How Usable is an Ultra Cheap Beginner Pottery Wheel? - £125 VEVOR Wheel
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- Опубліковано 9 чер 2024
- Short answer: Surprisingly Usable!
It has many build issues relating to the low cost, but the functionality is actually remarkably good.
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Text from VEVOR:
Product link: bit.ly/3PUkQOt
UK Store Link: bit.ly/3PGvA2P
US Store Link: bit.ly/3AbIP5B
Coupon Code: VVG5%OFF (5% OFF for all the products in VEVOR)
Tough Equipment&Tools，Pay Less
#vevor
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0:00 Intro
1:00 The Wheel
1:40 Build Quality
3:50 Sitting At The Wheel & Setup
6:15 Throwing
8:40 How Usable Is It?
10:00 Conclusion
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I bought one of the other Vevor models for about $125 US. I bought the 28cm wheel thinking I may put bat pins on it at some point. It works great for me right now. I just started throwing and it is near impossible to get time on one of the professional grade wheels at my local pottery. I have yet to throw anything over 2lbs but I can already tell the motor isn’t strong enough for much more than that. It has helped me realize that I do want to continue with my new hobby and will eventually get a better wheel. Absolutely worth it in my opinion.
I'm glad you found that too! I'd highly recommend adding batt pins, I did that modification to my first wheel and it was such an improvement.
I purchased one of these as a "second" wheel with a view to maybe being able to get into teaching beginners at some point. I have a Shimpo Whisper which I do love. I wholly agree with your review of the Vevo and it's throwing power/ size. It cost me a bit more but I'm living in Canada. If it helps anyone, I bought 5" height bed risers which has lifted it up to a much more usable height and is very stable. I have been using this so far for four months and I've thrown quite a few mugs and bowls on it and it's going strong. Definitely a reasonable cheap alternative. 👍
Good honest review. Thanks!
I have one of these cheap wheels. I got it in February and I've been throwing on it almost daily since then. I think the biggest thing I've thrown was four or five pounds and it handled it well enough. It's working well enough for me until I can a better wheel. My husband built me a base for it to raise it up and it is slightly inconvenient having to be right up on the plug. I also put bat pins in mine so it's a little bit upgraded. But for what it is it's working beautifully for me. I knew when I bought it it was going to be a cheap temporary solution, my granddaughter has gotten into pottery as well and she's already got eyes on it for when I get my better one!
Adam Savage talks about how much money to spend on tools. If you are just starting to try something out to see if you want to do it long term then spend the least you can on equipment that works well enough. If you decide the thing is for you, then get the best tool you can afford.
It's great advice. I'd heard similar, but it's when they break and you miss them that they get replaced with the best you can afford.
Yes, there are many ways to decide when to replace. For us, it has usually been at the point where the cheap tool gets in the way of what we want to do.
I agree when it comes to tools that aren’t as important as a wheel. When I started out in ceramics I bought a super cheap 80 piece set of pottery tools, knowing a lot of them would break or not work but that I would buy good quality versions as I figured out what I used most often. Surprisingly a lot of the tools are still going strong and are not nearly as cheaply made as I expected, a lot I still use. Some broke the first time I tried to use them. I also did figure out what I needed that was better, and invested in additional tools, but I’m kind of a tool queen, I feel like I can never have enough different kinds of things to sculpt! But for some things, like a wheel or slab roller (for example some of the cheaper table top slab rollers are awful, despite costing over $500 they seem like they were made by a terrible 12 year old in shop class, I don’t know anything about building equipment and I could build a better table top slab roller) or an extruder it is better to find a used version if you can’t afford the super cheap versions knowing that if you decide you don’t want to continue using it that they retain their value enough that you can easily find a buyer who will pay about the same as what you paid. Same thing goes for clay mixers (although I’m hugely against dry mixing of clay, it is one of the reason so many clays are not plastic, they need to be wet mixed and filter pressed or dewatered at home, the difference in plasticity of clays made that way is hugeeeee), pugmill- god I wish those didn’t retain their value as much, used ones are still over $3000 and most people can only get one if they get a grant. Thankfully my homemade clays & paperclay don’t need slab rollers (just cast slabs or tiles/panels into a frame on something absorbent) and paperclay doesn’t really need wedging, the process of making it align the particles it seems and I have figured out other ways to lightly wedge large amounts of clay without hurting my hands, but a deairing putgmill would be super nice, I’m at the point where I am looking at videos on how to make your own! As an alternative to this wheel I would suggest more people look into making or converting kick wheels by adding a motor, or buying one that is already converted used, they are just as powerful as a Shimpo or Boss wheel and quite affordable second hand. The only downside is they tend to take up a little more space.
