Thank you so much for your video! I didn’t expect to watch all ten or so minutes of this, but instantly found myself transported to “the zone” just from watching you throw. What you said about feeling more deeply connected to your work because of your own mechanical input resonates with me-I’ve been thinking about building an electric wheel, but now find myself mesmerized by the treadle. Your video is wonderful. Thank you dearly!
I am glad you liked the video. I meant what I said, it's not some sort of romantic idea about doing things the hard way. The treadle wheel doesn't have a mind of its own or just keep going all day. When I watch students using electric wheels I often find myself asking if they might want to go a bit slower (most students) or a bit faster (not so many). Often, they don't have any idea how fast the wheel is going or remember that they are in charge of that bit. Making something by hand seems to be about being intimately connected to what you are touching. Rather than buy an electric wheel I would just look for a really old one. That is unless you are really interested in sorting out all the mechanics as a challenge. Used electric wheels are pretty common and you could use your time and energy making work. Treadle wheels are more complex than a kick wheel. I built my treadle wheel but needed a bit of help from a nice guy with a metal lathe. You can build your own kick wheel pretty easily. I think you can still buy a kit with bearings, shaft and wheel head. If you really need a motor you could rig up the motor/rubber disc drive like on Randall or Lockerbie wheels. I don't think you need a motor on a kick wheel as long as the flywheel weight suits the size of the pieces you are throwing. Big and heavy isn't always the way to go.
@@robertbanker5319 I noticed from the video that the shaft connecting the weight to the wheel uses a shape reminiscent of an old bit brace--the old version of an electric drill-driver. The treadle pushes and pulls on a hinge connected right where the lower handle of the bit brace would be. So it occurs to me that an old bit brace, even a damaged one (as long as the angles are still good) could be used in constructing a wheel like this one. Hardest part IMO would be figuring out how to connect the brace to the top and bottom.
@@Nurk0m0rath It's a crankshaft. The potter's wheel has two bearings that support the shaft and allow it to freely turn. You wouldn't want too much play in the shaft or your pots would be affected by the wobble. Very old wheels probably had something like greased wooden bearings. Modern wheels use modern bearings, many sealed or without grease fittings.
Hi Robert, I have one of these, about 60 years old (as old as I am) made by my Dad. I think I threw a few pots as a kid, and I'm about to get into it. You make it look easy!
I am building my own kick wheel and am using these videos as reference. What I love about pottery is that manual wheels seem to be much more preferred by expert potters, which is great given the current state of electric wheel prices.
This wheel is at the college. I built my own wheel a long time ago when it was the only way to end up with what I wanted to use. I feel a lot more connected to my work using this wheel and have no interest in owning a wheel with a motor. Good luck making your wheel. My treadle wheel is in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4S959jospnw.htmlsi=CbRMfM1prZnmXdxz
I don't think that any one wheel type is better than another. I am a teacher and I want to encourage students to find out what they like or prefer on their own. The choice for most people mostly comes down to what is available or cheap or what they learned how to throw on. There are 26 Brent electric wheels in the studio where I teach. Fortunately we also have one kick wheel, one Shimpo and the treadle wheel for students to try. They don't know how lucky they are in having the choice. My personal preference is no motor. You don't need the wheel to go as fast as most people try to work. If you want to make really big pieces or work for hours at a time making a living, I can see this affecting your choice of tool. @@verdigrissirgidrev4152
Thank you for the nice instructional. I throw on a treadle supposedly built by Warren's brother-in-law. It still sports an old tag that says..."THE LEACH WHEEL, 825 WEST MINNEHAHA AVE, ST PAUL MN" so seems plausible. I love your word "gestural" for ware thrown on these wheels as I generally refer to my stuff as "wonky" or down right "crooked"😊 Being there is so little momentum with this design, the constant kicking rocks the body a bit.
