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Square feature in middle of bottom of a bowl

1K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Abter 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'm not sure how to ask this question, because I'm not even sure of what the right words would be.
I want to make a segmented bowl with a square ceramic tile as a feature in the middle of the bottom. At my niece's wedding 4" x 4" Mexican Talavera (aka majolica) square ceramic tiles (~3/8" thick) were a feature of the wedding decorations. The tiles have brightly colored glazed ceramic on top, with terracotta showing on the bottom.I am trying to think of a turned bowl project could make that has the tile in the bottom. The closest turning term I can come up with is to use this square tile as a medallion-like feature in the bottom.

I'm thinking of something like make a tight fitting wood "frame" around the tile. The frame would be the same thickness as the tile and would eventually form a disk with a square hole cut through it. Underneath this frame would be a "base" of another piece of wood that the tile would rest on. Permanently glue the frame to the base, making a wood sandwich with a hollow place for the tile. Use this sandwich as the base of a turned bowl project.

Does this this description make sense? What is such a feature bottom called in the woodturning world? Any pictures, or shop notes anyone know about of such a beastie???
 
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#4 ·
I'm with Jack. I do my floating bases a bit differently, but the objective is the same. I would make a frame for your tile, then turn or cut the outside of the frame round. Then, glue up the bottom segmented ring of your bowl into two halves. Use a slot cutter bit to cut a groove into each half. The groove needs to be thick enough and a big enough diameter to allow the ring to close while surrounding your framed tile.

I've done this many times for floating bases and it works very well. I've not had a floating base with a square tile in it, but, once you make a round frame for the tile, the concept is exactly the same.
 
#5 ·
Thanks everybody. You nailed the idea I had, but helped me flesh out what I was thinking about. A floating base is the phrase I needed. Never heard of it before, but I was sure something was out there to describe the concept. I will post some pics when I make this (eventually).
 
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