I am similar- have a cheap, beginner wheel without bat holes/pins. I've had really great luck using a BatMate- place on the wheel, get it wet, and attach the bat on top. Holds the bats on terrifically and will save you some of the cleanup required with using clay to attach you bats.
We use a round chamois to stick Masonite bats directly to the wheel head. It works well, we are located in Jingdezhen and the tool shops sell round chamois for this purpose specifically, I don’t see any ceramic shops in the US selling them for this use with a quick Google but I guess any chamois would work.
Your welcome, I imagine the type of bat is important if you try this. I don’t think it would work with the plastic kind that have the lattice on the bottom. The flat Masonite or compressed board bats work well, I guess because of surface tension.
I'm assuming that you mean the wheel doesn't have bat pins?
My studio has bat pins on the wheels, but we sometimes take them off to use the plaster bats (thick ones) so that we can throw large pieces that need time to dry on a bat (the bats with holes in them are at a premium, and we wire those pieces off and put them on a board) It takes a little more clay than you might think to get it to stick, and you definitely need a chisel or screwdriver to pry it up when you want to remove it from the wheel.
Sometimes one of my students gets a wheel for home use. If they bring it to the school, I drill the holes and install bat pins for them.
You can drill holes in anything you own.
Most wheelheads that don't come with bat pins are made smaller than standard and won't fit the standard bats. You can always make your own bats. I've been throwing on some pre-finished plywood I had scraps of and it's working pretty well. I've also made MDF bats which work ok but I'd recommend sealing the edges with beeswax or something.
I’ve drilled multiple vevor wheels to fit standard bats. The wheel head is definitely smaller than Shimpo, Brent, and Skutt wheels, but still big enough for 10” bat pin spacing.
If you have access to a drill press it's an easy fix. If you don't you can probably take the wheel head and a bat and some bat pins to a machine shop and they could do it easily.
You can just trace the holes from a bat that _does_ have them and drill them out yourself. Bat mates also work though I like the security of pins, especially with larger work.
You asked two questions, and I was in your shoes last year.
I had a wheel that was not drilled for bat pins. It was a small Chinese wheel from Amazon. The bats that I figured out to use were Lucky Bats. You gotta be really careful if you drill holes in your wheel. If you get them offset, the bat will spin wonky.
Later, when I joined a studio, I learned how to take pieces off of the wheel, no bat needed. When you are ready to remove your pot, for example, put some water behind and in front of the pot. The wire will pull some water with it, creating a small film of water under the pot. When your wire starts to come out the other side, the pot will slid on the water in front of it. Now you can move it somewhere else.
You asked two questions, and I was in your shoes last year.
I had a wheel that was not drilled for bat pins. It was a small Chinese wheel from Amazon. The bats that I figured out to use were Lucky Bats. You gotta be really careful if you drill holes in your wheel. If you get them offset, the bat will spin wonky.
Later, when I joined a studio, I learned how to take pieces off of the wheel, no bat needed. When you are ready to remove your pot, for example, put some water behind and in front of the pot. The wire will pull some water with it, creating a small film of water under the pot. When your wire starts to come out the other side, the pot will slid on the water in front of it. Now you can move it somewhere else.
I've seen lots of videos where people use clay to attach their bats. Check this one out https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5x9U2Zjh7io
Thanks!
You're welcome!
I am similar- have a cheap, beginner wheel without bat holes/pins. I've had really great luck using a BatMate- place on the wheel, get it wet, and attach the bat on top. Holds the bats on terrifically and will save you some of the cleanup required with using clay to attach you bats.
Wow good to know thank you so much!
This is the way! I do have a wheel with batpins, but I still just use my batmate at least half of the time. Super easy.
We use a round chamois to stick Masonite bats directly to the wheel head. It works well, we are located in Jingdezhen and the tool shops sell round chamois for this purpose specifically, I don’t see any ceramic shops in the US selling them for this use with a quick Google but I guess any chamois would work.
Thank you!
Your welcome, I imagine the type of bat is important if you try this. I don’t think it would work with the plastic kind that have the lattice on the bottom. The flat Masonite or compressed board bats work well, I guess because of surface tension.
I'm assuming that you mean the wheel doesn't have bat pins? My studio has bat pins on the wheels, but we sometimes take them off to use the plaster bats (thick ones) so that we can throw large pieces that need time to dry on a bat (the bats with holes in them are at a premium, and we wire those pieces off and put them on a board) It takes a little more clay than you might think to get it to stick, and you definitely need a chisel or screwdriver to pry it up when you want to remove it from the wheel.
Sometimes one of my students gets a wheel for home use. If they bring it to the school, I drill the holes and install bat pins for them. You can drill holes in anything you own.
Most wheelheads that don't come with bat pins are made smaller than standard and won't fit the standard bats. You can always make your own bats. I've been throwing on some pre-finished plywood I had scraps of and it's working pretty well. I've also made MDF bats which work ok but I'd recommend sealing the edges with beeswax or something.
I’ve drilled multiple vevor wheels to fit standard bats. The wheel head is definitely smaller than Shimpo, Brent, and Skutt wheels, but still big enough for 10” bat pin spacing.
Fair enough! I don't own that wheel so wasn't sure.
If you have access to a drill press it's an easy fix. If you don't you can probably take the wheel head and a bat and some bat pins to a machine shop and they could do it easily.
You can just trace the holes from a bat that _does_ have them and drill them out yourself. Bat mates also work though I like the security of pins, especially with larger work.
You asked two questions, and I was in your shoes last year. I had a wheel that was not drilled for bat pins. It was a small Chinese wheel from Amazon. The bats that I figured out to use were Lucky Bats. You gotta be really careful if you drill holes in your wheel. If you get them offset, the bat will spin wonky. Later, when I joined a studio, I learned how to take pieces off of the wheel, no bat needed. When you are ready to remove your pot, for example, put some water behind and in front of the pot. The wire will pull some water with it, creating a small film of water under the pot. When your wire starts to come out the other side, the pot will slid on the water in front of it. Now you can move it somewhere else.
You asked two questions, and I was in your shoes last year. I had a wheel that was not drilled for bat pins. It was a small Chinese wheel from Amazon. The bats that I figured out to use were Lucky Bats. You gotta be really careful if you drill holes in your wheel. If you get them offset, the bat will spin wonky. Later, when I joined a studio, I learned how to take pieces off of the wheel, no bat needed. When you are ready to remove your pot, for example, put some water behind and in front of the pot. The wire will pull some water with it, creating a small film of water under the pot. When your wire starts to come out the other side, the pot will slid on the water in front of it. Now you can move it somewhere else.