A Treadle Darkly

Working on this treadle wheel feels like I take one step forward and two leaps back. The last post I said that it was finished and I was getting ready to actually make some pottery on it. Well the next day we head into the studio to find that some time since we left the day before and arrived that morning someone had taken it upon themselves to break it (probably not on purpose, they probably stepped on the flywheel which broke my “awesome” JB Weld job). Anyway, today I go in hoping to catch our friend Maki so she can mig weld the “weld” that broke. Which we do and she does weld it for us, although after she has finished and left for Alaska I realize that the other JB Weld has broken (from the heat or something else I don’t know) and now I’m stuck with an almost finished treadle wheel. It seems that the driveshaft has been giving me the most problems, when I thought it would be the easiest part. That will show me to think something is easy before even trying to do it once. I think the hardest part for me is knowing that I have to rely on other people to weld these parts for me, if I could and had the equipment to do it I don’t think I would be as upset. Well, I guess welding gear is a good investment for the future if I plan on building my own equipment. I’m going to try another approach to the driveshaft, I’m going to use pipe instead of solid steel. This way I can use pipe elbows to make the ninety degree turns that I need for it to be a treadle wheel. I think I might try to do that tomorrow, I’m already feeling better about going back to work on this rollercoaster of a project.

And the Treadle Marches On

The treadle wheel will be finished this week (I have to keep reminding myself this, because I need to move on to other projects). Truthfully I am looking at finishing this project tomorrow; I just have to glue one more piece of metal into the frame and then make the seat (which I don’t see as taking that long (he says knowing he will regret it later)). So today I attached the drive shaft to the wheel head and to the flywheel, and it all spins nicely.



Here is a photo of the driveshaft; the part that is offset is what makes this a treadle wheel as opposed to a kick wheel.



I also made the piece that attaches to the foot peddle and to the driveshaft, I have used an old leather belt, some screws, a piece of two by four (cut in half and laminated together). In this picture there is a piece of metal bar sticking out of one side, I have since removed it because it was too long, I have replaced it with a hinge that I had lying around.



I also have cut the board for the foot peddle, attached the piece that attaches to the foot peddle to the foot peddle and to the driveshaft as well. I will have this project finished and will post pictures of the first pots that I will throw on this treadle wheel by Friday (I promise).

Post #12

I just wanted to give an update on the T.A.R.D.I.S. and the treadle wheel, since it’s been a while since we talked about them. The T.A.R.D.I.S. first, the mission has been scrapped at least for a little while. We got a little busy with the end of the semester and accidentally let the slabs dry out to much. This is okay with us because we have come up with another way to make it that will involve much less carving, and will (hopefully) make it look better. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of knowing who Doctor Who is here is a link to Wikipedia’s Doctor Who page.
Now something completely different (the treadle wheel). We ran into a little problem with welding the drive shaft together, meaning we didn’t realize that we didn’t have the gas to weld with. Although we were able to get our friend Maki to weld part of it, we had to resort to J.B. Weld (a type of epoxy for those not in the know) for the rest of the “welding”. I think it will be strong enough to take the strain of treadling. This means that I will finally (this time I really mean it) get to put the whole thing together this week (I’m hoping tomorrow) and give the wheel a spin (or treadle...).
I will post some pictures of the finished wheel and the start of the new T.A.R.D.I.S. within the coming week. In the mean time please in joy this drawing done by my wife of the future me and our two hypothetical children:

[witty title here]

Well, I have really finished the frame for the treadle wheel (I noticed in the last post the photo was of an earlier incarnation of the frame, it is truly complete now). I was missing a few support beams, and had to move one that was in the wrong place.



I have also completed the splash pan, and my other half has started work on the drive shaft. Here is a photo of the steel plates that get attached to the drive shaft; this is before they were grinded and filed down to the right size.



Tomorrow it looks like the whole thing might finally get finished (I know I have been saying that but I truly mean it this time...I hope). I can’t wait to try it out and see all of the things that I can do better next time (they already seem to be mounting up (which is a good thing in my book)). I plan to build another one this summer, I am teaching a class at the college (Stephen F. Austin) this summer on brush, tool, and equipment making. And a couple of them seem really interested in making their own treadle wheel, so it seems like it will be a fun summer.

Treadle Wheel (the saga continues)

Well, the treadle wheel is coming along nicely. Although I had a minor set back this past Friday, something to do with angles and me not being able to figure it out, and then me getting frustrated, followed by me going home... But after having the weekend to think about it I have figured it out, and will get back on track on Monday. I have constructed most of the frame, only a few more boards to cut. While I have been working on that my other half has been cutting out some steel plates that will attach to the flywheel and the drive shaft. She has a lot of grinding followed by a bit of welding to do in the next few days. I also seem to keep forgetting to take photos of the work in progress; I will fix that though and have some to post soon.

With a Bang...

I want to start this blog off with a bang.... as in the bang of a hammer and other noises made by other tools. Meaning I am going to start off talking about making tools and equipment for use in my (at the moment non existent) pottery studio. My first major project will be the construction of a Leach style treadle wheel built from the ground up. I will be posting pictures as the project proceeds, along with photos of other smaller projects that I will also be working on like brush making, and various tools for the potter. Stay tuned for more exciting episodes as we (my wife and I) slowly build our dream studio.