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How Do I create a rabbet for the bottom of a segmented bowl?

E

Eric Friedman

Joined
Dec 24, 2024
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Location
Berkeley, CA
Let’s say I have the bottom ring of a segmented bowl and I want to make a rabbet that will capture the bottom disc against the underside of the next ring up with a little space on the sides for seasonal movement inside the rabbet.

I assume you have to true the inside of the bottom ring before you can cut a rabbet. How do you hold this one ring so that you can true the interior? Or is there a way to do this on the router table?

Or do you put it in Cole jaws and only worry about truing the part that will have the rabbet and clean up the rest once all rings are glued ?
 
I have never done one, but..... I guess that I would use cole jaws to secure the top/rim of the bowl, and turning very slowly, cut a rabbet in that way. I am not sure if you could cut the rabbet in the pieces before you do that or not. Maybe glue up the bottom ring and then put that layer in the cole jaws and then cut that. I guess part depends on how big of a rabbet you are cutting. Are you putting in a floating panel? of just looking for a gluing surface?

robo hippy
 
robo hippy said:
I have never done one, but..... I guess that I would use cole jaws to secure the top/rim of the bowl, and turning very slowly, cut a rabbet in that way. I am not sure if you could cut the rabbet in the pieces before you do that or not. Maybe glue up the bottom ring and then put that layer in the cole jaws and then cut that. I guess part depends on how big of a rabbet you are cutting. Are you putting in a floating panel? of just looking for a gluing surface?

robo hippy
Click to expand...
The rabbet is on the upper edge of the lowest ring. So the bottom of the bowl sits on the rabbet and then is held there by the next ring up. My concern with the Cole jaws is that I can't true this one ring as the gouge would be in danger of hitting the middle of the Cole jaws.
 
Eric - what I do is glue the bottom ring to a faceplace. Then true the mating surface, before cutting the rabbet. The bottom thickness is generally the same as the rabbet depth. I finish the bottom, and wax it except for where the end grain is, which receives the glue. Then glue on the next ring. Hope this helps.
 
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