New Beginnings and New Hobbies

I have a few hobbies. All of my hobbies allow me to create. I knit, I create 2D animations, I 3D-model, I exercise regularly, and I love photography.

Lately, I've been seeing lots of videos about ceramics from different artists and small businesses.

They've all convinced me to try making pottery. I love making things with my hands and I can appreciate a good arm workout. I wanted to start by taking some beginner classes, but classes are so expensive! Classes are usually 6-8 weeks, and I don't have that long because I'll be starting my Ph.D. program very soon! The timing of most of the classes overlapped with my moving date and I refused to pay $400 just to miss out on half of the classes. I considered just going to a one-off class but my schedule has been very hectic and it's still a pretty steep investment for a hobby I might not end up liking.

So, I did what any normal person would do: I bought a pottery wheel and watched a bunch of YouTube videos on throwing.

Now, I know buying a pottery wheel sounds expensive and bad, so let me explain: I bought one of those super cheap kiddie pottery wheels.

Specifically, I bought a $5 wheel from Five Below:

It comes with air-dry clay so it's really easy to use and I don't have to worry about finding a studio nearby to fire whatever I make in a kiln. There are lots of cheap kid wheels online that have bigger wheels/plates.

There definitely are some cons to this my kit, unfortunately:

1. I have to teach myself. I usually like to get proper instruction when I try something for the first time. This could end up being more of a frustrating experience than a fun one. I'm hopeful that it'll at least be a learning experience!

2. The whole setup is a little flimsy.

3. The torque of the motor/wheel is pretty low. This means I can't put anything too heavy on the wheel. Fortunately, it has two speeds and they're okay for now.

4. The purple plate is really small so I can't throw anything big. The plate has a 4inch diameter.

Fortunately, I have an engineering degree, so figuring out how to use a kids' wheel shouldn't be too hard. I also have a personal 3D printer, so after I saw the small purple plate, I figured I could design and print a bigger plate out of PLA to replace it.

And that's exactly what I did! The best part of spending four years getting an Ivy League mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering degree is being able to design and build whatever you want.

I made a plate with a 6 inch diameter to replace the purple plate. I also made it thicker so it could handle some heavier clay. I did some stress analysis to figure out how much force I can put on my PLA plate. Thankfully, it's strong enough to easily withstand over 3000N* of force, which is much more than I'd ever expect to throw, so we should be set to go! (I should mention that most 3D-modeling software aka CAD does not accurately calculate the force if you add a new material like PLA and insert PLA's properties. This is because the infill of 3D-printed objects using PLA is not solid like a block of aluminum or sheet metal. Either way I don't expect anywhere near 3000N of force and I can always reprint).

I'm gonna try it out with the clay some time soon. If the torque of the motor ends up being a problem, I'll probably buy a new one with a higher torque spec and replace it. I might even machine a metal plate instead of PLA. This is definitely cheaper than buying a whole pottery wheel.

But if I do end up falling in love with ceramics, I don't mind buying a wheel and I'll definitely try out a few pottery classes at my new institution.

Stay tuned for ceramics updates! Hopefully, it is not a fail. :)