Tried Something Different - A Ring Tray

[Wes Bischel]

Well, I tried something a little different. I made a ring tray instead of a ring holder. My Mom always complains about not having anyplace to put her rings when in the kitchen so I thought "what the heck, I'll make her something." (Yeah, what a nice son I am :rolleyes: )

The overall size is about 3" square by 2" tall. The body is a piece of bacote with a milled recess and chamfered edges. It's finished with shellac and buffed with wax.
Since I just learned to do this nickel plating process, I naturally had to include some metal in it. The base is cast aluminum - some of you might recognize it - it's a base for porch columns with the sides milled and edges chamfered. It doesn't show in the pictures, but there is a subtle milling pattern on the sides done by putting the mill out of tram so one side of the cutter leaves a half circle pattern.

I'm not sure I like the recess as milled - I think a shallow scoop might have given it some flair/elegance but still maintained the mass/visual weight of the piece. I might have to try that next time.

Anyhow, I thought it was a slightly different solution than I've seen before. Now we'll see how successful it is in practice. :D

Thanks for looking,
Wes

[Norman Hitt]

I LIKE IT!!!

Beautiful wood, excellent adaptation and beautiful finish. I wouldn't change a thing. It's simple but elegant and should be Very Functional.

[Gail O'Rourke]

I think this is a great piece. Since I always take mine off for the shop then it would be useful for me there. I like the metal base a lot. If you have a picture of it with a ring in it, that would be cool for the perspective of the picture.

Nice job, I am sure your mom will love it.

[John Hart]

Nice piece Wes. I too wouldn't change a thing. That is great that you have the capability to do the plating!! I would like to do that but would have to rely on plating vendors and it just gets too expensive.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Wes, I think it looks great. From the pics, it looks like it is hard to tell how deep the "well" is, really neat feature because of the grain!

[Dennis Peacock]

Wes you sly dawg you!!!!! ;) :rolleyes:

What a nice son you are indeed!!!! Very nice touch with the metal and wood together. I really like it and think I may try something like that (no metal for me...working metal makes me nervous. :eek: ) Anyway, simply outstanding Wes!!!!! Thanks for sharing the pics and the details. :D

[Jim Becker]

Excellent idea, Wes.

One alternate idea for the "recess" is to turn it...a round recess in a square object can be quite nice. Turn it off-center and it gets even more interesting! (I may play with that idea one of these days using your design...I like it!)

[Wes Bischel]

Thanks for the encouragement.
Gail, I added a picture of it with a couple rings in it - good idea, maybe I should have done that to begin with eh?! :rolleyes:

Jeff, the recess is shy of 3/8" deep. Just enough to keep the rings in, but not too deep to make it hard to get them out. (Mom isn't getting any younger :eek: )

As for the plating, it wasn't too expensive - the kit and accessories run about $100 and it isn't too hard - especially if you have a PhD scientist (LOML) review the instructions and explain them to you! :o Seriously, it's not that hard - I did it! Check out http://www.caswellplating.com/ I used the electroless nickel set-up.

Dennis, it's interesting you say that - most metalworkers think woodworking is scary! :eek: :D

Jim, I like that idea! It's easy enough to mount the block on a faceplate. I'll have to give that a shot. Thanks!

Thanks again,
Wes

[Corey Hallagan]

Very nice Wes, I great looking little piece. Thanks for the pics!

Corey