On my lab bench at work I was using a plywood box lid as a tray, which was employed to hold a selection of coaxial connectors. This worked fine except that of course it left the donor box lidless. I thought a nice little project would be to make a better-looking version. This replacement tray was made out of a single plank of roasted curly maple. I didn't want a seam, so that limited the width to the same as the plank, leaving it a bit less square than the original lid that it was to replace.
The tray was started by clearing out the bulk of the insides using a table-mounted router, and then hand-carving the corners and inside slopes of the walls. This wood is actually very hard - one assumes due to the roasting process - which made the carving rather laborious. After completing the interior, I was able to employ a bandsaw and belt sander for the outside slopes, which took a tiny fraction of the time spent on the inside. Finally, some small feet were turned on the lathe, by making a cross-grained dowel of the same wood, rounding and cutting off the end. These were then were glued into place.
The sides of the tray actually have a subtle outward bow (around 1/16"), in fact probably too subtle since you can't really tell unless you are looking straight down one of the sides.
| Material: | Roasted curly maple |
| Construction: | Carved |
| Finish: | 5 coats Miniwax Wipe-on Poly, clear Satin |
| Size: | 9.25" x 4.75" x 1.0" |
| Done: | April 18, 2014 |
