We’ve wanted a potter’s wheel for sometime but couldn’t justify dropping a thousand dollars for a good one. What’s a guy to do. Build your own for less than $15 with some spare parts and stuff you already have. I searched the web for plans and couldn’t find any that didn’t look like a piece of crap. Recently I found a blog named kyrotechnics that was doing the same thing I was and another one that had some good ideas.
It all starts with a treadmill. I found one on craigslist for free and another along the road on trash day. Both have working motors and speed controllers which are two of the main things needed. I’m using a front wheel hub off an old Ford Galaxy for the wheel head bearing setup. The head itself is MDF as is the drive pulley. I couldn’t find a pulley 12″ or larger that would take a serpentine style belt so I made my own with MDF sandwiched between two Masonite disks. I used a 1/2″ x 20 tap kit to tap threads into the hub shaft for the bolt to attach the pulley to the hub. The table top is MDF scavenged from the treadmill. It had a good thick lacquer finish on it, I used poplar 1x’s for the rim around the table and painted it black to match. It’s all siliconed in and water tight. I had the legs already, cutoffs from another project. I’m either going to rig up a foot pedal or make a lever on the side to control the speed. For now I waterproofed the slide controller off the treadmill. I need to make another one so we can each have one to use.
Wheelhead.
Bat registration pins.
My Flintstones homemade pulley.
Plaster bat next to wheel.
I used the motor mounting bracket from treadmill bolted to leg.
Electronics attached to bottom of table. I’ll waterproof later.
Ford galaxy front wheel hub.
Looks like it works. I’ve never used a potter’s wheel before. This is the first thing I tried. I think I’ll send it to Mom.
Zoe thinks it’s pretty good.
Or did she make it.
Click here to see what we’ve made with our homemade pottery wheel.
That is looking really slick! Really makes me want to go finish my wheel.
Thanks Kyle!
Please post some details about your foot pedal when you get it done.
Looks great! Wonder if you can use a sewing machine vs treadmill…the foot peddle would also be handy – right? I would appreciate any additional info…I’m just getting started in this hobby and not sure where to begin… Thanks, Pam
You’ll burn the motor up using a sewing machine as your base to build from on your first pot. Go on craigslist and you can find a treadmill for $100 or less. I got one for free there and found another on on trash day in my neighborhood. Ask your friends they might be throwing one out.
A pedal can be nice, some people hate them. For now I have the treadmill slide controller mounted under the table in easy reach. You can make your own pedal or convert a guitar wah wah pedal to work. The pedometer you’ll need is less than $5 at radio shack. Check out http://www.kyrotechnics.com/ for the pedal he has some detailed photos and instructions.
Nice design! My wife is looking for a wheel, we’ve been watching eBay and Craigslist. Considering copying your design here… found some $25 treadmills on Craigslist, even a free one! One thing she says she needs is for it to spin in either direction. Did you build that feature into yours?
You could do that with a switch from radio shack, mine doesn’t. The motors are set up to spin the wheel backwards and simply switching the wiring around makes it spin the correct way. The pulley that is on a treadmill motor is a screw on design so there is a chance it could come off running it backwards. I put some epoxy on it and haven’t had any problems. You can make a nice splash pan out of plastic lawn edging or make the sidewalls taller out of 1×6 or 1×8 depending on your wheel height. I just bought a brent b off craigslist and I think that mine is a nicer wheel. I have 2 more treadmill motors and plan to make another one improving on this one somewhat.
That’s insane. I can’t believe that’s your first wheel thrown bowl!! You should have seen mine, it was hideous!!
Hi there, I’m working on a pottery wheel as well, taking your lovely design as a template. I was wondering if you would be able to provide some more detailed pictures of how you’ve used the hub.
I’m getting ready to build a new stand up version of this wheel. I have another hub that’s the same thing but I’m going to weld on a plate for the pulley to bolt to instead of tapping the shaft and running the bolt into the shaft.
I’ll try and post some photos.
Hi Scott. Great advice! Wish I’d found your page back when I didn’t have a wheel. As it is, I do now proudly own a great electric/kick wheel but am looking to modify it. For one thing, it is extremely heavy and super bulky (looks just like this: http://www.sheffield-pottery.com/LOCKERBIE-Model-K-Kick-Wheel-p/lbk100.htm), and for another, it hurts my back to work on it for long periods of time. I’m wondering if you’ve finished your stand up version yet. I need some ideas on how to fashion whatever it is that is going to house the wheel head and motor — that is, of course, if I can actually remove both from the whole. Any advice/feedback would be *greatly* appreciated.
