North Star Slab Rollers

North Star Equipment is the premier manufacturer of slab rollers in North America. Why? Because of North Star's attention to details, quality construction and what Dogwood Ceramic Supply calls the absolute best warranty* in the industry.

All North Star slab rollers use a set of gear driven aircraft-grade dual aluminum rollers to fully and evenly compress clay into slabs. The Standard Series and PortaRoller are direct drive units with 2.5" rollers. The Super Series adds steel drive gears for durability and a 4.33:1 reduction gearing with 4" rollers to reduce the amount of user effort required to produce large slabs.

The twin rollers of the North Star Slab Rollers act much like the wringer on an old-fashioned washing machine. Both rolls have a small diamond pattern ("knurling") that is machined directly into the metal to grip the canvas. The bottom roller is turned by the handle, directly driven in the Standard Series and PortaRoller, or through reduction gearing from the handle in the case of Super Series Slab Roller. The bottom roller is fixed to the height of the work surface and can not move vertically. As the bottom roller turns, it drives the top roller by means of a train of gears. This has the effect of having both the top and bottom rollers turning in unison at the same rate to pull even large quantities of clay through in a single pass to form the slabs. Slab thickness is controlled by two independent adjustment knobs, one on each end of the upper roller which adjust the upper roller up and down to desired thickness, while at the same time also permitting both tapered slabs and flat slabs with great precision and ease. Slab thickness can vary from paper-thin to over 2 inches to create very thin, translucent porcelain slabs, as well as, thick, heavily textured architectural slabs. A reference scale allows setting and repeating openings to within 1/100 of an inch quickly and easily. A wide variety of other texturing materials and objects can be passed through the machine along with the clay. Slabs can be rolled in either direction or reversed on all North Star Slab Roller models, and a single pass is all that is needed for complete compression of the clay to produce the slab.

Standard Series Slab Rollers with 2.5" rollers shown at the top, Super Series Slab Rollers with 4" rollers shown on the bottom. Notice the independent thickness adjusters and gauges at both ends of the rollers.

The gearing shown on the slab roller ends allow the top rollers to move in unison at the same rate for smooth production of slabs.

The diamond pattern knurling is machine cut into the high-strength cast aircraft-grade aluminum rollers for easy and consistent gripping of the slab roller canvas. The use of tubular aluminum for the rollers allows for both a high rate of compression and a durable, rust free roller.

The North Star Super 36 Slab Roller (shown above), the North Star Super 30 is on display in Dogwood Ceramic Supply's Showroom
Super 24, Super 30 and Super 36 are stocked in Dogwood Ceramic Supply's Warehouse.

The North Star Super Series Slab Rollers use a pair of cast and carefully machined 4" diameter high-strength aircraft-grade aluminum rollers and steel drive gears for the maximum compression and best slabs possible. The bushings are machined from high-strength industrial nylon and the remaining moving parts are machined steel. The roller drive features a 4.33:1 reduction gear between the large Wagon Wheel handle and the roller to allow huge slabs to be built by every person, regardless of his/her upper body strength and weight.

The Super Series Slab Rollers are manufactured in 24", 30" and 36" draw widths (the width of the rollers), with the rollers offset from the center of the 6' table. The work table frame is 14-gauge steel that has been rounded for safety and comfort and coated with North Star's durable blue powder coated finish. The removable tabletops are manufactured from moisture-resistant high-density Medex with rounded corners and edges for safety and comfort and a waterproof and stain resistant melamine surface for easy cleaning.

The North Star Super Series Slab Rollers are warranted to the original purchaser to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the machine*. This includes even parts that wear in normal use, such as bushings, spacers, gears and spring pins. The only limitations to the warranty are the table tops and canvas that are supplied with each unit and failures caused by abuse or use of the machine for other than its intended purpose.

The North Star Standard Series Slab Rollers are the little brothers of the Super Series Slab Rollers The same attention to detail and quality workmanship on the Super Series can be found on the Standard Series. The major difference between the two series of slab rollers can be found in the rollers and gearing. The Standard Series uses a pair of 2.5" drive rollers that are direct drive (without any reduction gear) with industrial strength nylon gears from the standard wagon wheel handle to rollers.

