I saw this serving tray online one time and thought it was so cute, I needed to make it for myself. I went to Home Depot and bought some 1"x6" wood that was as cheap as I could find. (Note: even though wood is sold in solid dimensions like 2"x4" and such, that is before it has been dried out. The actual measurements are always smaller. Take this into account when you buy wood.)
On the website they say that the tray is 15"x15"x2.25". They make it pretty easy for someone like me to copy.
After some calculations, I cut the wood on a table saw at my school. I tried to keep as many of the knots and imperfection on the base of the tray so they could be seen, because I love those imperfections. I used Minwax Espresso stain on the wood after I gave it a very light coat black spray paint. I read on a website that putting the spray paint on it first would give the stain more contrast and make it less uniform.
After I stained the wood and nailed all of it together, I drilled the holes for the handles. The holes are 1/4" in diameter and spaced 5" apart from one another. They are centered on that edge, which is 15" long, so there is 5" to the left and right of each hole. It is important the handles go on the edges that have the shorter pieces of wood (as pictured) because the nails go inwards from the edges and that way the wood won't be able to slip off the nails and have your tray fall apart.
On the website they say that the tray is 15"x15"x2.25". They make it pretty easy for someone like me to copy.
After some calculations, I cut the wood on a table saw at my school. I tried to keep as many of the knots and imperfection on the base of the tray so they could be seen, because I love those imperfections. I used Minwax Espresso stain on the wood after I gave it a very light coat black spray paint. I read on a website that putting the spray paint on it first would give the stain more contrast and make it less uniform.
In the base has been coated with the spray paint, but nothing else has.
After I stained the wood and nailed all of it together, I drilled the holes for the handles. The holes are 1/4" in diameter and spaced 5" apart from one another. They are centered on that edge, which is 15" long, so there is 5" to the left and right of each hole. It is important the handles go on the edges that have the shorter pieces of wood (as pictured) because the nails go inwards from the edges and that way the wood won't be able to slip off the nails and have your tray fall apart.
My finished product had very thick edges (3/4") and although I like it, I think it is too thick.
My sister liked it so much she asked for one for Christmas, so I ended up making a second one with all the same steps except I used a planar to plane the wood down to 1/2" thickness and it looks a lot better.
No comments:
Post a Comment