A stoneware tabletop cascade fountain made from The Clay Hole paper template, water spilling from tray to tray into its basin

Paper template 24, a hand-building pattern

The Cascade Fountain

BETA: this template is still being tested

We test every paper template by building it. This one carries the BETA mark until it has been built and confirmed. It should be sound and work as drawn. We will know for certain once someone makes it.

Use it at your own discretion, and be ready to adjust on the fly if your project needs it. Pivoting mid-build is part of the fun of pottery.

Made this one? Show us. Text it to The Clay Hole or tag @theclayhole on Instagram. Once it is built and working, it leaves BETA.

A tabletop fountain with four trays that zigzag the water down into its basin. Finished: 10 7/16 in tall, the basin 9 3/16 in x 7 13/16 in, holding about 3/4 gal at 12 percent shrinkage.

  • Insane
  • About 10 hours over 3 sittings, plus drying
  • About 12 1/4 lb of clay
  • 8 template sheets, 15 pages
  • Requires extra hardware purchase

You will need a fountain pump, clear vinyl tubing and aquarium-safe silicone, bought separately. The hardware page in the pack names the parts and draws how they go together.

$30.00 one PDF, 15 pages, yours to print as often as you like

Flip through the free sample
What you will make

A fountain that pours from tray to tray

A tabletop fountain: a tower stands in a basin, and four trays on it pass the water down, left, right, left, in thin ribbons through notched lips. A small pump hides inside the tower and the tower lifts out for cleaning. Every tray is mitered from flat slabs, with the angle printed on each edge.

Basin floor 10 7/16 in x 8 7/8 in, walls 3 3/16 in high, tower walls 10 7/16 in tall, top tray 5 7/16 in x 3 13/16 in, three trays 3 5/8 in x 2 13/16 in with a 22 degree flared front. Every piece is drawn at wet size for a 1/4 in slab, and the finished sizes below are what comes out of the glaze kiln at 12 percent shrinkage, which is what most of the studio's stoneware does.

Height10 7/16 in
Basin9 3/16 x 7 13/16 x 3 in
Waterabout 3/4 gal to the brim
Pump45 gal an hour, inside
What is in the pack

15 pages. The biggest pieces print in parts that tape together across several sheets.

  • 8 template sheets, each piece printed at exact size, the biggest in taped parts with overlap strips, tape lines and matching triangles, with a 1 inch check square and a 5 centimeter bar on every sheet so you can prove the print before you cut
  • A cover with the finished size drawn and labeled, so you know what you are building before you roll a slab
  • One page on printing, rolling, cutting and the seam method, the same on every template
  • Assembly in 27 numbered steps written for this piece, then drying, glazing, and the three things that go wrong and why
  • A size table at 10, 12 and 14 percent shrinkage, because 52 Buff, B-Mix and porcelain do not shrink the same

The pieces

  • Basin floorcut 1
  • Basin front wallcut 1
  • Basin back wallcut 1
  • Basin side wallcut 2
  • Tower front wallcut 1
  • Tower back wallcut 1
  • Tower side wallcut 2
  • Top tray floorcut 1
  • Top tray frontcut 1
  • Top tray backcut 1
  • Top tray sidecut 2
  • Tray floorcut 3
  • Tray frontcut 2
  • Lower tray frontcut 1
  • Tray sidecut 4
  • Notched tray sidecut 2
  • Tray backcut 3
  • Lipcut 4
Cover page of The Cascade Fountain, a printable pottery paper template from The Clay Hole in Draper, Utah
The cover
The template sheets of The Cascade Fountain shown small, a hand-building pattern from The Clay Hole
The template sheets, shown small
Why it works

Worked out from the finished piece backward

A template that is close is worse than no template, because you trust it. Every number in this pack comes from the finished size, through the slab thickness and the shrinkage, to the flat shape that makes it. Then the finished file was measured to prove the shapes landed at that size.

1

Exact scale, with a check

Every sheet carries a 1 inch square and a 5 centimeter bar. Print at 100 percent, measure the square, and the whole sheet is right. If it is not, the print is wrong and you reprint before cutting anything.

2

Seams and bevels planned

Each edge that needs a bevel is hatched on the template and the steps say which way it leans. Mitered corners come out square because all four pieces come from one outline.

3

Tapers cut as fans

A wall that flares is drawn as part of a ring, not a trapezoid, so it closes into a cone with no pleats. The curves are worked out from the exact rim and foot sizes.

4

Fits that are already solved

Lids, flanges, saucers and ridges carry the clearance built in, at wet size, so the parts still fit after they shrink together in the kiln.

MeasurementWet, on the template52 Buff, 10 percentMost stoneware, 12 percentPorcelain, 14 percent
Height overall11 7/8 in10 11/16 in10 7/16 in10 3/16 in
Basin, side to side10 7/16 in9 7/16 in9 3/16 in9 in
Basin, front to back8 7/8 in8 in7 13/16 in7 5/8 in
Basin, tall3 7/16 in3 1/16 in3 in2 15/16 in
Tower, across the front4 3/4 in4 5/16 in4 3/16 in4 1/8 in
Top tray, across5 7/16 in4 15/16 in4 13/16 in4 11/16 in
How to use it

Print, check, roll, cut, build

Print at 100 percent

Actual size, never Fit to page. Plain copy paper works. Card stock survives a wet slab and can be used again.

Measure the square

A ruler on the 1 inch square settles whether the sheet is right. Thirty seconds that saves a whole piece.

Roll 1/4 in

Every clearance assumes it. Let the slab firm up to soft leather hard before you cut, so it holds an edge and still bends.

Cut the count, then build

Lay the paper on the slab, cut straight down just outside the edge, bevel where the hatching says, and follow the 27 steps. Score, slip, press, compress, every seam.

The set

The other paper templates

Forty-six of them, ten beginner, eleven intermediate, six advanced, eight expert, seven insane and four kiln furniture, all built the same way. Free for members, $5.50 to $30 each for everyone else. See all forty-six on one page.

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Or all forty-six at once

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$308.50$617All 46 templates in one order: 46 PDFs, 417 pages, yours to print as often as you like.

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Questions

The ones that come up

Do I need a membership to buy this

No. It is $30 for anyone. A membership makes every template free, along with everything else a membership includes.

How do members get it free

Log in on this page with the email your membership is under, and the download button appears in place of the price. No code, no checkout.

Can I make it bigger or smaller

Yes. Print every piece of the pack at the same percentage and the parts still fit each other. Anything over about 115 percent runs a piece off the page, so check the sheet before you cut.

Which clay

Any of the studio's stoneware. The template is drawn for a 1/4 in slab and the sizes assume 12 percent shrinkage. 52 Buff comes out a little bigger, porcelain a little smaller, and the size table above shows both.

Can I sell what I make from it

Yes. The pots are yours. The template file is for your own use and is not to be shared, which is the whole of the terms.

What if a piece does not fit on my printer

Every part fits one letter sheet with a 3/8 inch margin, which every ordinary home and office printer reaches. Landscape sheets print landscape. Let the printer rotate the page rather than scaling it. The biggest pieces print in parts that tape together, and the pack gives the length to check once they are taped.

Members

Every template, free, every time

Forty-six templates now and more as they are drawn, all free for members logged in to a Clay Hole account. Print one tonight and bring it to your next session.

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