Recommendations for buying a potters wheel?
Check out Rovin Ceramics. They’re well regarded among all the potters I know, several of whom buy clay regularly by the ton from them. They carry a range of wheels and can give you sensible advice about what makes sense. I don’t know where you are but they do ship. I’m not a potter myself but we are on our second (second-hand) wheel, both bought used from a local school when they upgraded. That’s an option to pursue but it helps to be connected. My oldest daughter was spending many hours in her school’s clay studio and the instructor sold them to us when he was able to buy newer stuff for the school. If there’s a local art center or ceramics studio you might ask them about both buying used wheels or recommendations on more local suppliers. My husband has done a certain amount of maintenance on our wheel and it hasn’t been wildly complicated.
I think trying to assemble one yourself might be a bit complicated – not that i’m doubting your skills – but I had a home-made wheel once with a sewing machine peddle to control speed, and it was really frustrating to use & I ended up buying a new one anyway. A very popular wheel is the Brent model C or B. You’ll find those one in a lot of schools and art centers. A lot of students that try to set up studios at home will buy those because they are familiar to them & their quality is very highly respected. I use a Pacifica at home and a Brent at school. I love both brands. I purchased a Pacifica because the shipping was free, and they’re cheaper than Brents. Mine is 1/4 HP, and I’m pretty sure that’ll do me fine for a long time. Now if she’s centering more than 25lbs of clay, you might want to consider a 1/2 HP one. There are many other brands out there though, and if you are going to spend a lot of money, you should really get her input as to which one she prefers. If she takes classes
You could build or buy a kick wheel version, saving the cost of the motor, but the crucial thing would be whether she had already used that type or would be willing to learn. If she’s a beginner, she may prefer an electric model so that she doesn’t have to practice coordinating kicking with one foot while throwing with her whole upper body. Nthing looking for a good used electric model from a school. Now, if she really gets into it, maybe for her next birthday, you could build a raku kiln together.
I’d suggest going and talking to someone at the studio where your gf presumably takes pottery now. Not only will they be able to advise you, but there’s a pretty brisk trade in used wheels and stuff and you can probably get a better wheel for significantly cheaper if you know what you’re looking for and buy it used.
