Kid’s Pottery Wheel,30W Mini Pottery Wheel Plug-in Motor Pottery Kit for Beginners Pottery Wheel for Kids with Clay Tools for Home Use,School,Art Room

I’ve always wanted to learn to make pottery but have been too intimated to enroll in a class because I had disastrous experiences in grade school being mocked for my lack of skill with Play Doh. I’m serious. And, yes, I know I’m totally neurotic. Anyway, my plan was to order this little pottery wheel to practice on and when I got to the point where I felt like I’d learned enough that I wouldn’t be totally laughed out of an adult education pottery class for absolute beginners, I’d enroll in one. Let me be clear: this is not the very probably not the pottery wheel for anyone who actually knows how to throw pots and is serious about making pottery. It doesn’t have a powerful motor so that makes it slow going. It’s pretty much a toy pottery wheel machine for children or adults like me. It took me some time to get used to how the machine works and to get a sense of exactly how to build the clay but it’s actually a nice little pottery wheel for my purposes. I still haven’t got to the point of enrolling in a beginners class for adults but I’m feeling more confident. In the meantime, I’ll keep going on my little pottery wheel machine.

First of all it's the smallest pottery wheel I think I've ever seen. maybe good for making a doll's tea cup set, but anything with more than a 2 inch base isn't going to work on this.secondly, it has absolutely pathetic torque, we had to turn the speed up all the way and hold it back to even make it partially usable. Even then we had to have the clay so soft that it was basically unworkable ending up the consistency of silly putty or a wad of chewed gum...just to keep from seizing the motor when pushing it around on the wheel with wet fingers.The controls are on the side of the device making it impossible to avoid fouling them up with clay...it's called a foot pedal guys it's a few simple switches in a spring loaded plastic container...it's not expensive to make. Power, speed up, speed down. or have it analog and the pressure drives the power directly.the power cord is like 2 and a half feet long.there is a switch that is labeled "on/off" but is actually forward and reverse direction...because they just used generic parts you can find at any hardware store to build this thing.basically this is a toy not a tool. DO NOT BUY FOR A BEGINNER, it's really not suitable for anyone doing pottery but especially not a beginner because they aren't going to understand the machines short comings are not their fault. Actual clay is too stiff for the minor amount of torque this thing produces even at maximum power. It's tough to even center the clay properly because when you go to press it back down the motor seizes even if the clay and your hand is soaked and covered in slip. At anything under half power (the speed it should actually be turning basically) just touching the clay with a wet finger is enough to stop the wheel.They shouldn't be allowed to sell it like this, it would be an extreme test of skill to even make something on this.EDIT: I should have noticed how in all of the promotional pictures where they show someone "using it" there is no way they made the thing they have on the wheel because the tray and device is perfectly clean and also some of the examples they show...can't be made on a pottery wheel.

I bought this for my boyfriend because he took a couple pottery classes in high school and wanted to get back into it so I bought him the starter kit and he’s very pleased by it and how well the machine works. He’s able to make a little items and can definitely make some bigger items as well. Everything works well!

It isn’t very sturdy. Which added to frustration for first time users. Kids lost interest in it quickly and it’s buried in a closet somewhere.

The media could not be loaded. I make ceramic sculpts, I have a small kiln in my garage and the pieces I make are pretty small. Sometimes I’ll do little UFOs and such and have a tough time getting them symmetrical shaping them by hand. I wanted to try a small wheel for turning them, and this one is really good for it!This setup is 5-1/2” wide x 6” deep and 4-1/2” tall. The table is 4” diameter. That’s plenty big for the pieces I make which tend to be 2” or less. It’s very light, weighs maybe a couple of pounds. Easy to move around and small enough to store in a drawer.There’s a 3 position toggle switch on the front that controls the direction of rotation. There’s a rheostat knob that controls speed. The speed adjustment is linear and smooth, but it is fairly easy to bog down the little motor. Apply much pressure to the table and you’ll stop the motor. The trick to using this is to get your clay really soft and wet, and slowly work it to shape. Once you’ve got the shape approximate and centered on the table, things get a lot easier and the low power is not an issue. I’m left handed so work the clay with my left while running the speed knob with my right. I rarely go above half speed, the table can spin so fast that it’ll throw your piece right off the table and/or sling clay so be careful! The motor steps very smoothly right down to off. You can stop the wheel using the rheostat which is nice because you don’t have to constantly flip the toggle on and off.The tray easily splits in half for cleaning. It comes with an allen’s wrench for removing the table if you need to clean under it. It’s actually really easy to clean, the housing is powder-coated steel and the table is aluminum and clay comes right off even if it’s dry.Overall once I got used to running this it’s actually a great little setup for small pieces! I gave it 4 stars because of the motor lacking some power. But the motor is whisper quiet so no problem using this indoors (I use it on my dining table).

Great pottery wheel

This is a GREAT beginner pottery wheel. We love using it to make tiny pots, dishes,etc. it also comes with lots of tools to add great designs!

The wheel is so weak that it stops spinning when you try to throw the clay. I’m not sure what the purpose of this product is meant to be.Don’t waste your money, spend it on something better.