How old do you think your wheel is? I am just curious. I think a few people have tried making and selling this style of wheel but with the complexity of parts and combination of wood and metal working they end up being pretty expensive. Treadle wheels don't seem to be too common. Once in a while I think one of the battleship grey ones originally at the University of Minnesota reappear. Most of the rocking comes from the light weight of the wooden flywheel. It is almost as if the wheel wants to stop when the crank shaft is at the dead points. The wheel in the video has a stacked MDF flywheel and it still feels light. The wheel I use I built as an undergraduate student more or less copying the dimensions of the mechanical parts of the first Leach wheel I ever saw. The flywheel is cast iron and the weight really smooths out the uneven crankshaft forces. It is no trouble to start or stop with the leverage advantage of the treadle. I will try to make a video of my wheel. It is just as smooth as any electric wheel, just goes a bit slower. Wonky is fine. It is actually pretty easy to make something round. Making something with life in it is more interesting.
@@robertbanker5319 My wheel is that battleship gray which to me screams mid century industrial. The tag, which is calling card size, is old(ish) as well. If it happened to come out of the U then I feel quite lucky.
I have a very similar one that is about 60 years old. It’s one of the Leach pottery ones from St Ives Cornwall (I live near it). I am certainly going through a time of re-adjusting entirely my throwing as I find myself trying to kick it too fast, especially when centring the clay. Very useful video, thank you
very good demo. i am familiar with those Leach style wheels, all of the ones i've seen have leather straps as crank bearings and hinges which wore out after a while and a wooden piece for the crank itself, might be preferable for someone who wants this style of wheel built authentically but can't afford the bespoke ironwork.
Search "Leach wheel plans". You will find what appears to be scans of old paper plans. Figure out what scale they are so you can get a few more measurements. The originals were blueprints scaled 3" = one foot. The drawings show as a woodworking project that is above average difficulty. The crank and treadle proportions are about all you really need to know or get close. It's not rocket science but you need to source parts like shaft and bearings and either know how to weld and do woodworking or get some help. Most people make kick wheels because they are perceived as simpler. In other videos, you can see my treadle wheel. I took basic measurements off a Leach wheel and welded up the frame. My wheel has metal bolted to wood legs so it can be taken apart to be more easily moved. That's another consideration, doors and stairs. The weight of the flywheel is personal preference. Leach wheels have very light flywheels, my wheel is a piece of cast iron from the scrap yard and has more momentum so it runs more smoothly at slow speed. Build a wheel that fits you as it can be a pretty big investment of time.
thanks for this! What are the advantages of a treadle wheel vs. the other kick wheel you showed? What should a person consider when deciding between a kick & treadle wheel....
The choice for me has to do with what I want to spend my time working on. It is a personal choice and I would not want to recommend anything other than finding where you can try a wheel out for more than a few minutes. Some people think wheel choice is part of a style choice. You might hear someone say the treadle wheel makes more gestural pots. Actually you are making the pots, not the wheel. For some the wheel is part of a mythology - the treadle wheel is about MacKenzie and Leach. I am romantic enough to understand that. I prefer either type over an electric wheel since I don't like to listen to a whining motor. I like the quiet clicking of my treadle wheel. Any choice you make might come down to cost and availability. Even used, there are many more kick wheels than treadle wheels to be found. The treadle wheel in the video was made in Minnesota by a furniture maker. It took a while to get and was very expensive. Students in the school art club earned the money to purchase this wheel. In my home studio I use a treadle wheel that I built more than thirty years ago. There is nothing on it that wears out or needs replacing. It has a much heavier cast iron flywheel than the wood flywheels traditional to the Leach wheel. I much prefer the way the heavier flywheel smooths out the force on the crankshaft. I don't at all mind that my wheel has a modest speed range - slow and slower. The kick wheel (or momentum wheel) in the school studio was donated by a former student. For me, the flywheel on that wheel is too heavy for the modest size pieces I make. I have a kick wheel in my studio with a much lighter flywheel that I prefer to use when making small, thin pieces. It is really easy to get moving and goes faster than my treadle wheel. As you can see, I find the weight of the flywheel as important as the type of wheel. It is an accident that I have two wheels in my studio. It is no accident that neither has a motor.
