Handles Like A Sports Car!

If wheels were fabrics…this one would be silk.The smoothness of a wheel is determined by a lot of things; the controller, the motor, the belt, the foot pedal…they all have to work together in a choreographed dance at high speeds, at low speeds, with a lot of clay and with very little. No one did a better job at coordinating these elements then Tom Forte when he designed this wheel. Sure, it is quiet, but it isn’t more important not to flop an 18″ porcelain platter?

The Motor

Skutt is the only company we know of that uses a Continuous Duty motor. These motors are tested under much more rigorous conditions so they need to be built tougher. That means heavy duty components that can stand up to the strain students (and big pot potter’s) can subject them to. Sometimes bigger is better. Click here to find out why. Bigger is Better

The Controller

Okay, this might get a little technical. Our controllers use only the highest quality components. If you look at our controller side be side with competitors you will see that ours is often twice the size. This allows for larger, more robust components that are spaced properly to reduce heat.

Controllers have settings that determine the min/max speed, the torque,the rate at which the wheel head speeds up and slows down and something called IR Comp.IR comp on a potters wheel is designed to send more power to the wheel when it feels that it is being bogged down like when you are centering a large amount of clay or maybe when a student wants to see how strong they are. When you take your hands off the clay, the additional power to the wheel is brought back to normal because the resistance is gone. The problem with this is that these surges may not be perfectly smooth. If you are throwing a big platter this is not good.

This is why all Skutt Wheels are shipped with IR Comp turned off. Our research tells us that most potters prefer to control the needed power with the foot pedal. Find out more by clicking here.Bigger is Better

The Wheel Head

The Wheel Head on all Skutt Electric Wheels is removable! No, not with a screwdriver and a PHD in Engineering, just twist and pull up. This innovative design allows you to have full access to your splash pan for cleaning. If you have one of our removable splash pan designs you will definitely appreciate our one piece splash pan. No longer will you need to fuss with cleaning out your splash pan before you can bring it to the sink to clean like two piece pans. Just bring it straight to your clay reclaimer or trash can and dump it. It is that easy! It is also the thickest wheel head on the market so it will never ware thin, will not flex, and is nearly impossible to bend.

The Shaft

The biggest test of your wheel head shaft is to turn it loose on a big pot potter Like Scott Semple. Scott throws pots on over-sized bats that are over 6 ft tall. When you get that much clay, cantilevered out, that high…it puts a tremendous amount of stress on your shaft. Before Scott bought a Skutt wheel he actually bent a few. The shaft on a Skutt wheel is nearly twice the diameter of the competition.

The Foot Pedal

When you are talking about foot pedals the 3 most important factors are; the smoothness, how it ergonomically fits your foot, and how durable it is. Check, Check and Check! It was designed by a potter so it has to be smooth and feel good on the foot. He also knew he wanted to sell these things to schools and knew the constant abuse they would be subjected to so he built it stout using metal parts where others used plastic. You are going to love this foot pedal.