Skutt Wheel...motor turns off when going from fast to slow?

Is this normal? When going from high speed to low, the drive motor audibly turns off until the wheel slows down to the speed the pedal is set, then it turns back on.. End result is the speed changes downwards are not instantaneous. Takes a second or two for wheelhead to slow down and then the motor kicks back on to keep it going. Not a deal breaker but just wondering if anyone knows if this is normal..thanks. Ive got an elite skutt thomas stuart edition without upgrades.

I’m looking to invest in a good pottery wheel - Shimpo or Pacifica or Brent. They’re obvious quite pricey so I’m wondering, have there ever been Black Friday deals on these? Hoping to save a bit if I can!

Christmas gift for this year, i’m likely going to touch it up with a little more detail off and on as i see needed but i’m happy with how it turned out so far! Also made a chubby little bee to “pollinate” the flower.

I’m signing up for a craft fair in November and they’ll have electricity available. I have a small portable pottery wheel and I’m kind of thinking it might be fun to demo throwing while my husband manages any sales. Has anyone here ever tried this? Is it a terrible idea? If it’s not, any tips?

Hi All, just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for places to buy items for pottery that don't charge much for postage? I don't mind paying £5 a pop if its a big order, but for things like sponges and a couple of glazes I don't really want to double the costs. Does anyone know somewhere that doesn't charge as much, or should I just suck it up? Am not dissing the businesses charging this postage BTW, I know why and understand. I'm in Birmingham, UK - but haven't found any local places that sell any items for ceramics nearby. Thanks for any help!

What I took this out of the kiln I wasn’t sure, but it’s growing on me now I think! 🤔

Hello, it appears that some pieces are coming out of the kiln and the pencil marks are still visible and appear to be reacting with the glaze or under glaze in some way. Fired to 1000 degrees with 30 min hold. This has only happened a couple of times when customers have used pencil to sketch out ideas. Any idea why this may be happening?

So, I'm working on creating a Raspberry Pi kiln controller for a Paragon Q-11-p small kiln. The kiln has no switches, just plug it in and it goes full tilt until it triggers the internal safety around cone 6. 

I've been using https://github.com/jbruce12000/kiln-controller/blob/main/README.md to build the controller. I've gotten to the point where I can run it. I tested the thermocouple and it works (it throws a few random error readings at crazy numbers, but most readings are on point).

I ran a kiln-tuner program which is supposed to heat the kiln to 500F and provide PID values to adjust the main program. I ran this an it worked for about 15-20 seconds before it started throwing error codes because the temp was too high. I watched as the temp quickly rose to 175F in a matter of seconds. The program never cycled off the SSR so I had to resort to unplugging the kiln and rebooting the Raspberry Pi.

I then tried to run the kiln program, however, it says the idle temp is 0.0F. And when I run a quick test it turns on the kiln for 1-2 seconds, reads a temp of 100F, and then ends the program as complete. 

Does anyone know where I am going wrong? Are the default PID settings just too aggressive for such a small kiln that heats so fast? I've tried replacing the thermocouple and have had the same results.

Just need a few more pieces to fill, so I can fire Wednesday!!

few months ago i started a pottery class and decided for my “figure” project to make the maxwell cat meme for it. posted a picture to a cat based subreddit and forgot there’s an entire subreddit dedicated to you guys, so i figured i’d share it here too. hope you like it. (took way longer than it should have tbh, but that’s my fault)

On my recent trip to Turkey. I made a pot on a wheel along with my 2 year old daughter. We had never done this before and it is super special to me. I have no experience with pottery and would love to keep it forever.

The people at the ceramics museum asked my to let it dry for 2 days (consistent with what I read on this sub's wiki). Now I am back in the US but I don't know how or if I have to bake it in a kiln to ensure it is 'complete'. I looked up on google, but couldn't find the right response (may be I didn't know how to frame my search query right).

Could any of you fine people help and guide me what the next steps should be?

These crystals form on the sides of my plaster board and I have no idea what they are or why they form. They’re really easy to just brush off but I’m just confused as to what they are

Fired a bunch of mugs and used Mayco's Green Tea stoneware glaze on a number of them. They look great and the pieces don't not have any visual indications that there would be issues but I'm finding that this glaze seems to be possibly crazing in varying degrees when I test my pieces to make sure they're not going to leak. I have other mugs that have different glazes on the same clay bodies and from the same firings that are just fine so the kiln tech and I don't think it's a firing issue. And after testing all of my mugs, it seems to be isolated to this glaze. Has anyone else encountered this? They also only seem to be leaking from the bottom of the mug and not a ton. Just enough that bottom is quite damp after holding water for several hours.

I posted a photo to show the only indication I've gotten that crazing might be the issue. Saw these in this area of one mug. They disappear if I wipe away whatever is seeping out.

https://preview.redd.it/50j6lp31zqud1.jpg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f1b923b9a9c83e1064d53c5cb02a6fefc5e860e6

https://preview.redd.it/1ltdtwf0wqud1.png?width=720&format=png&auto=webp&s=7bf989037e9fdceca55e13b8a20aebe2d4c7fe2b

Any suggestions for something like this? Looking to use it on the wheel. Not porcelain please.

After almost two years with no running water in my studio- let there be water! Really excited about this new addition. The three bucket system has worked well for me in the meantime but now the game has changed. Just a PSA for any other fellow potters without running water in your space.

Stepped away from making pots for a few years and whoa did I miss it.

I know each material has its pros and cons but I’d love to purchase a bat that is versatile.

I can usually only make it to the studio once a week so I wrap everything in plastic tightly and hope it’s ready when I come back the following week. I might have sometime to drop by and spray smaller pieces if needed.

I used masonites bats to make a dinner plate set and now that are warped and difficult to use. I’d like bats that are versatile and last longer than masonite.

Thanks!

Hello all! I typically wheel throw, but recently Ive dipped into some hand building. I made a wall-hanging fish and I had a question on glazing:

Is it okay to fire him flat with wax on the backside or should I use multiple beds of nails? Some kind of bisque platter? I’m worried about glaze running off the fish onto the kiln shelf. Your advice is appreciated! R