Bat System for Potter’s Wheel, 12” Round Outer Bat with Set of Six 7” Square Inner Bats, Bat Adapter with Removable Inserts for Throwing Pottery, for Potters and Clay Artists (6)

I started pottery classes and was frustrated with my bowls and mugs getting out of shape when I cut them off the bat still wet. I bought this system a year ago and I am very happy with it. I can leave my project on it wrapped in plastic and come back a week later at my next class. Then I can take it off at leather hard and cut the foot. I have had the main part warp slightly but I found that if I lay it on a flat surface and put something heavy on top it dries flat. I think it helps that I use them once a week and they have time to dry in between use. They are still in great shape and I will definitely buy them again when I need to.

This was my second time buying this system, I loved the first one! It was amazing and I had it for 3 years before they started to warp. However they changed the MDF they used and it’s peeling and warping!!! It’s been just about a month later and all of the slots are peeling getting into clay. I’ve tried using less water and still nothing is helping. Completely useless now! I’m sincerely disappointed! DO NOT BUY. I’ve added a picture of the one before and the ones now.

Ok I resisted buying a bat system on Amazon. Got one from a well known pottery company, it warps and the inserts don’t fit right. So I bought this one, and I love it. It’s super easy to put inserts in, they fit well (took one use for them to swell slightly and not move), thin and easy to store. Definitely getting more inserts.

I wanted to find an MDF set so the bats could breathe and I could pop off my pieces once they got firm enough, then just do some minimal smoothing with a rubber rib and indent the bottom a bit, rather than wiring off and trimming. It works for small pieces like spoon rests, but I’m finding for mugs or anything larger/more intricate, by the time they’re dry enough to pop off, they’re too dry to manipulate much more or add handles without risking cracks. I’ve noticed a few S cracks in my bottoms, possibly from the indenting, possibly from peeling them off the bats. So maybe I wish I’d just gotten a plastic set, because I do find that these can warp (I try to alternate sides each use) and i think my pieces are getting moldy more often than before. But these are as promised and work well on the wheel with a few little pieces of clay in the corners to keep them from wiggling. Overall I’m satisfied and glad I invested in a bat system because they save me so much space on my drying shelves! They also came with two bat pins and wing nuts to attach to the wheel, which I hadn’t expected.

I like this system for throwing pieces since the round bats take up quite a bit of room unless you are throwing pieces that large which I really am not. The material draws out the moisture more quickly and although I have not experienced it yet, I've been told that there can be a tendency to warp a small amount but the fix is to flip them as needed to flatten them again.

I bought this a few weeks ago and here are the pros and cons about the product. Cons: the actual bat holder is starting to warp. the worst part is that it is bowing in a way that its basically rocking on the wheel making it really tough to do anything (center, throw, lift, etc). I recommend that the manufacture make it so that both sides can accept an insert so that if one side bows you can flip it around and hopefully flatten in out again while you keep using it on the wheel. The bat itself is very thick and can easily put another insert slot on the other side perhaps even a circular insert v. a square one. Con: inserts aren't as snug as id like them to be, this causes the inserts to shift slightly which at a fast speed can throw off your center. Temporary fixes are filling the gaps with clay which only really fixes the problem temporarily. Pros: Inserts allow you to save space on the drying shelf by not having to put a whole bat on there. Inserts are fairly cheap. Recommend you use a screwdriver to pry out the bat when you're ready to take it off the wheel. all in all i spent the money to buy the system and a additional 6 inserts but now that the actual bat holder is warping they are pretty much useless. If your using low speed and maybe can sandwich the bat between two heavy flat objects to dry to prevent warping, its great other wise the additional maintenance is really a downside to the product.

I've been using this system for about a year now, and I feel like I can leave an honest review now. So first off, any system like this is going to be a huge time saver, this one is no exception. But we all know why we bought or are buying this product. So how does it hold up? I see a lot of reviews here about warping, and I think that these are probably new potters who don't quite understand how Masonite bats work. They absorb water, it's how they work so well! When things are ready to trim they just pop off the bat because the bat has been wicking moisture out of the bottom. Sometimes this causes the bat insert to "dome", or bend in the direction of the thing drying on it. It is important to flip your bat inserts each time to keep the dome from becoming exaggerated on one side. A domed bat will not prevent you from centering, it will not cause issues with throwing, if you think so, you haven't been throwing for very long. Now my main bat (the thing that holds the inserts) did dome on me since it's not flippable, but I just put some shelf liner under it and haven't ever had a problem since. I always get my wheelhead wet before putting the bat on, and I always dip my bat inserts in water before putting them on the bat. Can't beat the price, I have purchased 24 extra inserts and I use them every day. I really like this system and it's so much cheaper than the dirty girls and other similar systems. Search for Liam Besaw on YouTube to see me throwing on these bats and you'll never question buying this system.