Getting It Level

Sometimes, it feels like I spend more time and effort on art studio builds than I do actually making pieces;  six years, three studio builds.  I've learned a few things - one of these things is how to deal with floors as off the level as a politician.

 Keeping a pottery wheel level is a subject often visited by those who have a drain in their studio - and hence sloping floors.  OEMs usually mount their wheels on steel a tube frame which is made to be rock solid, yet, only when sitting on a perfectly level floor.  Naturally, leveling kits aren't available for most models.  There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth over this fact.

So if you've got a wheel, and also a sloping floor, here's what you do:

You Need

• 8" x 8" bit of 3/4" plywood
• Gorillia Glue (get the brown kind, the 4 oz. bottle is more than enough)
• (3) Leveling Mounts (swivel stud type, 3/8-16 size; these are nice)
• (3) Tee Nuts (3/8-16 size; these will match the leveling mounts above)
• Carpenter's Pencil
• Sheet of Blank Paper
• Utility Knife (maybe, but not necessarily)
• Bull's Eye Level
• Scissors
• Mallet
• Water
• Access to a Drill Press (preferable) or an Power Hand Drill (and drill bits, naturally)
• Access to a Band Saw (preferable) or Jig Saw
• Access to a Belt Sander (preferable) or Sanding Block/Paper

Note:  If you use different hardware, just be aware that you need to match the thread size of the leveling mount bolt with the tee nut thread size.  '3/8-16' means that the bolt, or sleeve inside the tee nut, is 3/8" wide, and has 16 turns per inch.  Not matching these will result in cross threaded tee nuts, and we don't want that.

What To Do

1. First, pivot your wheel over onto its side, and pull the plastic foot caps off the bottom of the wheel frame legs.  This isn't easy; if you can't manage you may have to cut them off with a utility knife, but be careful because if you cut too deep you will scratch the paint on the tube.
2. Next, use a carpenter's pencil, or a crayon, and paper to make a rubbing of the end of the steel tube used to construct the legs; you need to capture a rubbing that accurately captures the inner diameter of the tubing.  Cut this rubbing out along the diameter of the inner lip of the tube to make a paper circle.
3. Fold your paper circle exactly in half, unfold it, rotate it a little in your hands, then fold it in half again.  The center of the circle is the point where the two folds cross; poke a pencil hole through this point so it can be used later for stenciling the center of the circle onto the plywood.
4. With your new, handy-dandy, paper circle in hand, stencil the perimeter of the circle and the dot in the middle of the circle onto your plywood three times.  Obviously, the circles shouldn't overlap.
5. Now, drill out the dots with your drill, and then cut the circles out of the plywood with your saw.  Your drilled out holes should be however wide they need to be to accommodate the tee nut snugly.  It is often better to drill a small hole first, then gradually use larger bits until you have the size hole you want.  Don't worry overly much about being perfect when cutting out the circles, any imperfection can be sanded away later.
6. Install the tee nuts; the principal is that the flanged end goes down, and the sleeve/tube goes up into the wood through the holes that you've just drilled.  I like to add a little Gorilla Glue around the wood facing side of the flange and the tube.  Dampen the wood if you decided to do this, as the moisture helps the glue set.  Screw the tee nuts down before the glue cures rather than afterwards; these will keep the tee nut in place while the glue is curing and allow you to go onto the next step.
7. Your new wooden circles avec tee-nut centers should be just a tiny bit too big to fit into your wheel frame legs.  This is where they will be glued after these are fit using the sander.  Unless you're really great with the saw, your circles will be a bit uneven.  Using the holes in the center of the frame legs for fitting, sand the circles until they fit tightly inside the legs holes.
8. Wet the inside of the legs and the perimeter of the wooden circles, then apply Gorilla Glue to both.  It's okay to use your finger to apply glue to the tube, but use a dry disposable towel to remove the glue from your fingers.  Do not use a wet paper towel to remove Gorilla Glue from anything ... ever.
9. Holding the wooden circle at the mount of the tube, pound it into the tube opening using the mallet.  Clean up any glue that squirts out with a dry cloth.
10. Go get some coffee or whatever else you like to drink while the glue cures.  It will take about 2 hours before the glue is 80% set, and around a day before the glue it is perfectly set.
11. After the glue has cured at least 2 hours, thread in the leveling mounts.  Many mounts have a nut on the threaded rod; make certain this is all the way towards the pad end of the leveling mount.
12. Last, right your wheel, move it to where you'd like it to be, and use the Bull's Eye Level to adjust the leveling mounts as needed.  Thread the nuts back up to the flange of the Tee Nuts, which will keep the rods from turning.  Your wheel is now level, though let the glue cure for the rest of the day before using it.

This will raise your wheel up about an inch or so, but this is a fair trade for a wheel that stands level on an uneven floor.  For my install, the materials cost me around $45, and took up about two hours of my time, excluding the waiting for glue to dry.