Shimpo Pottery Equipment Catalog

    Shimpo was founded in 1952 as a manufacturer of electric motors.  As the simple potter's wheel is the ultimate application of that expertise, the first Shimpo electric potter's wheel were introduced in 1955 and have become the classic pottery wheel design envied by every other pottery wheel manufacturer.  Today, Shimpo Ceramics is part of the Nidec group, a 6 billion dollar global company headquartered in Kyoto Japan that specializes in manufacturing some of the finest electrical motors, micro motors, spindle motors, drive units and instrumentation in the world.

    Based upon nearly their half century of manufacturing experience with pottery wheels and other devices, Shimpo introduced the Shimpo Whisper Series of pottery wheels in 2003.  Nearly a decade later, the Shimpo VL Whisper is considered the finest pottery wheel available any where in the world at any price.

    For the ceramic and pottery industry, Shimpo manufactures electric pottery wheels, the world famous Shimpo Banding Wheel and a variety of accessory products with an emphasis in on well performing, quiet products.  The products showcased in the Shimpo Pottery Equipment Catalog are always on display in the Dogwood Ceramic Supply showroom and available in Dogwood's warehouse inventory for immediate delivery to anywhere in the United States.

Shimpo Products

		Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel
		Shimpo Banding Wheels

Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel

Pretty Awesome Pottery Wheel

    Pretty bold statement labeling anything the ultimate.  But the truth is hard to ignore.  The Shimpo-VL Whisper Pottery Wheel is based upon Shimpo's nearly 60 year experience building pottery wheels combined with the best electric motor designs and electronic controllers from related Shimpo high-tech applications to achieve the ultimate pottery wheel.  Since the wheel's introduction over 7 years ago, the Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel has become the best selling premium pottery wheel in the world.  The heart of the Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel is the Direct-Drive DC motor which is based upon the electromagnetic trains found in Japan and across the world.  As with the magnet trains, electromagnetic levitation is used to suspend and power the drive shaft of the wheelhead. The results are amazing.  Virtually no sound... except maybe the rush of air produced by the wheelhead as it revolves up to 250 rpm.

Yes, it really is that quiet

    Just as importantly the Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel is responsive and powerful.  Because there is no drive belt and the magnet drive remains fully powered at all times, the Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel responds instantaneously to commands from the smooth foot pedal with the same amount of power at minimal or maximum speed.  And the power levels are pretty amazing.  The 400w, ½ horsepower Direct Drive electric motor generates those amazing power levels is capable of handling 100 lbs or more of clay because there is no belt, heat or friction loss that is normally found in a conventional pottery wheel.  With no belt or friction loss to worry about, the Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel has another advantage over the conventional pottery wheel... it is just as powerful after hours of use as when the wheel was first started.

    Like every finely tuned mechanism, the Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel is not lacking in creature comforts. The tripod leg design allows a large work surface in front of the massive interlocking splash pan that surrounds the 14" stainless steel wheelhead which is reversible for left handed or right handed use or for trimming.  Speaking of trimmings, of course there is room for all of your trimmings in the splash pan and more importantly the splash pan is easily removed for cleaning yet does not leak when properly installed.  The remote foot-pedal is detachable for ease of cleaning, adjusting tension or repairs if necessary.  And built-in adjustable legs from 18" to 21" rather than the traditional fixed 20" height found on other pottery wheels makes the Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel a comfortable wheel for nearly everybody.

    The controller unit (green circuit board shown in the photo above) to the Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel is modular in design for ease of replacement and upgrading in future years.

    The heart of any pottery wheel is the motor and bearing assembly (seen at the top of the photo). The Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel does not use the typical small electric motor and pulley system found on every other pottery wheel on the market.  Instead the VL Whisper uses a series of highly reliable electromagnets in a cast iron frame mounted to the bearing system to drive the wheel head.  As with the controller unit, the drive assembly is modular in construction and easily replaced by the user should the need arise.

	Shimpo VL Whisper for table top usage
Compact storage
	Locking Clips shown on the Standard Equipment 2 piece splash pan

Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel

Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price $1195.00

Dogwood Ceramic Supply's Discounted Price: $908.00

The Shimpo VL Whisper is not complaint with UPS Shipping Requirements
Shipping, if required from Dogwood Ceramic Supply, is via YRC (Yellow-Roadway) Freight.
Shipping charges to most commercial & school locations in the Continental United States is between $120 to $175 for a single wheel.
Shipping costs on the multiple wheel purchases may be as low as $25 per wheel.

Quantity Discounts for the Studio or Classroom

For 2011, Shimpo offers a factory freight incentive program on the purchase of 5+ wheels for the Studio or Classroom.
Please contact Dogwood Ceramic Supply for additional details.

    Dogwood Ceramic Supply has the Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel on display in The Showroom, with additional wheels in stock in our warehouse, ready for immediate purchase or shipment to any customer in North America.  Besides the generous discount on the purchase of a single potter's wheel, Dogwood Ceramic Supply offers additional discount and incentive programs on bulk purchases of the Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel for the studio and class room.

    Many customers often desire to choose their pottery wheel in person. When you come to Dogwood Ceramic Supply bring your truck, van or SUV as the 27 x 29 x 16h packing box for the Shimpo VL Whisper pottery wheel will not fit in the trunk of many small cars and even some larger cars (yes, BMW 5 Series, we are talking about you) because the trunk opening will not accommodate the large box used to package the potter's wheel.

