Latest Project

[John Hedges]

Well I haven't gotten much shop time lately, but I did manage to finish a wedding present for my nephew I've been working on. Since I havent been real good at sharing lately I thought I'd post this. It represents a few firsts for me. My first veneering job and my first try at a non rub on finish. The wood is Quilted Maple and Cherry. The finish is BLO, dewaxed shellac, Behlens rock hard Varnish (Probably skip the BLO next time). It was rubbed out after sitting for 3/5 weeks. First time rubbing anything out. What a chore it was on this piece. Anyway the design is my own, it is not perfect by any means but I am happy with the results in general, hope you like it. (Try to ignore the dust specs in the 4th picture)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/serving%20tray/DSC06331.jpg?t=1165849465


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/serving%20tray/DSC06333.jpg?t=1165849508

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/serving%20tray/DSC06336.jpg?t=1165849528

[John Hedges]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/serving%20tray/DSC06340.jpg?t=1165849555

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/serving%20tray/DSC06341.jpg?t=1165849580

[Jason Tuinstra]

John, the design is just right. It will make a great gift. The figured maple adds just the right look. Good job.

[Brett Baldwin]

That's a great combination John. Similar enough to blend nicely, different enough to contrast. Hmmm, blend and contrast in the same piece. Anyway, a great look and that maple figure is awesome. Nice job

[Todd Solomon]

John, that is absolutely gorgeous!!! I like the design, the proportions, that it looks useful for the task it was designed.

That quilted maple is spectacular- it reminds me of a stormy sky.

Todd

[everett lowell]

Really nice John, I'm sure your nephew will treasure this for years to come!

[Dan Drager]

Way too nice to serve things on. It should hang on the wall.

[Ralph Barhorst]

John, That is really beautiful.

I just posted a request for plans for a "TEA TRAY" and this looks like it would be a great design.

Could you explain more about it?
Dimensions?
Techniques used?

Very nice work!!

[John Hedges]

Ralph,

The design is one I worked a while on before I started making it. It kind of evolved once I started.

I started with the board which is a pretty basic veneer job. The veneer I got at woodcraft was too thin to sand very smooth so before I started on the rails I applied the BLO and several coats of dewaxed shellac. The shellac worked as a filler to smooth out the top in place of sanding (building up instead of sanding down if you will). I sanded lightly after each application.

Next I made the rails. At the bottom of this post is a link to a quick diagram which I hope explains how they were cut. The picture shows them at a vertical angle, so rotate the last picture to get an idea of the final shape. Each section shows the next successive cut to create the rail. All of the cuts except for #5 were done with a TS blade. The angled cuts were all at the same angle. Cut #5 was done with a bullnose bit on a router table. I snuck up on the depth slowly on that one. Doing the miters on them was interesting and required a sled jig to hold it.

After I cut the frame sections I mitered the pieces and attached them to the board with buiscits. I then built and attached the handles.

For the handles I just did some drawings till I came up with what I wanted. Then I created a template and cut both from that, leaving the ends oversized so I could sand them into a smooth transition into the frame, then I handsanded to curve the handle holds. To attach them I created a sled to hold the tray and also hold the router at the correct angle (I can post pictures of the jig if anyone is interested), then cut a slot to hold the handles. I attached the handles with some FF buiscits and sanded the ends of the handles down where they met the tray.

After that I applied a coat of BLO to the frame and handles, waited a week and applied a coat of dewaxed shellac, so that the frame now matched the base. Then I applied several coats of Behlens rock hard Varnish with a brush, sanding very lightly between coats. I then put it up for almost 4 weeks to cure. After 4 weeks I started the rubbing out process. I started wet sanding the piece with 600 grit, then 800 then 1200, then FFFF pumice, then rottenstone. On the first sanding process I sanded through the top layer of varnish and had to start over with applying the varnish and curing (another 5 weeks, dont ask). After the rottenstone I buffed it out with Menzerna automotive polish to bring back the high sheen.

Thats about all I can recall. Let me know if you have any more questions.

On a side note does anyone know why my images just appear as links and not as pictures in the post. I have posted pictures before but it doesn't appear to work correctly for me anymore.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hedgehog55/serving%20tray/JustinsWeddingPresentRailCutChart.jpg?t=1165941300

[Neil Lamens]

Slick lines John!!!!!!!!!!

[Mike Henderson]

That is a really nice design for a tray, John. I really like what you did - may even try to do one myself!

Mike

[Ralph Barhorst]

John,

Thanks for the information.

What dimensions Cherry did you start with? It looks like it was 8/4.

[John Hedges]

What dimensions Cherry did you start with? It looks like it was 8/4.

Yup 8/4, but after the initial cut I sized the frame down a bit, so you could easily get by with 6/4 as long as it was fairly straight.

[Don Bullock]

An excellent design with a beautiful combination of wood. My mother-in-law wants a tray very much like that. It's in my "to do list" for the coming year.

[Roy Wall]

John,

THis is REALLY NICE!! A beautiful design....your work is outstanding!