How to make a wooden tray with your own hands. Tray made of natural wood with your own hands. From simple boards

We can easily afford breakfast in bed or a cup of coffee on the veranda if we create an elegant wooden tray with our own hands. A wooden tray is an indispensable item in the household, you can make it if you have the tools and wooden materials necessary for the job. This type of tray is convenient, practical and aesthetic, useful everywhere: in an apartment, in a country house or in a country house. You will need some plywood, a cork backing and a few tips from the tutorial.

For work you will need:

  • wood plywood 5 mm thick;
  • wooden board 2 cm thick;
  • square for measuring and marking;
  • electric saw or bow saw - a sharp saw with guides for oblique cuts;
  • end planer;
  • vise;
  • drill;
  • pencil;
  • grinding machine;
  • dispersion glue for wood;
  • a hammer;
  • small nails;
  • matte water-based paint;
  • tassel.

Let's get to work by preparing the above materials. We cut wooden plywood 5 mm thick into a rectangle 35 by 50 cm. We cut the wooden board into 4 parts: 2 sidewalls and 2 handles of appropriate sizes. On a board 31 by 7 cm, using a ruler, we draw a future pen.

Using a drill and a round nozzle, we drill holes with a diameter of 2.5 cm, take a jigsaw to cut a hole and bevels on the upper side of the tray handle.

We apply the finished pen to the board and circle it with a pencil, this is necessary so that the second pen turns out to be the same size and shape. Sides size: 50 by 4 cm.

Finished parts must be sanded with fine sandpaper. We glue the details of the tray with dispersion glue for wood.

Clamp with a vise, remove excess glue with a dry cloth. Cut out the bottom and the rest of the details from the cork backing.

We knock together the bottom with the sides with small carnations. We glue the cork substrate with the same dispersion adhesive.

We put a tray under the press, it can be plastic bottles or a bucket filled with water. The final stage of work is the coating of the tray with matte water-based paint in two layers.

Many of us like to have a bite to eat while sitting at the TV watching some interesting movie, but without a tray you can’t bring a lot of sweets at once, and for the crumbs on the furniture and the floor, it can fly in from the fair half)) It’s also convenient to bring breakfast to bed on a tray, wake up your loved one with the pleasant aroma of freshly brewed coffee. All in all, a useful tool for home use.

Making a wooden tray is quite simple, for which you need to take boards from a pallet or a wooden box, cut and sand. Using wood glue and clamps, glue it into one whole board, and then make the sides of poplar or aspen boards. The resulting surface is varnished on a polyurethane basis, and the sides are painted with white paint.

And so, let's look at what exactly is needed to make a tray?

materials

1. boards from pallet or wooden crate
2. wood glue
3. self-tapping screws
4. putty for wood
5. varnish based on polyurethane
6. white spray paint

Instruments

1. hacksaw
2. planer
3. grinder
4. screwdriver
5. brush
6. clamp
7. sandpaper
8. ruler
9. pencil
10 masking tape

Step-by-step instructions for making a natural wood tray with your own hands.

As already mentioned above, the first step is to prepare the boards by dismantling the pallet or wooden box. Saw to the same size, process with a planer and sand.

Then the resulting blanks should be glued together into a single whole, this can be done using wood glue and clamps. The edges of each board are smeared with glue and put to each other, when everything is assembled and smeared, everything is pulled together with clamps.

In this position, the boards should be until the glue is completely dry, which is at least 24 hours, after which the clamps are slowly loosened and removed, and excess glue is removed from the surface with a chisel.

Then the surface is carefully polished with a grinder or ordinary sandpaper.

We remove everything superfluous with a chisel and level it.

Then carefully sand it with sandpaper so that there are no burrs left.

This box is twisted with clamps and is in this position until the glue dries.

If you used self-tapping screws to assemble the structure, then the caps should be drowned in the wood cavity in advance by countersinking the holes, and then puttying the screw heads with wood putty. This putty can be prepared independently, for which you need carpentry glue and sawdust after grinding (fine) mixed with glue and brought to a homogeneous mass, you should get a thick semolina)) and then simply apply the prepared composition to the desired place and level it. No worse than store-bought counterpart)

Excess glue is removed with a chisel and the surface is polished with a grinder.

After that, the tray must be painted and varnished, the master seals the lower part with masking tape so that when applying paint from a spray can, paint does not get on it.

