Ambrosia Maple Serving Tray

Hello.

I absolutely love ambrosia maple and bought a big board to play with.
I have been working on a serving tray off and on for a couple months now.
I came up with an idea to use thin strips of various contrasting species of wood to make the sides.

Being rather new to woodworking, I wanted to expand my joinery skills and decided to use box joints.
I don't have a good table saw, so did it by offsetting the ends of the wood on the sides and cutting the walnut handles with my chisel. I really like to work with chisels.
I was rather proud of my joints so I left them proud.

I added dowels because I like the look and I think it will add strength if it needs more. It was more of an artistic/aesthetic decision.
I really like the way they look protruding out a little bit. What do you guys honestly think of the dowels?

I finished it with Danish Oil, but I think I'll add some poly to the main board to protect it a little more.

What do you think? Attachment 371948Attachment 371944Attachment 371945Attachment 371946Attachment 371947Attachment 371949Attachment 371950

Here is the first serving tray I made. I like the second one better.

I was really hoping someone would reply to my post. I love this community and the wealth of knowledge you all have. I am kindly asking for some feedback.

I have a few questions:

1. Should I be afraid of the bottom board (ambrosia maple) warping because it is just one piece of wood? I left a little bit of wiggle room between the main board and the sides. There is glue filling the gaps, but I believe the dowels help hold it the most.

2. Do you like the dowels?

3. Do you think the dowels will help strengthen the tray, or resist it's natural movement therefore becoming a problem?

4. What would you have done differently?

5. Should I take the plunge and start practicing hand cut dovetails?

Thank you very much in advance for any responses!

Phillip, I like this tray. I like the way you rabbeted the side panel to incorporate the end. I wonder how it would affect the look if the bottom was done the same way. With a bottom that beefy I don't think you have a worry about supporting weight.

I can't really figure out the dowels in your maple tray. Are they pins to hold the bottom to the frame or do they go all the way across ? Why did you choose to have them extend past the ends and sides ? If for design, did you consider rounding them over ?

I'll play!
Last things first, ABSOLUTELY practice hand cut dovetails. Nothing to be scared of and I think you will be surprised how quickly you will improve. Not to diminish the talent it takes to really make precise hand cut joints, but you can be making very nice ones in short order with a little practice. No point in putting that off!
My only concern (and granted, I don't have a sense of scale) would be splitting of the bottom as the ends expand because there is no movement. I can't see the bottom warping or twisting too much because the joints of the sides will be strong enough to resist in that direction. These may be small enough that expansion / contraction is also not an issue, but the ideal scenario would be to have the bottom "float" in gooves on the sides and ends. If the bottom is thicker, you could run a rabbet all the way around the panel to be received by the 1/4" - 3/8" grooves in the sides. Similar to drawer construction.
Unfiltered critique:
I think the alternating laminations of walnut, maple and mahogany(?) running into box joints is a cool concept. That's a detail I would certainly keep if the bottom of the tray had less going on.

On this particular tray, there are a lot of things going on. I would've kept the sides simpler and let the maple bottom be the star. At minimum ditched the third wood species and stuck with maple & walnut only for the sides & box joints.

I see a theme with the two trays you shared, though, and it is pretty cool. I think the second tray really lets the bottom glue up shine because the sides were understated.
I like a little of everything you have done, but I would shy away from doing it all on one tray. That said, joinery techniques look good and the glue ups / laminations you've done are really nice!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Carl Baker

I'll play!
Last things first, ABSOLUTELY practice hand cut dovetails. Nothing to be scared of and I think you will be surprised how quickly you will improve. Not to diminish the talent it takes to really make precise hand cut joints, but you can be making very nice ones in short order with a little practice. No point in putting that off!

Thanks! I will do many practice dovetails on cutoffs before I attempt some on a project.


My only concern (and granted, I don't have a sense of scale) would be splitting of the bottom as the ends expand because there is no movement. I can't see the bottom warping or twisting too much because the joints of the sides will be strong enough to resist in that direction. These may be small enough that expansion / contraction is also not an issue, but the ideal scenario would be to have the bottom "float" in gooves on the sides and ends. If the bottom is thicker, you could run a rabbet all the way around the panel to be received by the 1/4" - 3/8" grooves in the sides. Similar to drawer construction.

