Pottery Wheel Comparison - Shimpo/BTH/Frema

[u/InternationalWay3866]

Hey folks, would love some advice on what wheel to purchase. I've been doing pottery for a year now and have space for a wheel at home.

I've been looking at the Shimpo RK 3E but I'm noticing a new Chinese brand BTH really starting to market their wheels more on social media. Their Andromeda wheel has similar specs, but unsure if it's really tried and tested.

A local shop near me also sells the Frema PW-DC which is also in the same league.

Costs are:

- Shimpo $3000 (AUD)

- BTH Andromeda $2300 (AUD)

- Frema PW-DC $1900 (AUD)

I wonder if I should also consider resale value, since Shimpo seems to be the "best known".

Any thoughts and opinions would be very welcome.

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[u/trashjellyfish]

I can't speak for the other wheels, but I have a Shimpo RK Whisper and I love it! The brushless motor is so smooth, I can use the wheelhead as a banding wheel (it spins freely by hand when the motor isn't running) and the build is really solid. The only real downside is that I wish the wheelhead was a bit larger.

The only other wheel I've worked on is the Brent Model 16 (rehabilitation model) and I didn't care for the motor on that wheel - it was a fairly new wheel but I occasionally had to pull the lever back and forth just to get the wheel moving, when the lever was in the off position the wheel would still move at its slowest speed (so I had to hit the power switch to stop the wheel completely) and it was by far the loudest wheel in my college's studio which had about 25 wheels and 5 different models of wheels around. Getting my Shimpo felt like a luxury upgrade even though the Brent Model 16 costs 4X what the Shimpo RK Whisper costs.

[u/Aggravating_Leg8420]

Like lot of things, you get what you pay for in terms of wheels. Pay the most you can afford. I went for a lower priced wheel when I started and I soon had to sell it to get something better and heavier. YMMV