Serving Tray.pdf

8/14/2019 Serving Tray.pdf

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SERVING TRAY

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Copyright 2004 Martian Auctions 252


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This is a great project for usingup some of that leftover, com-mon pine you've got lyingaround the shop. It won'ttake much material or time tobuild this tray once you get thestock to i ts proper thickness.

You also should enjoy both

the easy construction methodsand the results. Anotherinteresting feature is the use ofround pegs that give the piecean antique look. Once you seehow it's done, you'll want to usethis method on other projects toadd both strength and beauty.

Start with 3/4"-thick commonpine stock and resaw it so it canbe finished to a 1/4" thickness.Resawing

the lumber is easily done on a bandsaw, but this material is so easy towork that you can probably handplane it to thickness without toomuch trouble.

In either case, you should makesure all the cutting tools you'reusing are at their sharpest state

because the fibers of softwoods, likepine, tend to compress rather thancut when worked with dull tools.This compression leads to crushededges instead of the sharp edgesthat are formed when sharp tools ,are used.

If you elected to resaw theboards, you'll have to either finishplane or power sand the boards to



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their final thickness. I used a beltsander for this operation. The jobwent so quickly that the boardswere down to their finished sizealmost before I realized it.

Cut the base to its finished lengthof 10", then set the rip fence onyour table saw for the 5 1/4" width.Without changing the saw setting,rip another piece at least 7" long tothe same 5 1/4" dimension. Cut thisboard into two pieces, each measur-ing 3 1/2" long x 5 1/4" wide. Thesetwo pieces will be used as thetray's ends.

Rip a pair of boards measuring atleast 11" long into 1/4" widths tobecome the sides of the tray. Don't

cut these sides to length at thistime.

Before you go any further, youneed to lightly touch up all the cutedges of the parts with some fine

sandpaper. Be careful not to roundany edges, just take off the fuzziesthat formed when the cuts tookplace. Once this is done, your partswill be as clean as possible andready for dry assembly.

Dry assembly is the act of puttingthe pieces together without anyglue or fasteners to ensure every-thing is of the proper size. If you'venever done this operation before,you should find this project to be agood opportunity to test it out.

Dry assemble the tray by buttingone end panel against each end ofthe base board. Make sure the endpanels are square to the base, andset a single side panel in position.

Mark that panel for length, and cutboth of the 1 1/2"-wide side panels tothe same length. Touch up the cutedges with fine sandpaper, beingcareful not to round the edges.

Referring to the sketches, lay outthe curved areas on the two endpanels and two side panels. Insteadof using a compass for the layoutwork, I found a drafting circle tem-plate works well and doesn't leaveany holes from the compass pin.Cut the curves to shape, then drill aCopyright 2004 Martian Auctions 254


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The parts for the tray are completed and laid outprior to assembly.

pair of 3/4"-diameter holes in each ofthe end panels for the fingercutouts. Use a coping saw, scrollsaw, or jigsaw to cut out the fingeropenings in these two panels.

Lightly sand all pieces in prepara-tion for final assembly, then dressup the cuts just made. Don't roundany edges at this time.

Assembling the parts is just aseasy as the dry assembly operationbecause you' re doing the samesteps, with the exception that thistime you'll be using glue to holdthe parts together. Set up for theassembly operation by getting yourclamps set to the approximateopenings and preparing your clampblocks for use. Clear your workarea, and have a container of waterand a rag available for wiping upany excess glue.

Now you're ready to start. Applysome yellow woodworker's glue tothe edges to be joined and butt allthe parts together. A few light-dutyclamps are all that are needed tohold the details in place.

Once the glue has completelydried, it's time to install the roundpegs that help make this projectunique. The pegs are nothing morethan round wooden toothpicks thathave had the tapered ends cut off,

then cut into two equal lengthpi eces . Th e to ot hpi ck s I us ed

needed only a #40 drill hole for agood fit, but you should check yourtoothpicks before drilling.

The holes should be drilled about5/8" deep at the locations shown inthe drawing. The pegs' exact loca-tions aren't important. You also cancreate any pattern you choose toget the effect you want. I used onlyfive pegs per side because the traywill be subjected to very light duty,but you could easily adjust the num-ber to suit your own opinion on

how the piece should look.Put a drop of glue in each hole,

then push the peg into place. Allowthe glue to cure completely beforetrimming the pegs to length.

Trimming can be done with asharp knife, a "setless" saw (like abacksaw), a chisel, or a belt sander.I chose a sharp chisel to get thepegs to the proper length, thentouched up their ends with finesandpaper.

At this time, you should dress upall the exposed edges on the assem-bly with sandpaper to remove thesharp areas. Pay particular attentionto the end panels that will receivethe most handling. It won't take toomuch effort to complete this step.Before you know it, you'll be readyto apply the finish.

I used a clear, water-soluble finishthat's environmentally safe. Regard-less of what you select for this job,you should follow the manufac-

turer's recommended applicationprocedures to get the best results.

My directions called for threecoats of finish with light sandingbetween coats. It definitely tookmore time for the coats to dry thanit did to apply them, but the resultswere worth it.

Once the final coat dries, the fin-ish will be safe for food. Now yournew serving tray is ready to sitproudly on the table with its supplyof delicacies.


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Serving Tray.pdf