I’ve been using the box-y orange version of these for a couple of years now with no problems, been surprisingly reliable (and was all I could get during lockdown). The version with the hand-lever is good for throwing standing up / on a table top as the fixed place foot pedal on the side was awkward to use. Thanks for reviewing this Joe, I’ve lately been wondering if it’s worth upgrading to a decent wheel or just sticking with this till it dies.
It's a really good question. The difference between the one I had and my Skutt is pretty dramatic, and I definitely wouldn't want to try making all my work on the cheap wheel, but there will be a lot less of a difference with the low-end branded wheels. If you're happy enough with it, it's probably just worth sticking with it!
I use a very cheap wheel, it's ideal for beginners who want to be able to regularly practice outside of classes (or if you, like me, do not have any access to pottery classes). I will eventually upgrade I think, but it has been fine for me at this level.
I just bought the 14" version and so far love it! I am going to raise it up with bricks though as its too dang low.
My wife got me one for my birthday yesterday, I haven't used it yet but I was just looking up some videos on it, mine seems to be pretty well made it doesn't have any bad welds or nothing like that though I will agree it's a bit short but I figured I could just set it up on some cinder blocks.
For only a few dollars more Vevor also offers it with a 36cm (14") wheel head and a 450w motor. You can easily place it on bricks to raise it to a normal height.
This is the very model I bought, it was $270.00 on Amazon, so far I love it, but yes it does need bricks to get to a better height.
I just bought one of the more solid ones last night that doesn't have the 3 legs. But that pedal on the side. I am hoping to convert it over to a quick flat lapish style wheel instead of doing pottery on it. Add some drainage hoses, water drip, and an external fan for the motor to keep it cooler. I got it for $106.48 with tax US off ebay brand new. I was going to just get a motor and find a splash pan etc.. adn buy wheels part by part. But seen as much for a decent pan., this had one already and pretty much everything I could use for parts for $106.00US. That would have cost me well over $200.00US going part by part. I hope it holds up for a while until I can get a stronger motor for it and build a better casing it all sits on. But thanks for the review. I am certain it should work for me for a while. Because, a name brand flat lap machine new is around $700.00US.
Surreal to see you sitting in a video. That wheel is crazy low. I've been dreaming of a Shimpo Whisper for years... Definitely not one of these cheap wheels. Thanks for sharing, Joe!
I've not used a Whisper myself, but a few people on Instagram have said these cheap wheels are much closer to the quality than the price suggests! And yeah, I'm glad one of the camera angles managed to show just how low it was. I felt pretty comical to throw on at first!
The Whisper is just a dream to work on (assuming the user doesn't have a pace maker, of course). I'm someone who really dislikes the sounds of engines and motors, so my Brent wheel is enough sometimes to drive me to hand building instead of throwing like I'd prefer. The first time I got to use a Whisper, it felt almost magical.
I started on one of these, you can barely do 1kg of clay on them since you can literally stop the wheel at full speed with 1 hand, same issues with short cables, had to put them on blocks to raise it high enough for it to be confortable, it did come with a bad control board and had to be replaced.
I threw about 40 or 50 pots on it before I decided on buying a more expensive one, it's usable but kind of frustrating as well, I gave it away to a friend who now uses it to sand dice.
Yeah, there's no question that the power isn't there for higher amounts of clay. I think your approach is a very sensible way to do it though, use one of these until the limitations are frustrating and then upgrade.
One of my considerations would be the amount of room something like that would take up. So those stumpy little legs might be a bonus. 😄
I bought one of these too, when my plate comes into contact with water and clay it releases a bit of black liquid, is this normal? it looks like iron powder that melts
Would this be good just for trimming?
I have a similar one and am pleased. This video is distracting however - couldn’t stop looking at his quite nice leges!
Generally speaking I'd not fully trust a machine sent to you by the manufacturer as opposed to one bought directly. The machine would most likely have been closely inspected and tested more than retail units. I'd not be above possibly suspecting a higher grade motor and components in such a device, It all depends.
That is a very good point. There was nothing about the unboxing experience that made me think this machine had been specially chosen to make a good impression, but that doesn't mean it wasn't. The best argument I have against it is that another pottery I know via Instagram did buy one from Amazon to test and had a similar conclusion.
these are the ones we use in ceramics class 💀💀
I bought one…it is awful.
Please tell me why 🥺 I want to try pottery so so so bad since years but it's just too expensive. Thought about getting this one now