Painting work is best done in a well-ventilated area, if not, just go outside and paint. Do not forget about basic protective equipment (respirator, gloves)

What could be better than breakfast in bed on a Saturday morning before the New Year holidays? Or hot chocolate, a warm blanket, your favorite book in the evening, when snow is quietly falling outside the window? Find time to relax, and we will help you prepare for it. These indispensable helpers, beautiful trays, will help to make your vacation enjoyable and protect you from tipping over and liquids on a blanket or bed, and we will show you how to make such trays with your own hands.

1. Mosaic Tray

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You will need: Tray, ready-to-use tile adhesive, tile grout, washcloth, spatula, colorful glass pieces.

Instruction: Apply a thin layer of tile adhesive to the bottom of the tray, apply the adhesive in batches as it dries quickly. Lay the pieces of glass on the glue, pressing them lightly and alternating colors. Apply the grout over the mosaic so that all the cracks are filled, then use a washcloth to remove excess grout from the surface of the mosaic.


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2. New clothes for a tray

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You will need: wooden tray, wood paint, decorative paper, mod podge decoupage glue, brush, ruler, scissors.

Instruction: Paint the tray in the color of your choice, apply two coats of paint and let dry. Measure the inside of the tray and cut out the decorative paper to size. Apply a layer of decoupage glue to the bottom of the tray and glue decorative paper (you can use leftover wallpaper). Apply a second layer of glue on top of the paper and, if desired, add other accessories - ribbons, rhinestones, pebbles. For better fixing, apply one or two more layers of glue.


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3. Tray with a zigzag


You will need: wooden tray, paper, adhesive tape with a metallic sheen and scissors.

Instruction: Glue the paper to the bottom of the tray (you can choose any color of paper). Using duct tape, make zigzags, placing the strips of tape at the desired angle. If you are unable to find the correct color of adhesive tape, after you have applied the strips, apply paint to the areas between the strips, and remove the adhesive tapes after the paint has dried.

4. Slate tray

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You will need: glass or ceramic tray, slate paint, paint strips, brush

Instruction: Use duct tape around the edges of the tray to keep the paint off. Apply two coats of slate paint to the bottom of the tray with a brush, allowing each coat to dry. After a day, you need to put the tray in the oven and “bake” the tray. Turn off the oven and do not remove the tray from it until it has completely cooled down.

Source homedit.com

This elegant and functional item can be made in a couple of weekends. Wood with a beautiful pattern, such as wavy maple, will add extra charm to the tray.

Make the handles first

1. From a 25 mm cherry board, cut out four blanks of the indicated length for the halves of the temples A (Fig. 1 and photo A)(Read the "Craftsman's Tip" below to properly orient the workpieces in relation to the grain direction of the wood.) If you keep the original shape of the parallelogram for the blanks, the next step will be easier.

Mark out the handle blank as shown, with the grain of the wood running diagonally. We have oriented the squares at a 30° angle, but the angle may vary depending on the width of the board and the direction of the fibers in it.

The temples will be strong if the fibers converge at the top. Distribute the blanks for the halves of the temples BUT in pairs and choose the most attractive combinations. Orient the fibers in each pair so that at the junction they form a triangle, the apex of which is directed upwards, as in the left shackle. Mark each pair by placing appropriate marks at the seam so that they line up for final gluing. The right bow is glued from halves, the fibers of which converge at the bottom. Such a shackle will be fragile, since the fibers are directed across the section in several places, and it may break during assembly or when using the tray.

It is difficult to saw end grains, so 51 mm deep grooves are best done in several passes. Firmly press the workpiece with the pusher against the longitudinal stop of the machine.

2. Install a 10 mm thick slotted disc in the saw machine and make halves in one of the ends of each workpiece BUT groove (Fig. 1 and photo B). For reliable support of workpieces, fix a high wooden overlay on the longitudinal (parallel) stop of the machine. After sawing the grooves, saw the blanks to a square shape with a side of 114 mm.

3. From wood of a contrasting color (we chose wavy maple), cut out a 114 × 305 mm blank for dowels AT, two blanks 51×483 mm for longitudinal walls With and two blanks 51×330 mm for end walls D. Plane these blanks on a thicknessing machine, adjusting their thickness to the width of the grooves sawn into the blanks of the halves of the temples (Fig. 1 and 2). Set aside the wall blanks and saw out the dowels of the indicated sizes. Glue two blank handle-arms, connecting each pair of halves BUT using a key inserted into the grooves.

With the workpiece flat, raise the saw blade so that it only passes through the inner wall of the tongue without touching the other wall.

