Fully Printable Pottery Throwing Gauge

UPDATE: Some people have had trouble with weak screws, so I've uploaded new files for the screws, made to be printed horizontally for stronger layer lines. Most printers could print the regular screws just fine, but if they seem weak print the Strong versions. _______________________________________

Throw identical pieces with this fully 3D-printable pottery throwing gauge!

Attach this tool to the rim of your wheel tray and tighten all screws (3D printed!) to fix the gauge in place, then you can flip the tip up to throw your piece, and flip it down to check the size. Extremely adjustable for pieces of all sizes and shapes. 

Printing instructions:

Print all pieces as the STLs are oriented, no supports needed. I recommend 15 to 20mm layer height. Any infill percentage should be fine. PLA or PETG will both work great.

I recommend printing the Gaugearm pieces with 3 or 4 walls to make them stiffer.

Number of pieces needed:

• 2X GaugeArmBolt
• 1X all other pieces
• Optional: If you want a bit of additional height or flexibility, there is a file GaugeArm_Optional that can be printed to add in the middle. If you print this, you will need to print an additional GaugeArmNut and GaugeArmBolt
• Optional: If you're printing the stronger bolts, print 2X largewashers as well

The bolts should work on printers if they're dialed in dimensionally (all nuts and bolts fit perfectly on my MK4s). However, if your printer usually needs looser tolerances, I've also uploaded bolts that fit a bit looser. Print these instead of the usual files. 

Assembly instructions:

1. Tighten the GaugeBaseBolt into the GaugeBase
2. Slot the circle on the GaugeArm1 into the circle on the GaugeBase. Tighten the GaugeArm1 onto the base by screwing a GaugeArmBolt into the GaugeArm1.
3. Line up the GaugeArm2 with GaugeArm1. Ensure that then the tool will be used, the ridge on GaugeArm2 is on the bottom. 
4. Insert GaugeArmNut into the channel of GaugeArm2. Insert the second GaugeArmBolt through the GaugeArm2 to screw into GaugeArmNut. Both GaugeArmBolts should be on the same side of the tool.
5. Insert the GaugeTip into the hole on GaugeArm2. Ensure the GaugeTip is on the side of the GaugeArm2 with the ridge, so when using it the tip will stop at the ridge.
6. Screw in the GaugeTipBolt into the opposite side of the GaugeTip.

See the photo for the fully assembled piece. When assembled, make sure the ridge on GaugeArm2 is along the bottom of the arm, not the top.

Using the gauge:

Your gauge is ready to go! Now just place the gauge base onto the edge of the wheel tray, and tighten the GaugeBaseBolt until the gauge is secure. Adjust all screws to get the tip to the required height, then you can flip up and down the tip to check your piece's size.

Happy throwing!