The American Woodturner magazine has an answer to my original question
where I mentioned thinking of making a 'bed of nails'. In the Tips
section John Williams had a tip on using old bandsaw blades. You cut
the blade about 10" long and fold it to about 45 degrees. Then you
can set a finished piece on the blade with the teeth side up or
multiple blades for larger items. (I took the advice of the people in
the group and am now doing the bottoms seprate from the rest of the
bowls I have made but this was another option I had not heard of and
may come in handy some time).