Zebrawood and Wenge Tray

[Wayne Watling]

Mark Singer has made a bunch of these trays and posted his efforts to this forum over the years, I almost certain it is Mark's design.
This is probably a question Mark could answer best but please chime in if you have an answer as I dont know if Mark is around over the Christmas period.

Inspired by Mark's tray design I have partly completed one for a Christmas gift and am just about at the finishing stage. Mark mentioned that he wet sands the trays using Daly's Ben Matte with 400 wet and dry. Could someone briefly describe the steps for sanding, so far I've sanded the tray using a ROS 100 to 150 grit followed by 180 grit paper and sanding block, the legs have been sanded with 100 and 150 grit paper.

I'd like to apply a Pure Tung oil/Varnish/thinner finish and was wondering whether this could also be used to wet sand the tray as i dont think we can get the Daly's Ben Matte product (that Mark uses) too easily here in canada.

Best,
Wayne

[Don C Peterson]

I can't answer your question, but that's a great looking tray. Make sure to post followup pics when it is finished.

[Justin Bukoski]

Wayne, use the tung oil on the piece as the "wet" and wet sand to 600 grit (320,400,600). Wipe off the excess, wait and hour and put on a final coat of oil.

[Mark Singer]

Very nice wayne. It is my design and you made a nice execution. You need foam sanding pads for the contoured curves. Sand to 320 with ROS. Then use a tung oil sanding it with the grain with 3M wet and dry paper. Use paper towels to remove the excess and wait 24 hours between coats. If it is pure tung oil it really dries slow.

[Don Bullock]

Wayne,
That tray is looking great. I love the Zebra wood and have found Mark's work inspiring too. I've decided to use it for a trophy base on a trophy I'm making for our basset hound club. Thanks for asking the question about finishing because sometime in January or February I'll need to put a finish on the trophy.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

That is quite beautiful.

[Jim Becker]

Wayne, really nice execution on that piece!

[Craig D Peltier]

Mark Singer has made a bunch of these trays and posted his efforts to this forum over the years, I almost certain it is Mark's design.
This is probably a question Mark could answer best but please chime in if you have an answer as I dont know if Mark is around over the Christmas period.

Inspired by Mark's tray design I have partly completed one for a Christmas gift and am just about at the finishing stage. Mark mentioned that he wet sands the trays using Daly's Ben Matte with 400 wet and dry. Could someone briefly describe the steps for sanding, so far I've sanded the tray using a ROS 100 to 150 grit followed by 180 grit paper and sanding block, the legs have been sanded with 100 and 150 grit paper.


I'd like to apply a Pure Tung oil/Varnish/thinner finish and was wondering whether this could also be used to wet sand the tray as i dont think we can get the Daly's Ben Matte product (that Mark uses) too easily here in canada.

Best,
Wayne

Cool tray, do you use a router to hollow it or a combo of TS with dado blade and routered inside edge?

[Wayne Watling]

Thanks Mark, Justin and those who responded, its been a wonderful little project and will make a great Christmas gift for one of the sister-in-laws. As a beginner woodworker I find that I tend to look for interesting designs by other woodworkers and designers to build and learn from. At this stage of my woodworking experience the building alone presents enough of a challange whilst I'm still learning the basics of the craft. Thank goodness we have these gifted designers for some inspiration.

I'll post the finished piece in a few days.

Wayne

[Wayne Watling]

Cool tray, do you use a router to hollow it or a combo of TS with dado blade and routered inside edge?

Hi Craig,

I used the router with a bowl bit, one of the tricks (learned from Mark) was to leave a very thin piece in the center along the entire length of the tray and route it out at the end. This helps the tray keep its shape while your routing, once you route out that center piece the tray will probably twist a little, mine did, but its nothing that cant be adjusted for by leaving a leg a little shorter or longer to make up the gap.

You could also use a dado but do a search and you'll find a post of two where someone else asked the same question if that is what you intend to do.

Good luck,
Wayne