4. When the glue is dry, carefully align the bottom edge of each workpiece A/B and in four passes cut out a tongue with a section of 10 × 51 mm (Fig. 1a). Saw off a part of the tongue wall from the inside to a width of 12 mm (photo C).

5. Using a compass, mark on the workpieces A/B outer and inner radii (Fig. 1). Also mark the centers of the screw holes on the outside of each piece. Make counterbores with a mounting hole in the outer wall of the tongues. With a band saw or electric jigsaw, carefully saw out the handles along the contour, grind them to their final shape, and then mill 6 mm roundings on the ribs. Finish the handles with #220 sandpaper.

Tray making

1. Take the blanks of longitudinal and end walls sawn earlier and planed to the required thickness C, D. Position them as they will be glued and mark each one for later processing and final assembly. Saw out at the bottom edge of each workpiece on the inside a tongue, the width of which corresponds to the thickness F (Fig. 2).

2. Tilt the saw blade at a 45° angle and file the bevels at the ends of the longitudinal With and end D walls, giving them the final length (Fig. 2).

When sawing narrow grooves on the bevels, guide the wall blank with a transverse (angular) stop, and the longitudinal stop will serve as a limiter. This operation is safe, as the cut will not be through.

3. Without changing the position of the saw blade, make on the bevels of the longitudinal and end walls C, D 5 mm deep cuts for dowels (Fig. 2, photoD).

Brief advice! For these narrow keyways, it is best to use a combination saw blade with 50 teeth that have variable bevel cuts, as well as flat-top teeth that form a flat bottom of the cut that does not require additional processing.

4. From cherry wood, make a 51 × 305 mm blank for dowels E and cut it to a thickness of 3 mm, adjusting it to the width of the cuts in the walls C, D. Cut the dowels to the required length so that they fit snugly into the corresponding cuts. (Fig. 2).

5. Cut out the bottom F and file its corners so that the dowels can be inserted E (Fig. 3). Dry collect the tray C-F to check and adjust all connections. Finish sanding the inside of the walls C, D and both sides of the bottom F sandpaper number 220.

6. Assemble the tray C-F by applying glue to the keyways, the bevels and the tongues to insert the bottom. After drying thoroughly, sand the edges and outer surfaces with #220 sandpaper.

final assembly

1. Apply a thin layer of adhesive to the inside walls of the tongues of one of the shackle handles BUT and put it on the end wall D aligned exactly in the middle. Drill 1.6x20mm pilot holes for the screws by gluing a bit of masking tape to the drill to act as a depth gauge. Then fix the shackle with screws (Fig. 2). Wipe off excess adhesive with a damp cloth. Install the second handle in the same way.

2. Using a 6mm cork drill, make maple plugs and glue them into counterbores to cover the screw heads. When the glue is dry, cut off the protruding parts of the end caps flush and sand smooth.

3. Apply a finishing coat. We used a natural product (called "Danish oil") to bring out the iridescent waved maple pattern, and then applied three coats of a semi-gloss, water-based polyurethane varnish, which will provide reliable protection against moisture and dirt.

A beautiful tray is a multifunctional thing, it is at least a stylish interior accessory and a kitchen item for convenient transfer of food and drinks. Quality store products, even if they are classic options, are expensive. But after spending a little time and effort, it is quite possible to make a tray with your own hands, while receiving an original product that can become an invaluable family heirloom. Creating it is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance.

You can make a homemade tray from wood, plywood, glass and decorative elements. It should be understood that not every type of wood is suitable for making kitchen trays. Masters recommend using:

  • birch;
  • linden;
  • cherry;
  • mulberry;
  • alder;
  • maple;

Resinous tree species (pine, spruce) are not suitable for the manufacture of kitchen utensils, as food will quickly absorb the coniferous smell.

The tray is a fairly simple design. A flat bottom, framed on four sides by sides, is easy to make from old things, for example:

  • picture frames;
  • doors from a broken kitchen table;
  • ordinary thick board and slats.

Using plywood to make a tray is not always rational. On the one hand, the material is extremely malleable, which makes it easy to implement almost any idea, on the other hand, a plywood tray will turn out to be not very strong, and therefore impractical. Therefore, it is only suitable for interior decoration.

To make an accessory, you need to select the appropriate inventory. The number of tools depends on the complexity of the product. Before starting all the manipulations to create a tray, you need to prepare:

  • jigsaw;
  • screwdriver;
  • glue gun with plastic rods;
  • furniture stapler;
  • sandpaper;
  • simple pencil;
  • grinder saw;
  • ruler.

