technical tuesday: Make your own wheel out of scrapyard finds.

by Carole Epp | Aug 28, 2012 | call for entry, emerging artist, job posting, monday morning eye candy, movie day, residency opportunity, show us your influences, technical tuesday

I finally figured out what to do with my husband’s growing collection of old tires in the shed : )

“Here’s a very basic potter’s wheel that can be assembled in minutes from a junkyard car wheel assembly. I used a 15″ rear wheel assembly from a 2000 Montana. I got lucky with that as the 4-bolt holes on the wheel spindle line up almost perfectly with the 4 holes on a 2” cast iron floor flange. Almost any other wheel will work too, though the holes may or may not line up as conveniently. I also like the ring of holes in the Montana wheel which make it easy to insert a stick to propel the wheel. With a bit of extra engineering you could easily add a friction drive motor.
The first wheel I put together 30 years ago is still in use. Same type of bolts. The cast iron flange I used then was slightly thicker than the new one I bought recently (thinner and made in China). I used the front wheel assembly from an American Motors car as many older vehicles were rear-wheel drive back then. Only 3 of the 4 bolt-holes in the flange lined up, but it still felt sturdy enough to me. I gave the wheel to a friend who uses it as a rotating platform when working on large hand-built pieces. He just puts a piece of plywood on top of the tire for a flat work surface. My first wheel has a welded triangle-shaped stand that is very heavy. The way that stand was built I estimate it would hold 500 lbs. or more. We used to have fun sitting on the tire and spinning around really fast! (becoming self-centered??) “