Vevor Pottery wheel review

Vevor pottery wheels are currently available all over the internet. They vary in price from about £70 to £130, which represents very good value for money, although it has to be said that some people experience problems with them (see the full review). I have reviews below of two different Vevor pottery wheels. One was brought into the pottery by one of my students and the other was bought by another student who sent me her own review and experiences of using her Vevor wheel.

Vevor wheel review one

I shared the following review to a number of social media groups recently;

“A student brought their wheel into the pottery this week. She paid £70 for it new. These wheels are currently all over the internet (they have gone up in price a bit, £100-£130). They are usually branded under the name Vevor. I had quite low expectations of it,   however I was proved wrong. The motor is very quiet, the wheel works well at low speeds and high speeds, the foot controller is very precise and the wheel has plenty of traction, torque and momentum (at least with a 12 ounce ball of clay). The wheel weighs very little and is very transportable. Okay it’s not perfect, you need to make a small table for it to raise it off the ground, cos it’s a bit on the small side and the tray digs into your arms a bit and doesn’t hold much water. However for the price it represents great value for money and for somebody wanting to learn how to throw on a budget, it really isn’t such a bad option. It would be excellent for children, as it’s a bit smaller than a standard wheel. I’ve no idea what the longevity of these wheels is. I guess time will tell.”

Since writing this review I have had quite a lot of negative and positive responses to this wheel. Some people have had the wheel for over 12 months and all is still well (the student that brought the wheel in to show me has had it for two years now. She recently sent me photos of the studs she has put into the wheel head to take wooden bats). Some people found the wheel only lasted a few weeks before breaking. One lady said the wheel stopped working after one day (she was reimbursed her money). One person said the wheel worked fine until they tried to centre a 5lb ball of clay on it, this apparently finished it off.

It does seem that you are taking a bit of a risk buying this wheel. Maybe you will be lucky? If you do buy one I’d definitely only use small balls of clay, say up to 1lb and keep mopping out the water, as this may well increase the longevity. If you can get it for as little as £70 and it lasts 6 months with weekly use, you have probably got a bargain. My student actually managed to practise and learn the basics of throwing bowls and cylinders on hers.

Update 10/02/2022; Just received the following email re this Vevor wheel;

“Hi Lee,
Just been reading your blog regarding these super cheap pottery wheels.
I like you run courses and was looking into the wheels to assess for students.
I got one off eBay and yes they seem to work ok but the one I got, and
I think they probably all come out of the same factory in China, was
Electrically very dangerous. No earth and water could very easily get
inside the machine. I had it inspected by an electrical engineer who
was appalled at the way it was constructed. I tried to engage with the
Seller but go nowhere and had to claim my money back via the card
Company. I also tried to alert trading standards but though they
recorded my concerns I think it unlikely anything was done. How stuff
like this can be sold here is worrying.”

Vevor wheel review two (review by Helen)

I became hooked on pottery after the first few throws.

Knowing that I needed more of this in my life I began to think of ways I could practice every day and feed my new habit.

It wasn’t sensible for me to pay out a lot of money for a wheel, firstly, I wasn’t good enough at throwing to justify that amount of money on a hobby. Secondly, I wanted to see if I was going to stick at it, to still be enjoying it while experiencing the reality of cleaning up all the time, making mistakes, preparing the clay, getting frustrated etc. Thirdly, I WANTED to improve my skills, and I knew the only way of doing that was to practice, and only way I could do this, was by purchasing a small, relatively cheap wheel.

I did a little research and decided that the vevor would do just fine. Here is a link to the model I went for. VEVOR 280w 25cm Electric Pottery Wheel Machine Mud Blocking Pottery Bar Ceramic Diy | VEVOR UK

It took a while to arrive due to the delays with the postal service at the time, but by the last week in September 2021 I had my very own potter’s wheel.

I’d like to talk through the initial problems, then I can focus on the good stuff.

Setting the wheel up is very simple, literally take it from the box, place on the floor, fit the splash pan, sorted!

Well, kind of sorted……my first issue was the height, it’s incredibly low to the floor and it took me a while to establish a comfortable working position, I tried all sorts before settling on a formula that worked well for me and my situation.

Furniture risers did the job of lifting the wheel to the perfect hight for me, they also fit the legs of the wheel very well, with the bottom of the legs sitting snugly in the well of the risers.  I used two on each leg, six in total, to get the lift I needed. Here is the link to the raisers I used. Utopia Bedding 8 Piece Premium Adjustable Furniture Risers (4 High and 4 Short) – Heavy Duty Riser with Strong Space saving – Bed Riser, Table Riser, Chair or Sofa Riser (3 to 8 Inch) – (Black) : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

The stool I ended up with you can find on pottery supplies websites, however, the same thing is a lot cheaper on Amazon, even though I am not totally happy about purchasing from Amazon, it does, sometimes save you a few pounds. Drive Rotating Rounded Bath / Shower Stool with Swivel Seat : Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care The adjustable height feature is perfect.

Once set up I eagerly started to throw some clay, unable to work out why everything felt uncomfortable and the clay wasn’t really doing what I asked of it, it slowly dawned on me that the wheel was far from level. Silly mistake. So out came the spirit level and I adjusted everything using some bits of wood that were lying around. Problem sorted and I began to really enjoy practicing my throwing skills.

It soon became apparent that if I wanted to make a few things in one sitting without the risk of misshaping what I had made whilst taking it off the wheel, then I would need to use bats.

At only 25cm, the wheel is smaller than on a standard pottery wheel so I needed to find somewhere I could purchase bats of the correct size. I found some on Etsy, which I was much happier about using than Amazon. They were quite expensive, I think I paid around £60 for 5, however, I felt the purchase would be worth the cost. If you’re lucky, you might know a joiner who would be happy to cut some for you, which would be the cheapest option.

 I was a bit nervous to drill them, not wanting to make any mistakes but I measured carefully and drilled two holes in each one.

The pins I used for the wheel I ended up getting from Halfords, but they are not difficult to source.  With great care I marked the top of the wheel where the pins needed to go and drilled, using the correct size drill bit to enable the pins to fit perfectly, and bingo! The bats fitted like a dream.

Being able to throw on a bat made things a whole lot easier and gave me more confidence to experiment with the clay.

Seven months later, I’m still using this wheel and I have to say I’ve been surprised at how good it has been. The wheel can be used either clockwise or anti clockwise which might be useful for some. The foot pedal is comfortable to use, it’s responsive, and it’s easy to maintain the correct speed for your needs.

I do think your expectations shouldn’t be too high with this wheel, it does have limitations. The amount of clay you can throw, for example, anything above two and a half pound of clay and the wheel starts to slow significantly, anymore and you can hear the motor struggling.  Also, I find the splash pan a bit clunky to remove and fit back on as well as the fact that it easily leaks and won’t hold much water. But, as something to get started on, to allow practice at home and develop your skills it is a fantastic little wheel and good value for money.