New and Improved Vevor Pottery Wheel Review

Vevor’s Improved 14″ Pottery Wheel

I recently reviewed the 36cm Pottery Wheel from Vevor in an earlier post. It performed surprisingly well for a wheel that cost just over $200 (Amazon). Vevor has a new version of this wheel with enclosed internals, smaller form factor, and adjustable legs. I thought I would give it a try to see if it would be a better fit for my pottery studio than the original.

A Good Fit for My Pottery Studio?

As I work to finish my own pottery studio and offer to host small groups or classes, I need a few additional wheels. I don’t need professional level pottery wheels such as a Brent, Shimpo, or even my own Clay Boss. Especially if I can’t find them used and much cheaper than the retail price since I have limited funds. But I need something with enough power for beginning potters to learn how to throw on the wheel.

The new 14″ Vevor wheel is even smaller than the original which is good for my limited studio space. Many of the specs are the same as the original Vevor wheel that I tried. If it can hold up for a few years of beginner throwing, I think it may be an even better option for my pottery studio.

Specifications for the Improved 14″ Vevor Pottery Wheel

• 14″ wheel head (slightly less than 14″)
• Motor listed as 450w power
• Forward and Reverse switch
• Includes a wired foot pedal to control wheel speed
• Metal enclosed body
• Metal, adjustable legs
• Aluminum wheel head
• 0-300 RPM listed speed
• No holes or bat pins included

Differences from the Original 36cm Vevor Wheel?

The biggest difference I noticed between the two different Vevor pottery wheels was the price. At my time of purchase the new 14″ Vevor Ceramic Wheel was about $30 less(!) than I paid for the original 36cm version. You can also get the new wheel in white or blue. The new version is much more compact. This is good for saving space in the pottery workshop but the area to hold tools, water, or clay while working is very small.

One of the big improvements over the “36cm” version is the adjustable legs. This is a nice feature which makes the wheel a better fit for more people. You can unscrew two bolts to slide the lower part of each leg in or out of the upper part . Then screw in the bolts to lock the legs into one of the 3 available heights.

Unfortunately, one of the holes on one leg was slightly out of place so it didn’t line up with the holes in the upper part of the leg (see the video above for more about it). So instead of three different heights, this leg only adjusted to two heights. This turns out to be a small issue for me but may be a much larger problem for others.

The adjustable legs don’t actually add much additional height to the original 36cm version. The lower settings might make the wheel more of an option to put on a table top.

One other difference with the new wheel is the nearly enclosed body. This doesn’t do much for me. I guess it could keep the internal parts a little more clean or safe, especially if you move this wheel around a lot. It also adds a bit more work to inspect or adjust something on the inside.

Vevor makes a number of pottery wheel models. All that I’ve seen, other than the two I’ve tested, have a smaller wheel head and only a 350w motor but also cost less.

What I Like

• Great price (compared to pro level wheels by Brent, Speedball, Shimpo, etc.)
• Very compact (even smaller than the original, much smaller than traditional wheels)
• Pretty good speed control with the foot pedal
• Higher top speed than original Vevor pottery wheel I tried
• Adjustable legs are a nice feature.

Issues and Concerns

• Still a little too short to be comfortable for longer periods of use
• Quality control (one of the holes doesn’t line up on the adjustable legs, craftsmanship is lacking)
• Plastic pedal (it slips around on floor, how long will plastic gears last?)
• Motor isn’t super strong. It whines and slows a little while centering larger amounts of clay.
• Less room to place tools or water while throwing
• How good is customer service?

Additional Thoughts and Modifications

Caster Wheels and Dolly

Just like the original Vevor pottery wheel that I bought, I created a three wheel dolly to hold the new an improved wheel. This adds enough height to make the wheel a little more comfortable for throwing. It also makes the wheel easy to move in and out of storage. And with the smaller form factor, this wheel takes up even less space in the pottery studio.

Modify the Bottom of the Foot Pedal

The pedal is the exact same as the original so I will add a foam mat (Amazon) or rubber feet (Amazon) to the foot pedal. I’ve tried the foam shelf liner on the original and it works okay. I hope the rubber feet work even better.

Holes and Bat Pins

I have added bat pins (Amazon) to both versions of the Vevor pottery wheel. They both have the same relatively thin, aluminum wheel head which was pretty easy to drill holes into. See how I did it on youtube.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the new, smaller version of the Vevor pottery wheel with the full size wheel head seems to be a solid attempt at offering a cost effective pottery wheel to non professionals. I certainly wouldn’t try to use it as a full time production wheel, or even a dependable wheel for a serious hobbyist throwing larger pieces. But I could see it being great for a beginner potter to learn the basics or something for the kids as a creative outlet instead of crafting things on a screen.

The longevity is probably the biggest concern. But at the price, I don’t expect it to last more than a few years. If I can teach a year of pottery lessons on it I would be happy.

My second biggest concern is the craftsmanship. If you look close, you understand the old saying: “you get what you pay for.” The metal work is pretty rough. Things don’t line up precisely. Everything works fine but a lack of craftsmanship makes me wonder if that will affect the function at some point. And that leads to another concern.

I have read a couple comments (out of 100s) that basically said it was hard to get satisfactory customer service. Since I bought from Amazon with their “free returns” I started the return process to see how hard it would be. Usually I just box up a product and take it to the local UPS store. This time, they said I would have to contact the Vevor company for a return. I stopped there because I actually didn’t really want to wait for a replacement.

For my needs, these concerns are softened by the low price. In fact, I will purchase two additional 14″ Vevor pottery wheels to complete a set of 4 that I will offer for small classes. Hopefully, this information will help you decide if a Vevor pottery wheel is right for your own situation.

Also: If you get yourself a new vevor pottery wheel, learn about pottery supplies to use with it.

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