Interesting concept. I'll have to practice some of those. I think it's time I buy some rabbit bits for my router, I don't have a dado blade.

Unfiltered critique:
I think the alternating laminations of walnut, maple and mahogany(?) running into box joints is a cool concept. That's a detail I would certainly keep if the bottom of the tray had less going on.

On this particular tray, there are a lot of things going on. I would've kept the sides simpler and let the maple bottom be the star. At minimum ditched the third wood species and stuck with maple & walnut only for the sides & box joints.

Thanks for your honesty. I really like contrast–but I can definitely see your point.

I see a theme with the two trays you shared, though, and it is pretty cool. I think the second tray really lets the bottom glue up shine because the sides were understated.
I like a little of everything you have done, but I would shy away from doing it all on one tray. That said, joinery techniques look good and the glue ups / laminations you've done are really nice!

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Thank you very much for your critique and advice! I really appreciate some tips from you masters and enjoy learning from this great resource!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yonak Hawkins

Phillip, I like this tray. I like the way you rabbeted the side panel to incorporate the end. I wonder how it would affect the look if the bottom was done the same way. With a bottom that beefy I don't think you have a worry about supporting weight.

I can't really figure out the dowels in your maple tray. Are they pins to hold the bottom to the frame or do they go all the way across ? Why did you choose to have them extend past the ends and sides ? If for design, did you consider rounding them over ?

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Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I like your rabbit idea for the bottom!

As for the dowels, I thought they would strengthen the whole piece a little bit. They go about 3 inches into the bottom. But mainly, I like the look of it–that's why I left them proud. It adds a bit of contrast both in color and shape. Another aspect that I like but didn't plan is the fact that the dowels sticking out of the sides allow the piece to sit on it's side allowing it to be displayed on my counter.

Thanks again!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Philip Fiorio

Thank you very much for your critique and advice! I really appreciate some tips from you masters and enjoy learning from this great resource!

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hey now! No need to start throwing words like "masters" in my direction! https://www.sawmillcreek.org/clients...lies/smile.gif
On a tray bottom / drawer bottom, I would not mess with a dado stack... Simply two passes through a fine blade is going to get you 1/4" groove, make a third pass if you think you need your tray bottom that thick. I have a dado stack that rarely sees the light of day; don't be afraid to try it with your single saw blade.
Admittedly, a lot of my post would be chalked up to personal preference, so please take it as such. Great work you should be proud of!

I am with Carl. Fantastic effort, but I would keep it simple--walnut and maple.

How thick is the maple on the bottom? I am concerned about the dowels on the end constricting the nature movement of the wood.

Don’t take offense of the lack of replies. I don’t think this subforum gets a lot of traffic. I check it at a last resort, as in I’ve checked all my usial places and finally start to dig around other sub forums.

As as for the tray, I like the look! As others have stated I’d be concerned about wood movement since the dowels trap the solid wood bottom on all sides.

One of my first projects used ambrosia maple so I have an affinity for it.

Everyone has their own design ideas and I'll offer some comments based on my ideas. I'm not a fan of projects with high contrast woods. I probably would have made the whole tray from ambrosia maple, bottom and sides. For the sides, I would have used miter joints and cut the sides so that the grain flows around the tray. I would probably make the sides a bit thinner, around 1/2 inch, to make the tray appear lighter. The bottom can be 1/4" thick and it will hold quite well, providing you capture it in a groove around the sides.

A tray is used to carry things, so your challenge is to make the tray as light as you can while still providing the strength to carry multiple cups and a pot of coffee or tea.

If you want to see what I mean about having the grain flow around the tray, take a look at my web site. I don't have any trays that demonstrate that, but you can see some boxes that do demonstrate how the grain flows around the box.

Mike

Yea, sometimes folks forget that this is "the place" where finished projects and long-term builds go...I'm constantly having to move things here from other places. LOL

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In general, I like your tray. I don't mind some contrast, but would probably prefer the combination of the maple and the walnut without the extra "red" bars, personally. But remember...that's a very subjective thing and this is "your" art. Build things the way you like them!

I see the two as having two different purposes. The first one is for a nice day on a yacht . The other for the back yard. Both are bright festive pieces that could contribute,or even spark ,a festive mood. Mike does wonderful naturalistic work and you will enjoy seeing it.