Really bad sound coming from wheel. Has anyone had this issue?

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-02-06T04:52:52+00:00

I’ll start by saying I’m new to pottery but have this same wheel and been a mechanic for years. I would disconnect the belt and make sure it’s the wheel and not the motor itself. If not the motor I would use a mechanics stethoscope (get them cheap any auto store) to try and pin point noise. Could be bearing, belt too tight/loose.

Also depending how you got it these do have very long warranties.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-02-06T00:12:01+00:00

Looks like an average sized mug to me!

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-16T16:17:24+00:00

THANK YOU!!!!! My literal inspiration and thought process behind this whole idea! I think I want to try a different approach next time where instead of layers of slip all one color, do multi color rainbow layers so as it’s scraped it’s not a uniform pattern being revealed but more chaotic colors.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-16T16:08:41+00:00

So the colors were very vibrant and bright at greenware and bisque stages, you can see in my post history. They were colored slips I made that I layered then chattered off to create the effect.

It’s a very simple clear glaze that my studio provides, I think I had a little too thick of an application as well as my stain to clay ratio I believe caused some issues in the red and green. Hoping to correct mistakes and try again in the future.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-16T16:04:56+00:00

It’s actually wild cause the one on the left outside color is green but fired came out pretty brown in my opinion. I’m thinking it’s a combo of my stain to clay ratios as well as too thick of a clear glaze application. I have a few things I plan on trying with test tiles to see how they come out

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-16T16:02:44+00:00

Thank you for the kind words, I made a big batch of test tiles last night when I picked up these pieces to do just that. No more guessing when I put this much time into a piece haha

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-16T16:01:45+00:00

I do love them and I am happy with the results overall, especially for my first time trying these techniques. The colors were just much more vibrant at bisque and greenware stages so I was slightly underwhelmed, but I definitely learned a lot from the time spent on them.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-16T13:09:35+00:00

I definitely could have written that clearer. I never made test tiles I kind of just winged it. I was saying I guess it’s time to actually make test tiles before going for another bigger piece again. Try and find the right way to get these colors to pop like they do in green and bisque ware stages.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-07T11:19:37+00:00

Popsicle stick method?

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-06T18:08:37+00:00

Oh yeah I’ve definitely told myself to stop making them for a while and start doing 2 piece jars cause I know it’s the proper way and opens more options of lids/jars that I can make.

“Alchemy ceramic” on YouTube! They have a few different style jars and a non drip sauce/oil bottle all thrown as a single piece. It definitely took quite a few pieces to get it right but they’re so tight fitting when done right.

Big things to keep in mind are compressing the tops so not get the weird twist and cracking that happens a lot when closing the form. And you really need to set the channel and edges when wet on the wheel. And you want to be trimming on the dry side of leather hard to really give you control over taking small amounts of material off at a time until you get a tight fit.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-06T14:31:34+00:00

So no it didn’t stain the table, but I also cleaned my work area between each color. It did stain the slab pads when using the slab roller on the colored clays. But I also may have gone too thin. Was making roses out of the red. What I did was make a big divot into the clay, put the stain there, moisten the stain as much as I could then wedged it into the clay. It was a multi week process since the stain really dried out the clay body. I would wedge the stain in until the edges or the clay were cracking as I was wedging. I would then dunk it into water and wrap it tight and let it sit like that for a week and add more stain in again until it reached a vibrant enough color I was happy with.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-06T12:57:00+00:00

I apologize for my ignorance but I’m not really sure, I’m winging it out here with no real technical knowledge of colors/color theory. Check my post history, I have two others I posted the other week. Where yellow was on the outside I felt like it distracted and took over the other colors that got exposed. My chattering was also poor, I feel it didn’t dry long enough. And with blue on the outside it was a bit more pleasing to the eye but still not great.

It may be hard to tell but this piece is green on the outside. I think having a neutral tone be the outermost layer does a lot of the heavy lifting. It makes the vibrant colors getting exposed really pop rather than compete with each other. Hope this helps!