Thanks!
Jackie sorry for not getting back to you right away.
That is a very cool looking kick wheel, I know if I had one I would modify it into a Leach style treadle wheel. As far as modifying it into a stand up wheel I don’t see how you could with the concrete counterweight wheel in the way. You would have to remove the head and attach it to a table with a pulley underneath and drive it with your motor. If I were you I would not modify your existing wheel but build one like mine with taller legs. That way you would have two wheels and could switch between them. That would help your back problem.
I need some advice. I was given a home made potters wheel that has a welded steel frame but the kick wheel is about 7″ thick and has a missing seat. I have no idea how to attach a bat to it or a splash pan. It seems very well balanced and heavy duty. My question is “Do you think it’s worth me trying to figure out some way to build a seat for it and transport it home?” It’s really heavy but I’m sure we can figure something out. I’ve wanted one for years but just couldn’t afford one and now someone really wants to bless me and give me one outright. Do you think it’s worth the trouble of transport and having to add on to it?
Thanks for your help in advance.
Whether it’s worth it depends on if you really want a kick wheel. The only kick style wheel I would want is a treadle leach style wheel that you pump with your foot rather than kick the disk. Big Ceramics Supply sells Brent splash pans or you could build a mud box style pan. Look at some of Simon Leach videos on YouTube, the wheel head sits in a wooden box and you clean it out in place instead of removing it to clean it. You can attach a bat by throwing a pad of clay on the wheel head and pressing the bat onto it.
Hope this helps, feel free to ask if you need any further assistance.
Scott
Well, hasn’t anybody ever noticed how a ceiling fan function.
Immagine without those blades and some modification to the head, we can fix a 30″ plywood or something. Make a sturdy stand and place the fan upright. As for the speed controller, place it somewhere nearer for easy access. You give it a try, but I’m not responsible for any mishap. So you’ve got to have the service of a qualified electrician to fix the wiring for you.
Well I think it’s going to work, after all it’ll be more handy with those speed controller attached.
Good luck
Suhaimi Omar
Malaysia
Suhaimi, a ceiling fan doesn’t have enough torque to center clay.
Fantastic job! I’ve been constructing a potter’s wheel this summer, and I stumbled upon your page when looking for possible wheelhead materials. Please clarify, are you using an MDF bat as the wheelhead and also mounting a removable mdf bat on top to work with the clay? Did you coat the wheelhead mdf with anything or is it strong enough as-is?
Thank you and yes that is a very nice bowl for first throw!
The wheel head is a 3/4″ x 14″ MDF disk that is bolted to the hub, . I coated it with several coats of minwax polyurethane. I had made a plaster bat for the first one, a much better way to go is to use corian for your wheel head and your bats. I’ve got a post somewhere on the blog for corian bats. You can go to anyone in your area that installs corian and get scraps for free, sink cut outs mainly.
Thanks,
Scott
Fantastic! You are so creative-smart! I’ll bet that thing cruises.
Lack of money is the mother of invention.
It will center any amount of clay you can handle with its 2 1/2 hp motor. I also use it as a disk sander. I put a 10″ adhesive backed sanding disk on one of our corian bats.
It can go faster than you would ever want but just don’t run it that fast when doing pottery.
Very interesting…I might have to start looking for a treadmill.
Thanks Robert!
[…] year anniversary of our venture into wheel thrown pottery. It seems like longer ago that I built this to get us […]
[…] year anniversary of our venture into wheel thrown pottery. It seems like longer ago that I built this to get us […]
[…] had several people comment on my DIY Potter’s Wheel post wondering if they could substitute using a fan motor instead of the treadmill motor. […]
Any advice on finding an appropriate hub? I went to the junkyard and am not seeing what I think you’ve got, which is the piece sticking through the bottom that the pulley’s attached to. Is that the end of the axle shaft? Or something else?
Thanks!
Mine are off an old Galaxy 500, I got both the front hubs off of it.
You should look for a front wheel drive car like a chevy caviler. I was actually going to buy a new hub from NAPA for $45 but would still need to go to the junk yard to get the splined drive shaft that goes into it. If you go that route you will just need to epoxy or weld the hub and the shaft together and cut the shaft shorter.
Hello Scott,
You have built a fantastic looking wheel. I have been looking to buy a wheel for the wife and kids, they are taking classes, but now you have me thinking of making one. You wouldn’t happen to be in Jupiter FL would you? Would you mind me taking a look at your wheel? I live in the farms.
