Cowley Floor Standing Slab Roller Features
- Two dust free aluminium rollers with heavy moulded end caps
- Additional nylon cap in the centre of thelarge roller for strength
- Smaller roller is spring loaded and automatically rolls the top cloth back
- 150 mm adjustable roller that always stays parallel to the table
- Legs fold up completely within the framework for ease of storage and transportation
The Cowley Slab Roller is supplied with 2 cloths, an upper retractable cloth and a Fixed bottom cloth, both of heavy quality.
The machine does not have a height measurer although it would be easy to place marks at the most used heights. A good idea is to place 2 small blocks of wood of your most used finishing thickness under each end of the roller before completing your final pass. The height is instantly adjustable.
There is no assembly required, Just unpacking and folding out the legs and this is explained in a full page of care, use, and maintenance instructions provided.
Dimensions: 100cm W x 70cmH x 120cm L
Roll Diameter: 10cm
Slab thickness: 3-50mm
Table Size: 60cm L x 120cm W
Weight: 50kg
Set Up
Remove any packaging and ties. It is much easier to assemble if two people are available.
Turn the machine on its side with the handle side uppermost. Place a small block of wood under each end at its extremity so the carriage part clears the floor.
Remove the four wing nuts from the hinge end of the legs. With the handle wind the carriage to the left until you are able to fold the legs open.
Secure with wing nuts. If a set of pliers are available it is advisable to use these to finally secure the wing nuts.
Wind the carriage to the right and repeat the procedure with the left-hand legs.
Carefully lift the machine upright making sure the legs do not slip on the floor. Your Slabroller is now ready for use
Use
Wedge the clay well and flatten to a level of realistic thickness. The secret is to take quite a few passes lowering the roller as you go. This helps avoid stresses in the structure of the clay. It is a good idea to use a piece of plastic on top of the bottom canvas, allowing you to turn the slab through 90 degrees occasionally thereby evening out the movement of the structure.
If the handle slips and the carriage does not move along the table, too much clay is being attempted in one pass, and this could show in failure during drying or firing.
Use the height adjustment extensively, it is so simple to use.
Care and Maintenance
Spare cloths are available from your agent. The bottom cloth is secured by domes, the top cloth by velcro at both ends. If the top cloth is removed and the small roller loses its tension, it is a simple operation to restore the tension if these instructions are carried out.
Wind the carriage to the left-hand end. Lay the top cloth on the table and under the rollers and centrally secure at the right-hand end with velcro. Ready the top cloth for fitting by stretching and centralising it hanging the left-hand end over the end of the table, making sure that the cloth is under both rollers. Two pairs of hands make the next operation easy.
Standing on the handle side and still with the carriage at the left-hand end carefully tension the small roller in a counter-clockwise direction (top of roller to the left through exactly seven turns (very important)). Hold roller from unwinding with velcro at the top and have your friend take the cloth back over the large roller and centralise and fit the cloth to the velcro on the small roller. Gently release the roller so it takes up the slack in the cloth (approximately one turn). The operation is now complete. Make sure the winder shaft is always dry and free from moisture. No lubrication is necessary as revolving parts are prepacked with graphite impregnated grease.
Cowley Double Roll Slabrollers with their unique design, simplicity of use, strength yet portability are valuable additions to any studio.
