Making a veneered serving tray

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Villa Park, CA
I'm in the process of writing up a tutorial on how to make a veneered serving tray. I have it completed, except for the making of the sides, which I'll add soon.

If you have time, please take a look and let me know if there's parts of the tutorial that are hard to follow or understand.

Once I finish the part for the making of the sides, I'll make an additional post here to let you know.

Mike
 
Mike I for one learned a lot from reading your tutorial, very clear, even to these old eyes. I have never done any veneering, mainly because it looks intimidating to me, but since I read it over a couple of times, it looks like something I would like to try. I would probably fail miserably, but that is ok if I can learn from the mistakes. Thank you for posting it and I am looking forward to reading the rest of it.
Chuck
 
Mike as usual excellent tutorial. I learnt a great deal you have a very clear way of explaining each step. Easy to follow of course you make it look so easy.

Thanks

I have found sources for all the finishing products in Canada.:thumb::thumb:
 
Mike,

Nice work, very clear. The only suggestion I have: I want to know more about the mirrors. How they are set up, how you use them, how to get the best results from their use, etc... I'm not sure I've ever used mirrors in the shop, and now I'm wondering about them...

Thanks,

Bill
 
Mike,

Nice work, very clear. The only suggestion I have: I want to know more about the mirrors. How they are set up, how you use them, how to get the best results from their use, etc... I'm not sure I've ever used mirrors in the shop, and now I'm wondering about them...

Thanks,

Bill
I'll try to take some pictures later today, but I'll describe the mirrors in words. They are two pieces of plastic mirrors. You normally buy a sheet of the stuff and cut it to the size you want. It's good if you have someone to go in with you on the stuff because a sheet if much more than you need. I think these are 24" long by maybe 6" high.

You can cut them on the table saw, just keep the material moving so you don't get any melting.

Once you have two pieces, you use packing tape (or whatever) to make a hinge.

Then for their use: Let's say you want to make a 16 piece sunburst. You can lay the two open pieces of mirror on your veneer and look into it. Adjust the angle until you see 16 segments in the mirrors (include the one in front of the mirror in your count). Note: the segment in the rear will be bisected by the hinge and will look like two segments - it's not - it's just one segment. Don't miscount. Then move the mirrors around on the veneer looking for the most interesting pattern. Once you find it, use a pencil to mark the location of the mirrors and that's where you'll cut the veneer.

When you do higher order matches, let's say 8 or more, you really need a mirror set to choose where to cut. It's extremely difficult to visualize what the final piece will look like without using the mirrors.

I'm working on another tutorial for an 8 sided tray and I demonstrate the use of the mirrors in that one. I still have a lot of work to do on that tutorial but you can look at it to see the use of the mirrors.

Mike

[Added note: Here's a couple of pictures. The mirrors are 6" by 24" (each) and are hinged with packing tape. See pixs.]
 

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I can't do flatwork or math...took algebra 3 times...I'm not kidding:(, to get out of college the first time...what math has to do with Cellular Biology I will never know:doh:. I found your tutorial easy to follow and understand! I also like the way you used "defects" to enhance the tray. I have always been drawn to wood for the defects...never been a big fan of symmetry. I love turning wood that has cracks or checks to fill with something. I look forward to see the final product...and the miror trick was great...made me dizzy..but it was great!!:thumb:
 
I finally finished the rest of the tutorial, which consists mostly of how to make the sides of the tray. You can pick up the tutorial where you left off here, which is first new page, or go back to the beginning by clicking here.

Mike
 
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