A Working Leach treadle Wheel!

I set up the wheel temporarily to make sure it worked correctly and smoothly prior to breaking it down for finishing. All I can say is success!

It needed some minor adjustments, but works exactly as I had hoped. Here I cranked it up, jumped off and filmed a short video of the wheel in action.

Leach Treadle Wheel Update

I have done a number of things on the Treadle Wheel since the last post.

Pacifica used to be the only electric wheel using a 1" shaft, but I discovered that Brent has been making some of their new models using a 1" shaft rather than the 3/4" shaft they have used for years. This makes both their 12" & 14" wheel heads available with the 1" shaft, which is perfect for the Leach Treadle Wheel! I opted for the 12" wheel head, as this is the typical size used on a treadle wheel (as specified by Bernard Leach) and it gives much more room around the wheel head than a 14" would. I also located some 1/2" Dupont Corian remnants to fabricate a splash pan. They where typically made from wood and lined with copper or zinc. I have to believe that had Bernard had access to Corian he would have chosen it too, as it is water proof, highly durable, and will last forever. The hole for the shaft has a piece of PVC pipe glue welded into place. The outside of the splash pan will have a 1/4" veneer of maple to add to the wheel's looks.

Here I have the wheel mostly mocked up to see if everything is working correctly...and it does! The flywheel is made from four layers of 3/4" birch plywood and has a 1/2" layer or Corian on top. In this picture the flywheel is installed up side down.

As an homage to Leach, I created a porcelain disk and inset it into the treadle/shaft connector. It bears the insignia of the St Ives Leach Pottery.

New Leach Treadle Wheel

I had started to make a treadle wheel using scrap maple as a frame, but discovered that the finger jointed and laminated pieces of maple I was using were very susceptible to splitting if exposed to moisture (of which there is plenty in a pottery studio), so I scraped it.

Coming around full circle, I have now made a Leach style treadle wheel almost entirely from steel. It is composed mainly of 3" square tubing and 1.5"x3" rectangular tubing. When finished it will be powder coated, making moisture almost and non-issue.

Here is the initial framework:

Here is the frame with diagonal support added and temporary shaft with bearings aligned:

The shaft was fabricated from two pieces of 1" solid bar stock and two pieces of 1/2" plate. I tack welded the plates together to drill the 1" holes in them so that they are perfectly aligned. Once the two shafts are welded in place the center section of the main shaft is cut out. Doing it this way keeps everything perfectly straight and aligned. You don't want a wobbly oscillating wheel head!

More to come...