All the necessary tools are conditionally divided into groups. Some are designed for taking measurements and drawing. Others are needed for drilling, sawing material. The third group of fixtures is required for fastening parts.

Drafting

Before making any thing, including a tray, a sketch is first drawn. There are two ways to create a project. In the first case, the master starts from the material at hand, which he has available. In the second, an imaginary tray is depicted in the drawing, after which the necessary raw materials are only bought.

The parameters of the future product are preliminarily measured. The tray should be comfortable and light. Too heavy construction will be difficult to transfer from the kitchen to the room. Next, you need to decide what functions the tray should perform. It can be equipped with removable or folding legs or have the form of a rectangular flat plate with sides. If necessary, this model is used as a light portable bedside table.

Implementation of an idea begins with design. Based on the sketch and the selected dimensions, an accurate drawing is created, which displays the necessary parameters and the proposed fasteners. Drawings of plywood plates for transfer include:

  1. Thickness of materials (base, sides).
  2. Width, length of the base.
  3. Hardware attachment points.

Complicated products are made of wood using various attachment points, legs, as well as parts that give rigidity to the structure. The drawing must show:

  1. The thickness of all source materials.
  2. Places for fastening fittings and decorative elements.
  3. Attachment points for legs and docking nodes.

Drawings for such portable tables are built in three-dimensional projection.

Manufacturing steps based on the model

A do-it-yourself wooden tray is made using a drawn drawing. The master prepares fasteners and other docking elements. The simplest models, which are a flat board with sides and handles, are made according to a simplified scheme. For their manufacture is enough:

  1. Cut out the base of a rectangular shape of the desired size.
  2. Prepare a frame that matches the dimensions of the base.
  3. Attach handles to frame.
  4. Decorate the bottom.
  5. Connect the base to the frame.

Complex portable mini-tables are made in the same way. The difference is that attachment points for the legs are additionally fixed to the base. Holders and decorative handles are purchased in furniture stores. Decorate the product at the end of the work. The decoration method is chosen at the request of the master, based on the general interior of the room, the material from which the tray will be made. At the end of the work, the surface must be varnished or painted. Water-repellent coating will protect your portable device from liquid.

For breakfast in bed

It is quite difficult to make a model of a tray on legs for breakfast in bed, the master must at least be able to use the tools correctly. A portable mini-table can be created from a rectangular piece of plywood or board that is suitable in size. The list of materials depends on the model and design of the structure. To make a breakfast tray, you need to prepare:

  • board 40 × 70 cm or thick plywood (any tree will do, except for pine and spruce);
  • 4 metal tubes 1 meter long;
  • corners with a diameter of 15 mm - 8 pieces;
  • tees - 4 pieces;
  • gaskets with a diameter of 15 mm - 4 pieces;
  • varnish or stain.

The mini-table is convenient because it does not need to be installed on your knees, it is easily fixed on the surface of the bed. Detailed steps will tell you how to make a useful thing yourself:

  • Metal tubes are cut with a pipe cutter or a grinder into several pieces, while the edges should remain smooth, without dents. In total it should turn out:
    • 4 pieces of 25 cm;
    • 2 pieces of 58 cm;
    • 4 pieces of 19 cm;
    • 4 tubes of 6 cm.
  • Install handles. Two tubes 25 cm long are connected at the ends with six-centimeter segments using corners and plastic glue. Finished handles are applied to the surface of the board and indicate the attachment points. In the designated places, holes are drilled equal to the diameter of the tubes (16 mm). The surface of the board is treated with sandpaper on both sides. After the surface of the wood becomes smooth enough, it is stained or varnished. O-rings are placed on the holes and fixed with plastic glue. Handles are inserted into the holes. Legs (rack) are attached to the prepared tabletop:
    • using tees, connect 2 pipes of 58 cm each (located horizontally under the tray) and 4 racks of 19 cm each (legs);
    • the upper sections of the legs are inserted into the holes and fixed with mounting glue;
    • using the remaining corners, connect the legs of the tray in pairs with two tubes of 25 cm each.

