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Online Ordering
Order online
The easiest way to place an order is through our website.
Order by phone/email
If you prefer to order by phone. You can also email your order and request a call-back for payment.
Overseas Customers
We are able to deliver worldwide with a few exceptions. We also have distributors in some countries just ask.
Returned Goods: Non-faulty
Subject to our prior consent having been obtained, products can be returned to us in an unused condition within 30 days of the invoice date. An administrative charge will be levied of 10% of the net value plus transport, but subject to a minimum charge.
Returned Goods: Faulty
If merchandise is returned because of some defect or due to error on our part, full credit/refund will be given. Customers must contact us before returning goods so that making methods and user errors can be ruled out.
Loss or Damage in Transit
a) Where goods are supplied on carriage paid terms we will replace, or at our cost make good, any items or component part lost or damaged
b) In the case of damage of a consignment, the carrier’s receipt must be endorsed appropriately and we must be advised within 24 hours of receipt. Please provide clear photographic evidence of damage to facilitate a claim with the carrier. Wherever possible, consignments should be examined in the presence of the delivery person. If this is not feasible, you must sign that the goods were ‘unchecked’.
We send hundreds of shipments of colour, glaze and powdered material all around the world every week. From time to time, despite our best efforts, a consignment will sustain damage in transit – most often when sent by courier. If you are in doubt about what to do, take photos, reseal the parcel and contact us for further instruction. It is important to consider the following:-
- Whilst a few ceramic materials can be toxic to inhale and ingest over a period of time, there is no danger from a single exposure to touch from anything in our range. If you do get some spilt material on your hands, wash with soap and water. If you are concerned, contact our technical team and request the SDS. There are a lot more dangerous items in the cupboard under the kitchen sink than you will find in a potter’s studio!
- If there are signs of damage to the parcel, sign “damaged” on receipt, contact us as soon as possible and send photographs by email.
- Place the package somewhere appropriate and safe before attempting to open – on a work bench or in a sink for example, or even outside.
- Unpack the parcel very carefully. If you have ordered items that could cause injury, such as sharp tools or glass, you may need protective gloves.
- Consider wearing a P3 respirator mask if there is loose powder inside the parcel.
- Beware of some ceramic materials, such as colors and oxides, which are very strong colorants and can stain clothing, furniture and furnishings. Consider wearing protective clothing like an apron and gloves, and open carefully in a safe place. We cannot be responsible for any consequential damage resulting from careless opening of parcels.
- To avoid spreading the material, carefully place the packaging and any spilt content in bin bags and dispose of it safely.
Delivery Questions
Goods with a volumetric weight of over 100kg will normally be shipped on a pallet. Kerbside delivery of most pallet consignments involves offloading from the vehicle using a tail-lift, as close to your property as is deemed safe by the driver. A manual pallet truck may be available but this is not guaranteed unless prearranged. Please remember that manual pallet trucks can only operate on a flat, level, concreted, or similar firm surface. They cannot operate on slopes, gravel, earth, grass or any other type of non-solid surface. Please note that drivers are not insured to move goods into the consignee’s premises. In the case of goods such as kilns & equipment, special arrangements requiring extra assistance may be needed: This must be discussed and agreed with us at point of order. If you have any queries or concerns about delivery, please contact us. Although our hauliers will endeavour to deliver within the agreed timeframe, unexpected delays due to weather conditions, breakdowns, traffic and other factors may cause some disruption to schedules.
Your carriage charge will be calculated at checkout based upon the volumetric weight of your order, and your location. If for any reason your delivery charge cannot be calculated at checkout, you will see a message explaining that our sales team will contact you with a quote. You will be under no obligation to accept this and have the right to cancel your order.
We deliver throughout using trusted third-party parcel and pallet distribution networks. Depending on service, parcels may be delivered up to 7 days a week. Pallets are delivered Monday to Friday. Please remember that deliveries are to letterbox (parcels) or kerbside (pallets) only. Pallets are non-returnable.