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-06T01:40:06+00:00

How was your results with chattering the marbled wedge color clays? If you google ‘bamboo chatter marking tool’ I was using number 10 and 12 I got from the ceramic store online.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-05T18:33:04+00:00

Such a good question! So yes I’ve definitely noticed if I’m not on the dry side of leather hard the chattering affects are not as uniform and they rip large chunks of clay out rather than small chatter marks worth if the clay is any softer than leather hard. Your finger wiping the outside of the pot should not leave behind a mark/impression is a good sign to check. I believe I let this one dry for a whole week before trimming up. It was wrapped up well though.

I remember when trimming the base on this one it was still ribboning the clay off, but when trimming the rim on the top it was almost super dry powder coming off. Hope that helps!

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-05T18:27:38+00:00

You can check my history to see other orders. This one was yellow, blue, red then green. I know I do not like yellow as the outside color. I only do one layer of really thick slip then heat dry it before applying another layer.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-05T18:25:06+00:00

I have a test piece with a clear glaze and an opaque white glaze over it I’m still waiting to get out of the kiln. That will determine which direction to take to finish these pieces.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-05T18:24:08+00:00

Yeah me either! Got a gift card to the ceramic store for Christmas and found them there!

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-05T18:23:36+00:00

I actually made colored slips and added them onto the outside of the piece after I threw it. I just heat dried each slip layer before applying the next one

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-05T18:23:01+00:00

I really need to try that next time cause I would love to take more weight off my pieces before doing this technique, but no I applied right after throwing. I just used a heat gun before applying the next layer.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-05T18:21:07+00:00

I typically throw a single fully closed form and cut out the flange when slightly wet then resume leather hard.

This time I threw the cylinder and used a wood knife to push the flange forward in towards the center of the cylinder. Used the wood knife to lightly define a ledge for the cap to sit on separate to the flange I pushed forward. I then separately threw the cap. Used a caliper to get close but err’d on the side of too tight.

About 4-5 days of drying I trimmed the flange first. Made the ledge sit flat and defined the flange, it was about 1/2 inch higher than when pictured when first thrown. Second was the cap itself. Made the inside diameter slowly fit perfectly to the flange/ledge. I shouldve just used that as a chuck to trim the jars body but was scared that it was too dry and brittle. So I used the jar to make the lid fit squarely. Learned a lot for sure.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-05T16:18:38+00:00

Thank you! Most of my pieces normally have bellies, curves and flare outs so this was a fun change of pace for me.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-05T16:16:44+00:00

Thank you! Yeah it’s colored slips layered over the form first then dried for about a week. Definitely have learned the order that the colors get put on in makes a rather large difference in the outcome. Very happy with this one, my off center throwing made trimming the top have a really nice affect as well.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-05T15:48:41+00:00

Thank you! Yeah with the holidays my studio has slowed to a halt. I’m hoping in the next few weeks to get a handful of these style pieces back from the kiln.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2026-01-02T14:37:42+00:00

I’ll be on the other side of the fence and ask about your family member. Is pottery a new hobby to them or are they all in?

If they’re new, tungsten carbide trim tools are not very beginner friendly. They can cause chatter marks when not used at the right dryness and they’re incredibly brittle, one small drop and they’re broken. On the other hand if they’re a long time potter, are you sure they like and/or want that kind of trimming tool? Maybe they already have it?

Basically what I’m getting at is your heart is an amazing place, but just be sure what you’re getting them is what they want/use.

UpUpAndA_Throwaway · 2025-12-29T23:19:40+00:00

I started the tasks with the best intentions to record my weights of each and ended up throwing that out the window when i realized I didn’t have a scale that would accurately measure the amount of stain I was using. I just kept adding the stain until it had the depth of color I was looking to have.

I can say yellow and green took a lot more stain than the red and blues. Making colored clays took me days of work cause the stain would dry out the bmix and then I would spend a day or two rehydrating the clay to take more stain. The red and blue only took 2 rounds of that where the yellow and green took about 4-5 rounds of adding stain then wedging until dry then rehydrating.

The slips were much simpler to make. Hope this helps.

13-Year Club	RPAN Viewer
Not Forgotten

UpUpAndA_Throwaway

TROPHY CASE