More than thirty years ago, I had the good fortune to attend an elementary school where shop was part of the curriculum. My big brother went through the same class 5 years before I did. Both of us built a serving tray in grade seven. I still have mine. He gave his to our folks, and they've used it ever since. But it is starting to show it's age.
Here's mine:
tray-orig.jpg
It was great beginner project. The base was a piece of Mahogany plwood, and the sides were cut from pine. The sides did not come together at the corners, so there were no "difficult" miter joints (remember, seventh grade boys!) or other fancy work. To build this project, we just needed to cut out some simple curves on the scroll saw, sand the result, and then put it together with some glue and nails.
I considered a few options when designing a replacement, but settled on a somewhat similar plan, with just a few tweaks. First, I made the sides wrap all the way around the outside, and next, I added some contrasting wood "keys" to strengthen and beautify the miters. Oh, and I chose different materials, which also quite changes the look. I used Cherry for the sides, a Baltic Birch base, and Maple keys in the miters.
Here's the result:
tray1-corner.jpg tray1-overview.jpg
(a few more details and photos can be found on my web page.)
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Brian Effinger
. As far as finishing goes, either wipe on poly or just salad bowl wax. I think just being able to do the simple stuff will be interesting enough given their ages.
