Ideas on Ceramic or Glass Flat Inserts for Wooden Plates

[Tom Hartranft]

I want to add some variety to wooden plates that I turn. Thought of turning a recess on the topside of the plates then embedding a flat ceramic or glass coaster with a personal touch on the coaster such as a family photo or a short 'saying.' Here are a couple of web sites that I contacted this weekend inquiring about tailoring to suit my needs:

1) http://changeyourart.com/pages/ornaments_products.htm
2) http://www.mountainemeadows.com/index/

The first site does offer to accept personal digital images for application to 3" or 4" diameter glass / ceramic pieces ... costs ~$8 each. The second site appears to only offer 6" x 4" oval shaped pieces (costs ~$17 each) ... I wrote to them asking if they could do some of the 'sayings' in a round piece. I also see that Shutterfly offers round disc glass Christmas ornaments tailored with personal digital photos ... about 3" diameter; they are expensive ... ~$24 each.

I'm sure that I can make an oval recess on some wooden plates using hand tools if needed, but not sure about aesthetics of an oval ceramic insert in a round plate??

Writing here on SawmillCreek to see what experience any of you might have in doing something like I'd like to do and possible other sources of getting personal images on glass/ceramic discs for application to my wooden plates.

Regards,

Tom

[Grant Wilkinson]

Tom: I've done something a bit different, but similar. I've cut a recess in the bottom of a plate, inserted a picture and filled the recess with clear resin. Then I just turn the resin down flush with the bottom of the plate, sand and polish. It's not as hard as glass or ceramic, but they seem to hold up well enough. For my taste, I would shy away from an oval insert in a round plate. Just my opinion, though.

[Steve Bistritz]

That sounds interesting Grant! What do you use to polish the epoxy????

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I want to add some variety to wooden plates that I turn. Thought of turning a recess on the topside of the plates then embedding a flat ceramic or glass coaster with a personal touch on the coaster such as a family photo or a short 'saying.' Here are a couple of web sites that I contacted this weekend inquiring about tailoring to suit my needs:

1) http://changeyourart.com/pages/ornaments_products.htm
2) http://www.mountainemeadows.com/index/

The first site does offer to accept personal digital images for application to 3" or 4" diameter glass / ceramic pieces ... costs ~$8 each. The second site appears to only offer 6" x 4" oval shaped pieces (costs ~$17 each) ... I wrote to them asking if they could do some of the 'sayings' in a round piece. I also see that Shutterfly offers round disc glass Christmas ornaments tailored with personal digital photos ... about 3" diameter; they are expensive ... ~$24 each.

I'm sure that I can make an oval recess on some wooden plates using hand tools if needed, but not sure about aesthetics of an oval ceramic insert in a round plate??

Writing here on SawmillCreek to see what experience any of you might have in doing something like I'd like to do and possible other sources of getting personal images on glass/ceramic discs for application to my wooden plates.

Regards,

Tom

Hi Tom, not to many replies, well I have used porcelain disk inset into wood, the pictures here that shows an 18 inch platter with a porcelain tile disk I turned about 2 years ago, the disk is from a floor tile in my son’s new house.

I would hesitate to use ceramic, unless used only as a wall hanging or the like, to easy to scratch, chip, discolor,and crackle, also watch using epoxy to glue the piece into the wood, wood does keep changing shape with humidity changes and the ceramics and epoxy are not flexible at all and probably have the ceramic tile crack, silicone will hold and flex.

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[Grant Wilkinson]

Steve: I turn the resin down to "flat" with the bottom of the plate using a bowl gouge, then sand with normal grits, starting at 220 or 320 up to 600 or so. Then I use Novus plastic polish, number 3 and 2. It's really the same process as is used for any type of plastic or resin pen blank. It works very well and there is no discernible seam between the resin and the wood.

[Steve Bistritz]

Thank you Grant!!!

[Keith Outten]

There are lots of Members here who can help you with a variety of inserts like engraved glass, acrylic, wood and color pictures using dye-sublimation of aluminum and solid surface materials among others. There are plenty of ornamental shapes available that can be color dye-sublimated with pictures, graphics and text. Those who own CNC Routers can produce any shape or size you need to fit your project.

Tom, post what you need in the Classifieds Forum here or search the Friends of The Creek Directory. I expect you will receive plenty of options.
.

[Tom Hartranft]

I just posted an advertisement on the classified section seeking Creekers' laser or digital imaging services.

Appreciate the responses received above ... all are helpful as I sort through what can be accomplished.

Tom

[Jamie Straw]

What about carving or piercings with filler (epoxy+stone/mineral/copper) a la Steve Hatcher? I saw him demonstrate at a nearby club, and his stuff was fabulous. The "Translucent" section (http://stephenhatcher.com/index.php?n=4)of his web site has some examples. Sadly, the web pictures don't come close to conveying the "real thing."