Delivery prices vary according to order weight/volume and delivery address postcode. The best way to calculate the delivery cost for a particular order is to partially complete the checkout process on our website, or email for confirmation. If for any reason your delivery charge cannot be calculated at checkout, you will see a message explaining that our sales team will contact you with a quote. You will be under no obligation to accept this and have the right to cancel your order.
We send hundreds of shipments of colour, glaze and powdered material all around the world every week. From time to time, despite our best efforts, a consignment will sustain damage in transit – most often when sent by courier. If you are in doubt about what to do, take photos, reseal the parcel and contact us for further instruction.
Kiln Questions
The biscuit firing temperature that is chosen should either give the clay sufficient strength to withstand the glazing process, or fire the clay to maturity prior to glazing. It is essential to mature the clay during the firing process to prevent crazing of the glaze. Stoneware and porcelain clays can generally be fired to 1000oC at biscuit stage because the clay will be fired to maturity during the glost firing. Earthenware clays, like all clay bodies, need to be fired to maturity in one of the firings but it doesn’t matter whether this is done in the biscuit or glaze firing. What governs which firing is quite simple to determine. If the glaze to be used will fire to a temperature which lies within the maturing range of the clay, then a low biscuit/high glost format can be used. However if the glaze firing temperature is lower than the maturing range of the clay, then a high biscuit/low glost format must be used. Bone China is the ‘odd one out’ because it must be fired to a high biscuit temperature of between 1200oC and 1250oC, followed by an earthenware glaze firing.
Without doubt, the most stable number of supports is three. This can be achieved when using full shelves, and the supports should have a vertical alignment throughout the setting. Obviously, when using half shelves a further support is required to ensure stability and this can be achieved by using an extra support so that each half shelf has three support columns, two of which are shared with the adjacent shelf.
We generally recommend biscuit firing at 1000-1060C then following with a glaze firing to a higher temperature which matures both the clay and the glaze at the same time. Each clay body and each glaze is catalogued with its firing range: When selecting a glaze for use with a particular clay it is important to select one with a firing range which exceeds the lower figure given for the clay. If this is not done the clay will be underfired, and the glaze consequently may craze. Alternatively, one could biscuit-fire the clay above the lower figure given for the clay then glaze-fire to the firing range of the selected glaze. This method may cause difficulty with glaze pick-up when dipping, although this can be overcome with a flocculant such as Epsom Salts. Bone china is invariably produced in this way. Additionally, the pottery industry use this method for firing earthenware as it increases the durability and craze resistance of the ware.
Wheel Questions
Should the pedal cable become forcibly detached from the wheel due to a trip/fall, seek advice from us immediately. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RE-ATTACH! This can cause a power surge causing irreparable damage to the PCB. A replacement PCB is very costly, but a replacement pedal cable is not. Please contact us with your serial number.
Prevention is better than cure: When you first receive your wheel, we recommend you wrap the pedal cable once around the leg of the wheel and secure with a zip tie. If a trip occurs, the zip tie takes the impact and not the socket.
Most potters throw with their potter’s wheel rotating anti-clockwise (counter-clockwise) but many left-handed potters prefer to throw with the wheelhead rotating in a clockwise direction. With most wheels supplied by us this is easily achieved by switching the forward/reverse directional switch.
You must have the correct Giffin Grip for the direction the wheelhead rotates: When the Giffin Grip is rotated, the spiral inside moves the sliders that hold the pot towards the centre of the wheelhead so that they grip the pot. If the wheelhead is reversed the sliders will be pushed outwards so will not grip the pot.
The Standard-Direction (Counter-Clockwise/Right Handed) Giffin Grip sku:7023 suits most potters.
For left-handed people who prefer the wheelhead to rotate clockwise the Giffin Grip (Clockwise/Left-Handed) sku:7023C is required.
We often get asked how easy it is to take your small pottery wheel on the go. Whether you want to get making outside in the garden, take your wheel along to craft fairs, workshops, or even pack it for a holiday, there are a few simple ways to do it.
We’ve pulled together a short list of what you’ll need and how to get everything set up for wheel throwing, wherever you please.
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At Pottery Tools and Equipment we have an extensive range of pottery supplies. Whatever you require from clay, glazes, raw materials to tools, kilns and equipment.