Is a cheap Vevor pottery wheel worth it? NEW product link!

Описание: Join us for our review of the $150 Vevor Pottery Wheel!
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We’ve been using our Vevor wheel for over a year at Wocky Pots Studio. Here’s what we think of it:

Cons:
1. It’s too short. In order to make it work for us, we had to use furniture risers to put it at a usable height. You might be able to use it standing up at a table, but even fully extended, the legs are just too short for most people.
2. The splash pan was pretty unstable, and made it difficult to brace our arms for stability during throwing. We fixed it temporarily by wedging a wooden ruler under the near edge of the pan, but a permanent fix was as simple as cutting a thick piece of craft foam and using that to firm things up.
3. The plastic foot pedal didn’t give enough feedback, and is generally of pretty flimsy build quality. To mitigate the sensitivity, and to make it easier to feel the movement of the pedal, we stuffed some dry sponges inside the pedal to act like a “spring.” This gave us enough feedback to be able to more carefully control the speed. The drawback is that there is no “cruise control” now, and in order to maintain a speed, you have to keep constant pressure against the pedal. This is only really a disadvantage if you have to stand up to work inside of a very tall vessel.
4. There are no holes for bat pins. We haven’t felt the need to fix this, but if the need arises, it would be simple to drill holes for an 11” bat.

Pros:
1. The wheel is very light and easy to lift. It would be easy to take on the road for giving demos, or for bringing to a location outside the studio to spin pottery.
2. The small footprint of the wheel means that it can be stored and managed in tighter spaces easily. It can be stored under a table or against a wall without issue, and because we have two of these in our studio, we are actually able to stack them on top of each other safely and securely if needed.
3. Price. The Vevor wheel costs about $150, while our main wheel, a Brent Model C, runs around $2700. We could purchase approximately 18 Vevor wheels for the same price as our Brent.
4. The smaller size of the Vevor motor makes it possible to power it for lengthy periods of time with an external backup battery. We use this feature to make the Vevor wheel truly portable, allowing us to give demos at our market booth without needing an extension cord or outlet.

Quirks and Quality Control issues:
1. The holes for the leg extension screws didn’t line up perfectly on all three legs, and one of the holes was jagged on the inside. This wasn’t an issue for us, because we use the legs without the extensions on the furniture risers.
2. The rubber feet sometimes fall out, but this can easily be fixed with a bit of glue or tape. It hasn’t been annoying enough for us to actually fix this issue.
3. We purchased two of the Vevor wheels, and we noticed that, for whatever reason, the direction switches operated differently on the wheels. On one wheel, the “up” position makes the wheel turn counterclockwise, but to get the same direction on the other wheel, the switch has to be in the “down” position. One of them is wired backwards, but it has no effect on the usefulness of the wheel. They both operate equally well in both directions.
4. We’ve already mentioned it, but it bears repeating: The foot pedal is fairly flimsy plastic and it is extremely sensitive. Without putting sponges inside the pedal housing, it was very difficult to get the wheel to turn extremely slowly. However, even though it’s plastic, the pedal has shown no sign of wear or damage after a year of frequent use.

Conclusions:
1. It takes a bit of time and a small amount of fiddling, but this wheel is worth the price.
2. Who this wheel is NOT recommended for: professional potters looking for a serious, sturdy wheel for production work. It’s not perfect, and it requires some patience when setting things up. It also won’t be able to handle huge amounts of clay for long periods of time.
3. Who this wheel is recommended for: students who are new to wheel throwing, who are just learning the basics and don’t require an extremely expensive machine. This wheel is also recommended as a second station for another artist to work simultaneously or to set up as a dedicated trimming wheel. It’s also a good fit for potters who need something portable and lightweight, possibly even those who want to throw pots away from electrical outlets. Most importantly: This wheel is a good fit for artists who are on a budget and need a functional tool that will make cups, bowls, or any small-ish works.

Links to Items Mentioned in the Video:
Vevor Belt Drive Pottery Wheel: https://s.vevor.com/bfRMau
(5% code: VEVT5)
Furniture Risers: https://a.co/d/9zc91Fi
Battery Backup: https://a.co/d/2IoCr14

Thanks for watching!