Thanks,
Dave
I live in the farms too.
Let me know when you would want to take a look at it.
I’m so impressed with your potters wheel and want to emulate your design. One thing I’m hoping you could explain is how did you connect that pulley to drive the wheel hub? In one picture it looks like there’s a bolt going up through the home-made pulley. Can you please give me some ideas on how you connected the pulley to the hub? Thanks in advance!
Richard
Thanks Richard your email address is hilarious btw.
I attached the MDF pulley to the hub by drilling a hole into the hub with our drill press then threaded the hole with a tap kit which broke just as I got it deep enough. If I were doing it again I would weld a small plate on the bottom of the hub and bolt the pulley to that. It’s worked trouble free for over a year now, we use a ring of plastic garden edging for a splash pan.
Hi Scott,
Thanks for posting this. I’ve read a bunch of other blogs and instructions. It seems a consistent theme is concern over appropriate torque and rpm. I’ve never actually worked with a “real” wheel, so I don’t know what is considered ideal. With your motor and a 12″ pulley, do you get appropriate rpm? How long is your drive belt and what is the distance from the motor shaft to the pulley, center to center?
Thanks!
Chris
Hey Chris,
I’ll measure it and let you know. I had a couple new belts for an old sears compressor that I no longer have so I just used those to set it up. The treadmill motor comes with a tension adjustment. You should start with what ever belt you can find cheaply.
As for torque this wheel has more than our brent B, I would recommend cutting off the flywheel from the motors pulley so the wheelhead will stop quicker when it slows down.
As for RPM, a treadmill motor doesn’t lose torque at low rpm so with the speed controler you can go as fast or slow as you want and you can’t stop it from spinning. It will center whatever amount of clay you can imagine.
Hello there!
i’m looking at making my own wheel from a washing machine motor, But i have no idea how much horsepower i need. what’s the minimum amount and the maximum amount needed for a wheel? and also, i want to salvage a variable speed drive. what could i salvage that out of?
thanks!
Clancie
Clancie that’s where I started. DON’T bother. Find a treadmill. It’s the only way to go. Good Luck!
If you do use a washing machine motor you’ll need to get the transmission listed in the post. You’ll never get the washing machine transmission to work properly for a wheel.
Hi Scott, Really like the wheel you built. In fact I’m building one almost like yours. I am having trouble finding a belt to fit my tread mill pulley with 8 v’s in the belt, and long enough to go around the wooden pulley. How wide and long is your belt? Also where did you buy it? I don’t think a auto belt has the right grove config. to fit the tread mill pulley. Again thanks for you posting the info about your wheel. You did a good job!
Thanks Wayne.
If you look at the comment a few above here you can see what I used. A compressor belt that I had a couple of. I set up the distance from my pulley to the motor based on how long the belt I already had was. Like I said this thing cost me $15, I scavenged everything else.
[…] home made potter wheel instructions createniks.wordpress.com […]
Are you able to fit a splash guard around the wheelhead?
Yes. We have a plastic ring made from garden edging that works great. If I was building again I would just make the side walls taller.
After reading your blog and looking for an old treadmill for a couple of months I finally found one and took it apart.
I was trying to figure out how big to make my pulley when I realized that I have the exact same motor/controller/transformer(Weslo treadmill). I know might be different for other motors, but for your exact motor would you still recommend the 12 inch pulley or a little bigger/smaller?
Rick put as big of pulley as you can under there. Also if you can cut off the extra counter weight off the drive pulley on the motor.
can you mount the wheel directly to the motor shaft? why do you need a pulley?
You could but it would spin way to fast and you would lose all your low end torque.
so if i took a dc motor with a low rpm range ( which i have) i think its around 150 rpm and mounted it direct, do you think that would give me enough speed. i can use a voltage controller to slow it even more, but i (a true novice to this stuff) am under the impression i need more speed, thanks for your response!!
Speed is NOT what you’re looking for. Torque is what you need. The fastest you want to ever spin is 200rpm so your 150 rpm might be just fine.
well thats great news. you just saved my 35$. on buying an old treadmill tomm. i will try the dc motor first, and see how that goes. i really appreciate your quick responses. i have researched this topic for quite a while now, and have had no luck getting any info, thanks again!! ill probably have more questions, so dont be surprised if you hear back from me.
Hey there, I am currently building my own wheel, and I was wondering how you have it set up to suspend the shaft? I’m confused as to what keeps the shaft and pully from just falling through.. Thanks
The car wheel hub has a square flange that sits on top of the table and a shaft that goes through the table.
