Build Your Own Potter's Kick Wheel

Image Gallery Figure 1. The frame is a 30-inch cube, with 4-by-4 uprights and 2-by-4 cross members. MOTHER EARTH NEWS STAFF

Pottery, like other fields of art (and life in general), has not been immune from the rising tide of price increases. It seems clear to me that fewer and fewer people will be willing or able to shell out increasingly large sums of money on artistic interests in the future. Other methods of procuring necessary materials and tools must be found.

The plans that follow are for a kick type potter's wheel which costs under sixty dollars, depending upon availability of necessary parts. The wheel is an exceptionally fine piece of equipment: Very reliable, fairly cheap and easy to build. The rich satisfaction you'll get from throwing pottery on a wheel you've built yourself is an added bonus.

For sake of simplicity, I'll divide these building instructions into three main sections: (1) construction of the frame, (2) casting of the flywheel and securing it to the shaft and (3) aligning the bearings. You'll find a list of necessary materials included here, too.

My best advice is to amass all materials before you start building. It's kind of a drag having to break the construction routine to buy some parts. Let's build.

Construction of the Frame

Essentially the frame is a 30-inch cube, with 4-by-4 uprights and 2-by-4 cross members. See Fig. 1 in the Image Gallery.

It's best to cut the wood into 30-inch pieces before you start. The best bit for the drilling job is a 5/8-inch wood bit. It works nice. A suggested layout for the holes is shown in Fig. 2 (see Image Gallery).

The finished bottom frame of 2-by-4s must have a true face (so the wheel will set level) so assemble it on a flat surface. Then the 4-by-4 uprights can be placed in the corners and checked for 90-degree right angles before the holes are marked for drilling. Use the 6-inch bolts — plus washers, lock washers and nuts — to secure the 4-by-4s to the bottom frame.

In the diagram I show another 4-by-4 in the middle of the frame. This piece supports the flywheel and flange bearing. It is held in place with long nails and made rigid by four blocks of 4-by-4 bolted in place with 6-inch bolts. You should now have a structure which looks like Fig. 2 (see Image Gallery).

Now the upper cross members are added. You'll need 3 pieces of 2-by-4, 28 3/4-inches long, if the bottom frame was constructed properly. If this is your first shop project, you may find it easier to rough-cut the three 2-by-4s about 30 inches long and trim them to fit on assembly. Two of the three will serve as foot supports while you're making pots and their height should be adjusted to fit the individual potter. I located mine about 15 inches above the bottom frame because I like to rest my elbows on my thighs as I throw. All three pieces are secured with 6-by-1/2-inch bolts. See Fig. 3 in the Image Gallery.

The next stage is putting on the supports for the seat, working table and top bearing. You'll need 4 pieces of 2-by-4, each 30 inches long. When putting on these supports, make sure they are as level as possible, relative to the bottom frame. (If you lined up the bottom frame and trued the 4-by-4 uprights, you should have no problem. Use a level and square.) These pieces are secured to the front and back of the frame on both sides of the uprights with the 7-by-1/2-inch bolts. See Fig. 4 in the Image Gallery.