The Standard Series Slab Rollers are manufactured in 24" and 30" draw widths (the width of the rollers) which are mounted in the center of the 4' table. The work table frame is 14-gauge steel that has been rounded for safety and comfort and coated with North Star's durable blue powder coated finish. The removable tabletops are manufactured from moisture-resistant high-density Medex with rounded corners and edges for safety and comfort and a waterproof and stain resistant melamine surface for easy cleaning.

The North Star Standard Series Slab Rollers are warranted to the original purchaser to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the machine, excluding Standard Series Slab Rollers used in a commercial or academic setting which are warranted for 24 months. The warranty even includes parts that wear in normal use, such as bushings, spacers, gears and spring pins. The only limitations to the warranty are the table tops and canvas that are supplied with each unit and failures caused by abuse or use of the machine for other than its intended purpose.

Item #	Model	Suggested	Showroom	Drop Ship	UPS	Additional
		Retail	Price	Price	Costs	Canvas

1024	Super 24	1249.95	1020.00	905.00	vary	$33.50

1025	Super 30	1599.95	1295.00	1160.00	vary	$37.50

1050	Super 36	1995.00	1610.00	1445.00	vary	$41.50

550	Standard 24	$899.95	$750.00	$655.00	vary	$21.50

551	Standard 30	$995.95	$835.00	$725.00	vary	$24.50

Super Series slab rollers units are packaged in 4 boxes.
Standard Series slab rollers are packaged in 3 or 4 boxes.
User assembly typically takes 1 hour.
Additional canvas sets may be purchased
UPS costs are computed separately based upon shipping zone. See UPS shipping costs and information below.

**UPS Costs**
	Zone	Zone	Zone	Zone	Zone
Item #	A	B	C	D	E

1024	60.00	76.00	94.00	104.00	115.00

1025	60.00	76.00	94.00	104.00	115.00

1050	65.00	84.00	102.00	114.00	125.00

550	39.00	53.00	67.00	81.00	95.00

551	51.00	68.00	87.00	104.00	124.00

Published UPS rates and surcharges are rounded up for ease of customer use and to cover insurance charges and the variable Fuel Surcharge.
The UPS $6.00 additional handling surcharge for boxes weighing over 70 lbs has been included in the published rates.

$1.50 per box surcharge for rural deliveries.
Refer to http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/shipping/cost/zones/continental_us.html to determine if your zip is affected.

$5.00 per box surcharge for residential deliveries, capped to a maximum of $20.00 on UPS Hundredweight shipments.

Purchasing multiple units can result in lower shipping costs when the shipping weights exceed 200 lbs.

**Additional Information**
	total	box		unit
	Weight	dimensions	Description	weight

1024	182	41x16x15	roller	71
		46x9x7	leg	63
		29x29x5	table	40
		25x25x3	handle	8

1025	203	41x16x15	roller	77
		46x9x7	leg	68
		34x29x6	table	50
		25x25x3	handle	8

1050	222	41x16x15	roller	87
		46x9x7	leg	68
		38x29x6	table	61
		25x25x3	handle	8

550	119	31x13x12	roller	33
		46x9x7	leg	51
		29x29x5	table & handle	35

551	155	31x13x12	roller	47
		46x9x7	leg	60
		34x29x6	table	40
		25x25x3	handle	8

* How good is the North Star Warranty? When Hurricane Katrina struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast there were a large number of North Star Slab Rollers that were immersed in salt water from the huge storm surge of the hurricane. Dogwood Ceramic Supply contacted North Star and spoke to Bob and Rhonda who said "don't worry, North Star's Lifetime Warranty will take care of the problem". So Dogwood Ceramic Supply contacted every customer we could locate and packed up every slab roller to be returned to North Star. Dogwood Ceramic Supply paid the shipping to return piles of rusting steel and bent aluminum rollers to the North Star Factory. North Star rebuilt every slab roller to good as new condition. This level of service is what Dogwood Ceramic Supply calls the "absolute best warranty in the industry"

** Clay Card Eligible: In store customers purchasing select major clay equipment items Dogwood Ceramic Supply current inventory receive a little lagniappe in the form of a CLAY CARD. The Clay Card authorizes the customer to purchase any stock Standard Clay at the 1000 lb rate regardless of the actual quantity purchased for a 1 year period starting from the date the equipment is purchased. The difference between the single box rate and the 1000 lb rate can be $12 or more per 50 lb box, so this benefit can add up to big bucks to the active clay buying customer.