14″ × 10″ serving tray plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw or miter saw
• Jigsaw
• 1″ spade or Forstner bit
• Countersink bit
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Cut the hand holes in the ends

   On each end (B), draw a slot 4″ long and 1″ tall, centred along the length, its top 3/4″ below the top edge.

   Clamp the end over a scrap board and drill a 1″ hole at each end of the slot with a spade or Forstner bit.

   Saw out the wood between the holes with a jigsaw, along the top and bottom lines.

   Round the top corners of each end by tracing a can, sawing on the waste side and sanding to the line. Sand the inside of the slot until it is smooth to the touch: fingers carry the whole load here.

   • Tip Drill until the point of the spade bit just pokes through, then finish from the other side: no splinters.
   • Tip Clamp the work so the line hangs off the bench, use a fine-tooth wood blade, let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood and push gently: the blade bends if you force it, and the cut wanders.

   ✓ Four fingers fit through each slot comfortably and nothing inside it catches skin.

   STOP. Clamp the work; never hold a small piece in your hand while drilling or sawing.

4. 4Glue and screw the frame

   Stand the long sides (A) on edge between the ends (B), bottoms flush. Glue the side ends: they are end grain, so a thin first coat, wait two minutes, then a second.

   Drive 2 screws, 1 5/8″, through each end into each side, predrilled and countersunk, 3/8″ from the top and bottom of the side.

   Measure the diagonals; push the frame until they match. Wipe the squeeze-out inside the corners now: dried glue is hard to sand out of an inside corner.

   • Tip Drill a pilot hole for every screw within 2″ of the end of a board, or the board will split. Then countersink so the screw head sits flush.
   • Tip End grain (the cut end of a board) soaks glue up like a straw. Brush on a thin first coat, wait two minutes, then add a second coat before you join the parts.

   ✓ The diagonals match within 1/16″ and the frame lies flat on the bench.

5. 5Attach the base

   Turn the frame upside down. Run a bead of glue along the bottom edges and lay the base (C) on, good face toward the inside of the tray, edges flush all round.

   Drive 1 5/8″ screws through the base into the sides and ends every 4″, about 12 in all, 3/8″ in from the edge. Countersink them so they don't scratch a table.

   • Tip Line up two edges of the base first: a square base pulls the frame square.

   ✓ Turn it over and set it on a flat table: it doesn't rock, and the base edges are flush with the frame.

6. 6Sand and finish

   Sand every face and edge of the tray with 120 grit, then 180 grit, always moving along the grain (the lines in the wood). Sanding across the grain leaves scratches that the finish makes darker.

   Soften every sharp edge and corner with a few strokes of 180-grit paper on a block, so edges don't splinter or chip.

   Vacuum the dust, then wipe with a tack cloth or a barely damp rag and let it dry 10 minutes.

   For a surface that food touches, rub on food-grade mineral oil (or a board butter of mineral oil and beeswax) with a rag until the wood stops soaking it up. Wait 20 minutes, wipe off everything that's left, and repeat the next day.

   For a tray that will see wet glasses, you can use water-based polyurethane instead (three thin coats, sanding lightly between them with 220 grit). Once fully cured, about 7 days, it is fine for dry food.

   Re-oil whenever the wood looks pale and dry, about once a month.

   • Tip Pine goes blotchy under stain. If you want colour, brush on a pre-stain conditioner first, or use a gel stain.
   • Tip Finish the back and underside too. Wood that is sealed on one side only can cup as the seasons change.
   • Tip Work in a warm, dry, well-ventilated room. Below about 50°F (10°C) most finishes dry slowly and cloudy.

   ✓ The wood looks evenly darker and feels dry, not oily, to the touch.

7. 7Add bumpers

   Stick a clear bumper dot under each corner so the tray doesn't scratch a table or slide on it.

   Carry no more than about 20 lb: a full tea service is fine; a stack of heavy plates is not.

   ✓ Lift the tray loaded with a few dishes: the base doesn't creak or flex.