Customer Reviews

Alex Deluxe Pottery Wheel with AC Adapter

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I got this pottery wheel for my daughter for Christmas. I have a real pottery wheel and she wanted her own so she could do pottery with me. Being used to a real wheel, I had fairly low expectations for this toy, but my daughter was so excited about it I went ahead and got it anyway. Even with low expectations I was a bit disappointed in the product.

The wheel is very cute, but a flimsy (and loud). There is a covered slot on the tray. I'm not sure what it's for, but it keeps coming off. The wheel head is made out of orange plastic and slips over a hexagonal metal shaft attached to the motor. After using the wheel only one time, the plastic that slips over the metal shaft is already starting so show signs that it might crack.

If you have used a real pottery wheel you know that centering the clay is the first step. There is no way you could center even a tiny amount of clay on this wheel. The motor just isn't strong enough. The toy comes with a device that is supposed to center the clay for you. It is a small cup that you attach to the wheel, fill with clay and then remove. This is problematic, because the clay wants to stick to the cup and not the wheel. I ended up having to take the cup off the wheel and force the clay out, then stick it back down on the wheel and just try to get it as centered as possible. I can see this causing a lot of frustration for my daughter (and me).

The toy also comes with some tools for shaping the clay. We haven't actually tried them yet, but I did mess around with them. There is a arm that attaches to the base and holds the shaping tools. The plastic screws that hold the tools onto the arm do not seem to stay fastened in place. Maybe they will actually work when we try them on clay, but I am doubtful.

The wheel has a pedal that turns the wheel on and off. When I was using it it wouldn't turn off when I took my foot off. My daughter, however, didn't seem to have this problem, so it may be that I was pressing it too hard.

Even with all the negatives, I have to say that my daughter loved it. She's bugging me constantly to set her up to do some more pottery. Oh, just one more thing... if you do end up getting this you might want to order some extra clay. The clay that comes with the wheel is enough to make maybe 4 items.

My daughter and I just finished using her Alex Pottery Wheel. I would not recommend this craft toy. First of all I think it would be impossible for a child to use without assistance. Second, the clay does not stay centered on the wheel and as a result it is impossible to make an even object. The shaping tools are useless. My daughter did not have any fun as she found it very frustrating and needed me to help a lot. If you are thinking Demi Moore in Ghost when you look at this toy - think again! It's frustration level is rivaled only by the Sticker Factory.

I read the mixed reviews on all the pottery wheels and decided to get this one any way since it was one of two things my son asked for for Christmas. Having used real pottery wheels and knowing what they cost, I wasn't expecting much. My son had a great time playing with it at first, even though he couldn't use any of the tools to shape the pots. I tried and found I also had difficulty using them and finally helped him shape them by hand. He loves the pots and tells everyone he made it on a pottery wheel when in reality, we basically used the wheel as a pedestal to work off of. We only used the wheel once.

My daughter loved this product. She made a coffee mug, and a pot that we hope to grow some plants in as soon as it warms up.

I purchased this as a gift for an 11 year old for her birthday along with the air-drying clay. She just loved. I am told that it keeps her occupied for hours and she has actually created some very lovely items using it.

This toy was ordered for my granddaughters birthday. She seems to love it a lot. She has already made an item for me and plans to make other items.

I was extremely disappointed in this product. I bought this for my daughter for Christmas. The shaping tools do not work. My daughter and I read the directions and followed them to a T, over and over again and it didn't work. It was a very frustrating experience. My daughter was in tears when she finally said "let's take the shaping tools off and I'll just use my hands, water and sponge to shape it." Good thing she did that. Now she has fun with it just doing her own thing. So don't have high expecations for it. Be able to improvise and go with the flow if you get this. I recommend spending money on real kid's pottery classes instead of this.

This is the biggest waste of money piece of garbage! Clay not pliable, machinery flimsy, instructions not clear. I thought for the amount of money it cost it would be better quality. Hugely disappointed!

You can turn and shape a pot with very wet clay. The problem is you waste half the clay getting it wet enough to work with. Thank goodness this comes with a power cord. We haven't managed an actual pot (5 year old) but they enjoyed trying.

Bought this for my 10 year old daughter...mind you, this is the second one I've purchased - first one didn't work at all! It is very cheaply made. When we tried it we were immediately disappointed. It is very loud and very hard to make anything. Don't bother wasting your money on this product.