Usually potters wheels have a bat pins, 10 inches apart. And there's a standard bat that just fits right on top of that. Sometimes they're eight inches apart. These do not have that, but that's not a big deal. That means you're going to be thrown on the wheel head or using alternative methods of bats.
Now, if you're asking, what does he mean alternative ways to do bats? Check out my video on bats (found here: https://youtu.be/ok8YX-ALKiY ). I have several ways to do it there. And I think you'll find one that, that you like. I actually never used bat pans for my bat.
Okay guys, that's my review of the vivo home, 25 cm three 50 watt pottery wheel.
I'm including affiliate links below in the description below, not just to this wheel, but to similar wheels that I think either came from the same factory or we're using the same plans.
Also, if you'd like to download my free PDF comparison chart, where I go through the wheels that I own and the 14 criteria that I'm using to evaluate them, you can check that out in the description below.
And lastly, if you're getting started in pottery and you're trying to set up a home studio, check out my studio essentials course, it's also in the links below. Thanks for watching, keep learning and I'll see you next time.
►LEARN MORE
My Studio Essentials course: https://www.outpostpottery.com/studioessentials
https://www.outpostpottery.com/potterywheelsforbeginners
👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼 Download my free, 14-point pottery wheel review of this budget pottery wheel I bought from Amazon recently 👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼 See how it stacks up against the 4 other beginner's pottery wheels I have in the studio.
►TOOLS
Interested in this wheel? Here are several versions (some may have a different color, but it's still the same thing):
Need a Giffin Grip (they're AWESOME!): https://amzn.to/3l0Px54
Pottery Wheels and Other Studio Equipment: https://kit.co/OutpostPottery
**Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something we'll receive a small commission at no charge to you.
In the U.K I think these two wheels are sold as a BriSunshine wheel and a Freetec wheel. The first one is usually sold for just under £240, the second is usually £140 so a full £100 cheaper. Are these two wheels pretty much the same? Is the Freetec ( cheaper ) wheel actually better because its mains plug and connection wire can be disconnected from the machine?
They both have splashpans that are removable.
I’m trying to work out what would be a good first wheel to buy as I am a beginner with a limited budget.
I ordered this unit from amazon, and it arrived the next day. I was excited to try it. However, when I plugged it in and turned it on, the GFI circuit protector tripped immediately. I got it to stay on for about 10s just once, but I couldn't get it to work after that. 😣
I'm curious if it's loud? Also 25cm seems a too small for a wheel - have you tried one of the larger ones?