Mud Box
Anyone who’s owned a Pacifica knows about the cheap
particleboard top they used,
and may still do for all I know. The rest of the wheel is just fine - good motors, squeaky belts and all. Since we stand at our wheels rather than sit, it needed more than a slip-on splash pan to lean or brace on. I can’t even remember what the factory splash pan looked like or how it worked. I do remember that the boot around the wheel head shaft bearings was less than satisfactory. My bolt-on model, real wood mudbox features an ABS plastic liner with a drain hole and a waterproof collar for the bearings. This one’s rather large. The space is great for wet stuff though – sponges and tools etc. Because of the weight of this one (the floor is 1” plywood) we set it up on blocks and then small sections of 2” plastic pipe carry the overflow of water out to a bucket that gets emptied as soon as we can no longer stand the smell or sooner if full.
It’s not really done yet. Besides a coat of polyurethane on the wood it gets a shelf screwed across the back section where it looks like there are two compartments. On that goes a pointer device that doubles as a place to hang dry tools and a shelf to the right for the foot pedal since Meredith likes to use her hand to control speed rather than stand on one foot. I don’t really want to do too much of the detail work on it until we move into the new studio. It’s almost like a cabinet installation – things have to be situated just right. In the old studio the previous mudbox was set up with a kitchen cabinet and counter top between Meredith’s wheel and my own. We both had a window in front of us with a view across the hayfield and could keep an eye out for the occasional deer or fox and watch the hawks soar….. ……. We miss that………
Uh,.. moving on – I’m working on a mudbox for my Brent wheel. It’s a bit different because of the bearing housing and the slight fender around the perimeter of the table top. The fire heated up the plastic on my wheel and I believe that I can pull that plastic shield off and work from the steel top up. I don’t remember the name of the type of plastic they use right this minute but I know you can’t use methyl ethyl keytone products to glue it so it’s another bolt-on project. I will post progress on that most likely in January or February.
7 comments:
wOOt! It's all coming together! :)
That's a pretty cool rig you got going there. I don't know what Pacifica used to use. I have one that's about nine years old maybe and I think the top is really hard plastic. The squeaky belts drive me crazy though. I keep a can of silocone lubricant nearby. The motor seems a little loud for my taste. I plan on going to the 2010 NCECA in Philadelphia, and my shopping objective while I am there will be to listen to as many wheels as possible and choose a new one.
I have to agree with you on the noise- I thought these were suppose to be quiet when we bought them. It is like a gaggle of geese somedays. I also keep some spray near by. Have you had trouble with the belts? We have and the company is not nice to deal with- not helpful I should say. Mark sold his but we have two Brents as well. We use one Brent with no box and it sits a bit off the floor. It is good for larger pots and trimming.
I'll post some finished pics when it is all back together.
Woot! Woot!
M
The only trouble I've had is that about every two weeks or so the belts will start squeaking, and get louder and louder until I spray them, and that the motor is loud. That's why I want to check out wheels in person. I'm a little tired, and skeptical of every wheel advertising that they are the quietest on the market.
You just can't turn the radio up loud enough- the neighbors would call the police!
It is funny how the squeaking interfers with the ability to give the pot your full attention.
Let me know what you decide to get- even our 30 year old brent is more quiet.
Maybe the new belts will be better-???
M
Don't know if you'll read this. but, squeaking is not my problem. Every once in a while, I spray some silicone spray on the belts, and it's fine.
It's the vibration that gets to me. I've tried adjusting some bolts where the motor bolts to the frame, but to no avail. It isn't always a noisy vibration, just sometimes.
Any ideas?
Michael
Noisy vibrations.... Meredith doesn't get that that I know of. Let me have a look at the frame and see what comes to mind. Bolting it all to a 1" piece of plywood seems to muffle a lot.
mh
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