If these parts are not fixed with glue, they will easily detach from the main fabric of the accessory. A tray with folding legs is made according to the same principle as for folding beds. The elements themselves are attached to the base with the help of rotary mechanisms, and they are locked with hooks or loops.

cut copper pipes

Set handles

Drill board

Treat the wood surface

Apply silicone pads

Build a rack

Pin it to the board

From an old painting

It is very easy to make a wooden tray from an old painting. All that is needed for this is the picture itself in the frame, suitable tools. Such a tray does not need additional decor. To make kitchen utensils you will need:

  • two decorative door handles;
  • a piece of plywood;
  • self-tapping screws;
  • screwdriver

Door handles are screwed to the sides of the frame. The picture itself is taken out, the base is cut out of plywood according to its size. The canvas with the image is glued onto the surface of the prepared plywood. The decorated plywood sheet is varnished on the front side, allowed to dry, then screwed to the frame with self-tapping screws. The tray is ready.

To make a tray from a photo frame is within the power of any novice craftsman. In the store, they choose a frame of a suitable size with a plywood base, if there is none, you will have to redo the usual one with a cardboard bottom. The work is done like this:

  1. The cardboard base and glass are separated from the frame.
  2. Holes are drilled in the frame on both sides, and then furniture handles are attached to it with self-tapping screws.
  3. The plywood base is cut to the size of the cardboard.
  4. Cardboard is decorated in any way possible, then glued to plywood using PVA wood glue.
  5. The base and glass are attached to the frame with a furniture stapler.

The sides and bottom of the converted product are painted or decorated with decorative elements. In the furniture store you can find a large number of interesting details designed to decorate kitchen furniture. They decorate the resulting portable plate.

We take out the cardboard and leave only the glass

We make the finishing of cardboard with a cloth

We put the cardboard on the glass and fix it

Fixing furniture handles

With slate board

On a tray with a slate board, you can write romantic messages to your loved one. It is very easy to make such kitchen utensils. It is enough to buy slate paint in the store and paint the bottom of the tray with it.

For this purpose, a purchased (glass, ceramic, metal) or hand-made product is suitable. The main thing is that the bottom surface is suitable for painting.

Instead of slate paint, it is advisable to use chalk wallpaper. Both manufacturing methods result in the same effect.

with mosaic

Creating a pattern on a tray with a mosaic requires patience. However, wooden utensils decorated with a similar ornament look extraordinarily beautiful. A classic mosaic is made from ceramic elements or glass pieces. In everyday life, the most unexpected improvised materials are used.

A sketch is preliminarily drawn, on the basis of which a sketch is developed. The image, taking into account the size of the finished product, is also created in color. Mosaic is recruited from any suitable material:

  • small colored shells;
  • flat pieces of broken glass;
  • colored stones;
  • dyed eggshell;
  • tiles broken into small fragments;
  • cut colored paper.

Each individual piece is glued to the wooden surface of the bottom of the tray. As an adhesive, a transparent "Moment" is used. Molten plastic can also be used. After the mosaic is ready, it is filled with transparent furniture varnish.

Masters with elementary drawing skills can paint the product according to their own taste. The ornament covers the sides and bottom of the tray. Decorative drawing can be done in any style and direction. Painting with oil and acrylic at the end of the work is covered with a layer of varnish.

It is much easier and faster to decorate a tray with a photo from a magazine or a poster of a suitable size. The wooden bottom is pasted over with a picture, and then poured with several layers of varnish. The product is left to dry, only after that it is used in everyday life.

A tray decorated with a photograph and rose petals looks interesting. A photo with a life-size image of a flower is glued to the bottom. Then several petals are laid out on it so that they do not rise too much above the plane. The volumetric part can rise along the edges within 2-3 mm. Around the flower and on its petals, transparent and colored beads are poured. The whole composition is filled with transparent varnish.

The most unexpected material for decor can be chosen. The main thing is a little imagination and adherence to technology. The bottom of the tray is usually decorated with:

  • a mosaic of multi-colored flat buttons and woolen threads;
  • applique from patches or golden coins;
  • a collage of pieces of postcards;
  • dry leaves, flowers;
  • straw ornament;
  • mat.

Tray handles can also be made unusual. For example, instead of ready-made store fittings, weave them from newspaper tubes, build them from glued wine corks or a piece of wide leather belt. As an option, wrap the simplest plastic handles with thick twine. For do-it-yourself decorative tray legs, use a piece of PVC pipe painted in any desired color or a wooden dowel. With wood carving skills, this part can be made into any shape.

It doesn’t matter which of the proposed options is chosen, a hand-made tray in any case will become a vivid embodiment of an individual artistic design. An experienced master can create a complex multifunctional design, and novice home creators will at least be able to remake a boring picture or framed poster.

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