How to Make a Roomy Custom Table for Your Pottery Wheel Instructions for building a wheel table perfectly suited to your equipment, space, and needs using minimal materials and tools. Marian Williams

Just about every wheel throwing potter deals with the problem of having enough space around their wheels to put tools, water, and freshly made work. Marian Williams found a great idea for a wheel table when she attended a workshop at Coastal Claymakers in Coffs Harbour, Australia. The tables have a space cut out into which a wheel can nestle, thus providing ample room without any wasted space and making everything easy to reach.

Marian put building one of these tables onto her "Honey Do" list, and has now graciously shared her husband's  process for making one in the September 2022 issue of Ceramics Monthly! In today's post, I am sharing an excerpt from that article. Enjoy! –Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor.

While attending a workshop, I saw the wheel-table configuration at Coastal Claymakers in Coffs Harbour, Australia. Their throwing area had the wheels inset into low tables, making great use of their space, while giving each thrower ample room for tools, a water bowl, and thrown pieces (1). This is exactly what I wanted, but for a single wheel. My husband came up with a design and built the wheel table. It met all of my expectations

Items Needed to Build a Wheel Table:

• 2×4 pine lumber for the base (amount depends on size of table desired)  
• ½-inch plywood, 4×4-foot square piece
• Wood screws
• Sander
• Jigsaw
• Paint and/or varnish

Building the Wheel Table

Begin by placing a sheet of newspaper or other paper on top of your wheel, then draw a template of the shape of your wheel. With the wheel drawn, cut out the template.

Place your template on a 4×4-foot piece of ½-inch plywood so that it is center aligned and touching one edge of the plywood. This will ensure that the shape is easy to cut out, each side is the same width, and there is adequate material for the table surface in front of the wheel as well. Using a jigsaw, cut the template shape out of the plywood. Note: Make sure to wear a dust mask and eye protection. Continue using the jigsaw to round all four corners of the plywood to remove any sharp corners.

Next, using wooden 2×4s and wood screws, make three rectangular frames, with the height dictated by the height of the wheel and the length dictated by your tabletop. Using the wood screws, attach the three frames together and then secure the tabletop onto the frames. Sand the tabletop with a sander to smooth all edges (1-3). Finally, paint the table your desired color with a waterproof enamel or varnish (4).

The best feature of this wheel-table design is that it is adaptable and customizable for any pottery wheel and to the potter's needs as to height and amount of space desired (see 5). The wheel table we made is great and increased the efficiency of my workflow while also lessening my frustration . . . now where is that tool I need?

the author Marian Williams is a full-time potter living in Texas since her return from Australia, where she lived and worked for 15 years. Her functional pottery and figurative sculptures have been exhibited in the US and Australia, and most recently at the San Angelo National Ceramic Competition. Learn more on her website (www.marianwilliamspottery.com) and on Instagram (@marianwilliamspottery).