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Materials:
- Sheet of 3/8" (or thicker) Baltic birch plywood
- 11' of 1/4" decorative moulding
- Carpenter's glue
- Fish glue
- Window glass (regular or non-glare)
- Spackling compound
- Latex paint
- Artist's acrylic medium
- Water-based urethane
- Pressed flowers
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Tools
- Circular Saw
- Jigsaw with a scrolling blade
- Drill
- French drawing curves
- Eye, ear and hand protection
- Straight-edge at least 4' long
- Paper and pencil
- Glass cutter (optional)
- Putty knife
- Orbital sander or palm sander (optional)
- Flower press
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Cut List:
- 20" x 30" bottom
- Two 3" x 20-3/4" pieces for the sides
- Two 6" x 20" pieces for the ends
- 20"x30" piece of window glass
- Moulding to fit
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Steps:
Tea tray with pressed flowers under glass |
First, cut out the endpieces |
Set the depth of the blade |
Make the cut using a straight edge
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Cut It Out
Start by cutting the plywood up.
If you're using a circular saw, set the blade depth to 1/2"
inch so it will cut through the plywood but no deeper. Clamp
a straight-edge (i.e. a 4' level or a straight piece of lumber)
on top of the plywood to guide your saw's base plate. This
will ensure a very straight cut. Measure and mark your first
cut line, remembering to allow for the distance from the base
plate (which rides along the straight-edge) to the blade of
the circular saw. It'll make sense when you're doing it, but
it's darn dull to read about.
Cut out the all the pieces for the bottom, ends and sides.
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Make a paper template for handles |
Use a French curve to help get a flowing line |
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| For the curvy handles in the 6" x 20" end pieces it's best
to use a template to achieve symmetry. Draw a curvy line on
a 10"-wide piece of paper or cardboard. Cut the design out and
trace it onto one half of the 20" wide board. Then flip the
cardboard over and trace the design onto the other half of the
board. Cut the curves using a jigsaw. |
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Use a compass to help with the handle
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To cut out the handle, first drill a hole for the saw blade
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Go slowly on the tight corners |
| Next, draw the 4" x 1" handle opening on both end pieces and
cut them out. (Use a compass to make two 1" diameter circle
and join them with straight lines.) Drill a hole large enough
for the jigsaw blade to pass through and proceed to cut out
the handle. Patch any rough spots with spackling compound. Sand
the surfaces smooth and round over the sharp corners. |
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Fill any tear-outs or voids
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Sand the surface and the edges |
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| Patch any rough spots with spackling compound. Sand the surfaces
smooth and round over the sharp corners. |
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Dry fit the pieces and check for a tight fit
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The bottom piece may not sit flat |
Weight it down if necessary |
Apply glue to the edges |
Clamp it together to dry |
Add decorative nails if desired |
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Together at Last
Now get your clamps out. It's hell to have the glue drying
while you look for the right size clamps. A ratcheting
strap clamp works well. Apply glue, clamp everything
and after 20 minutes clamping time, install optional decorative
nails along the joints.
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Apply the undercoat of paint first |
Apply a coat of fish glue and let it dry 'til tacky |
Apply the top coat |
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Cracklin' Rosie
This is a great finish if you're not a good painter. Sloppiness
still looks good. Three easy steps:
1. Paint the surface with a coat of latex paint.
2. When the paint is dry, apply a coat of fish
glue
3. When the glue is almost dry but still tacky, apply
a contrasting colour of paint quickly with long single strokes
(so as not to disturb the glue).
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Use a hair dryer to speed up the crackle effect |
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| TIP: A blow dryer speeds up the crackle reaction. |
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Ceramic flower press (available from Lee Valley Tools)
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Apply acrylic medium to the back first |
Apply 3 or 4 coats to the top |
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Apply pressed flowers to the bottom of the tray with white
glue or artist's acrylic matte medium. A microwave flower
press dries roses to perfection in under two minutes.
Coat the entire tray with a layer of water-based urethane.
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Install some clear silicone dots to help support the glass along
the edge
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Install the glass |
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Glass Ho!
Measure the inside of the tray and ask a picture framer to
cut a piece of glass to fit. The glass should be about 1/8"
shorter than a tightly measured dimension in each direction.
The flowers in the middle of the tray will hold the glass
up but the edges need to be supported too so the glass doesn't
break under the weight of your breakfast. Apply dots of clear
silicone an inch apart along the edges of the tray. The silicone
blobs should be about the height of the flowers in the centre.
Clean the glass, and drop it into place on top of the flowers.
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Cut and glue the trim in place |
Finished tray |
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Cut and mitre the moulding to fit along the edges and glue
the pieces in place with carpenter's glue.
Let everything dry (AGAIN). Now loudly encourage your family
to salute your efforts by bringing you breakfast in bed.
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Artisans'
work featured on this episode:
(click pics for Artist info and larger
images)
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