   The Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel is not recommended for shipment via UPS or any other small package carrier as the manufacturer's standard product package may lack adequate protection from shipping damage when shipped via a small package carrier.  At issue is the size of the wheel and the package size limits imposed by UPS which combined to limit the amount of protection material in the packing box.  While other vendors may choose to risk shipping the Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel via UPS or other package services, Dogwood Ceramic Supply will only ship the Shimpo VL Whisper via a commercial freight carrier which reduces the handling of the unit and minimizes the potential for hidden freight damage.  An additional benefit of freight shipments is the customer can readily add Standard Clay, EPS Pottery Stools, Shimpo Banding Wheels and other supplies to their Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel purchase at minimal or no additional freight costs.

    In store customers purchasing select major clay equipment items, such as the Shimpo VL-Whisper Pottery Wheel, from Dogwood Ceramic Supply's 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 50 lb 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. Clay Card is applicable only to single unit sales.

Product Confusion Warning:

    Shimpo manufacturers TWO pottery wheels which share the VL name. The Shimpo VL Whisper, as described on this page, and the Shimpo VL-Lite.  The Shimpo VL-Lite is a significantly scaled down pottery wheel when compared to the Shimpo VL Whisper.  We could say there is little in common between the Shimpo VL-Lite and the Shimpo VL-Whisper except the Shimpo brand name and the VL designation.  The VL-Lite uses a drive belt attached to a pulley system powered by a small electric motor and is capable of handling (throwing) up to 25 lbs of clay.

   Dogwood Ceramic Supply sells the Shimpo VL-Whisper as we believe the VL Whisper offers the best mix of price and high performance of any wheel from Shimpo... or any other wheel company.

Shimpo Banding Wheels

    Shimpo's banding wheels are used for decorating, sculpting, carving and hand building.   Designed to provide reliably smooth and even rotation for the most delicate applications, but strong enough to support the weight of the Dogwood Ceramic Supply WEB MASTER, it is no wonder the Shimpo banding wheels are the choice for studio artists, production potters and teacher alike.  Four different models of the Shimpo Banding Wheels are available with a selection of wheelhead diameters and heights.

     Heavy duty construction from solid cast-iron with sealed ball bearings means the Shimpo Banding Wheels will retain their extra smooth and even rotation, with no wobbling or sticking, through many years of continual usage.  The massive weight of the Shimpo Banding Wheel wheelhead and the smooth bearings means the wheel will stay in place on the worktable and spin for seemingly forever.  The sealed bearings are mounted to the shaft in a one-piece design so that dirt and debris will not enter the bearing assembly and to insure the wheelhead will not come off the drive shaft when being handled by children in the classroom.  The top grade paint coating is dark blue in color to stand out in the active studio and is rust resistant and chip resistant to protect your delicate wares. Concentric circles engraved in the wheel head allow for easier centering. One year full replacement warranty is standard.

    All things considered, the Shimpo Banding Wheel is the best banding wheel that money can buy!

Shimpo Banding Wheels

	Item #	Wheel Head Diameter	Height	Shipping Weight	2011 Price
	Shimpo BW-22L Banding Wheel	8 ¾"	2 ¼"	13 lbs	$56.00
	Shimpo BW-25L Banding Wheel	10"	2 ¼"	15 lbs	$76.00
	Shimpo BW-25H Banding Wheel	10"	7 ½"	19 lbs	$86.00
	Shimpo BW-30M Banding Wheel	11 ¾"	4 ¾"	28 lbs	$99.95

    All sizes and weights are approximate.

20% Quantity discount

available for the purchase of 12 or more banding wheels for the studio or class room.

    Please Note: In 2007 Shimpo added a smaller banding wheel, model BW-18L. The wheel head of the Shimpo BW-18L is only 7" in diameter. In Dogwood Ceramic Supply's experience, the larger sized banding wheel heads are far more desirable by customers, therefore Dogwood Ceramic Supply does not stock or sell the BW-18L.

What is the difference between a banding wheel, turntable or sculpture stand?

    The simple answer is NOTHING.

    The terms Banding Wheel, turntable, sculpture wheel or sculpture stands refer to a simple device with a horizontal plate (head or wheelhead) to hold an object and simple bearing system to allow easy movement by hand.  That said, there is a technical difference of a banding wheel versus a turntable (or sculpture wheel etc) in that the banding wheel absolutely MUST remain perfectly horizontal with no wobble as the head is rotated so that bands of color can be precisely applied to objects (vases or plates).  In addition, the ideal banding wheelhead will be weighted such that the head will continue to spin long after the hand ceases to apply force so as to allow better application of bands of color to the object placed on the banding wheel.  Comparatively, a turntable or sculpture wheel only needs to hold a heavy weight (object) and readily turn when forced by hand to turn.   Bottom line, all good Banding Wheels can function as a turntable but few turntables function as banding wheels.

    The Shimpo Banding Wheels meet all of the requirements of a good banding wheel... heavy wheel head that will spend seemingly forever perfectly flat.  The Shimpo Banding Wheel also performs quite well as a turntable or sculpture wheel etc.  In fact, the Shimpo Banding Wheel is often used in industries far afield from the original purpose of being a Banding Wheel for the clay studio... any industry where a smooth turning, high weight bearing turntable is required.

12590 Dedeaux Road
Gulfport Mississippi, 39503
Telephone (228) 831-4848        Fax (228) 831-3111

Showroom Business Hours:

Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday 10AM to 5PM
Thursday 1PM to 6PM

Closed Wednesday and Sunday

The Shimpo VL Whisper Pottery Wheel and other Shimpo products are featured in the Shimpo Pottery Equipment Catalog of Dogwood Ceramic Supply.