Hey scottinjupiter,
It’s my first year in college and I’m majoring in studio ceramics and I’ve been looking all over online for a good guide to making a potter’s wheel. I like how yours turned out but I’ve never done anything like this before. I was wondering if you would ever want to make some kind of super detailed walk through, like what kind of treadmill to get and how the wiring underneath goes together. If not, I’ll keep searching but any help you can offer would be great! Thanks!
Hey Lewis,
Any electric treadmill will do. Just make detailed notes as you’re ripping it apart where the wires go. There will be wires going from the speed controller to the circuit board. The wires for all the other functions can be tossed. Angi has been telling me to put a set of shop drawings and sell step by step plans for $5 for a while.
Where are you studying?
Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. It’s not an awesome ceramics school but I didn’t know what I wanted to do at the beginning of the year.
I’d buy a set of those plans if there was troubleshooting with it haha
I was wondering if you are still using your DIY wheel? I noticed a post about a Brent. Thanks for the post.
Yes we still use it. Our Giffin grip doesn’t fit the head so we use our Brent to trim and throw when we want a foot pedal.
I’m going to build a taller version so we can stand and throw.
I have an old bicycle that I’m wondering if I could use the drive gears instead of a pulley combined with a treadmill motor. Any thoughts?
You would have to come up with a way to mate the gears to the motor and the wheel head. If you can do that you would be able to use the chain to drive the wheel head. Put the smallest gear on the the treadmill motor and the largest gear under the wheel head.
I was browsing the web, looking for some prices on second hand equipment, I’m a potter from the u.k, moving soon to Texas, and my wheel, the wheel I’ve made a zillion things on, sigh, it’s not compatible with U.S power supplies.
(ours are 230 volt, 50 Hz). And as a result of coming to your post, all of a sudden, I know the answer… Ship my wheel, use a treadmill motor!
Fantastic!
You’re a star. I’ve made a few wheels in my time, car parts, even ran one off a tractor power-take-off…
I’m a greasy-handed wrench monkey, so this is a project I can happily do. As soon as I arrive in North Houston, I’ll be scouting out junkyards.
And if you’re ever around there, I’ll owe you a beer!
Glad to be of help. Hope you enjoy Texas.
Scott
Hi Scott,
My dad is going to try to build me a wheel & I can’t really find any plans. I will be getting the Brent Wheelhead & assembly,so I’m not quite sure what else I need. Would you mind communicating with him regarding this project? Thanks
Sure thing make sure and get the splash pan the make to go with it.
Any ideas on what motor/pedal to get? I’ve heard of people using treadmill motors.
This is a treadmill motor. Once you disassemble the treadmill check the schematic diagram for what Ohm pedometer to purchase to make a pedal.
This is awesome … we have been wanting to make our own wheel, slab roller and extruder … have lots of parts but no action yet … this may be the fuel we need … thank you so much for posting this. Michele
This is way cool, cant wait to show my husband, he has been wanting to make one for some time and we have all these crazy plans, from a treadle sewing maching to kick wheels… I think I’m likin this one best :o)… thank you for the post.
Thanks!
If you do build one make the sidewall come up an inch or so above the wheel head. That will save you from having to make a removable splash pan.
Ok … I will add that note to your plans… thank you. … and LOVE the dog. Beautiful.
You can make a stand up version too. That will be our next on. Throwing all day is hard on your back. A foot pedal is the way to go for controlling the speed.
yes I agree … my husband is excited as he is the thrower and I am a hand builder… he love to make things and making this successfully will be awesome, we are moving back to the U.P. of MI … starting a couple low scale classes on pottery as there isn’t much in the line of pottery per say and this will be a great way to expand this art in that area, most people there just build what they need anyway so this is awesome … thanks again.
This is so awesome!!! What kind of voltage is going through the pot and is water on the floor a concern with the foot pedal? How is the homemade pulley holding up?
For those looking for it to go in both directions I was thinking about a microwave oven and how once you stop it and start it up again it does go the other direction if anyone figures how to make that work please let others know. I’m an amateur in this and I am looking to start pottery as a way to deal with my stress, so all this is great help in piecing together my pottery wheel. Thanks in advance for this.
It wouldn’t have enough torque to center the clay.
You can reverse this by switching the wires. It would be easy to rig up a switch to do it.
Is water on the floor a concern with the foot pedal? How is the homemade pulley holding up?
Pulley is working fine.
Water and slurry is contained in the splash pan.