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We're spending Christmas with a group of friends, and the rule for presents is "one for a boy, one for a girl, not more than 5 euros" (at today's exchange rate that's 6 dollars and 69 cents). Presents will be picked at random. The "Stool, failure" I posted previously was also for this.
Thought I'd make a tray - the wife won't let me make one for us, since we've already got several (like that's relevant?).
So many things went wrong making this I was reminded of the (almost) Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem, "How have I screwed this up? Let me count the ways."
And then it all started coming together - the box joints had a little tear out, but not too much, and they fitted (except the one that wasn't quite straight). The base fitted into the slot I'd cut, except for one of them where some "persuasion" was necessary. At glue time it still fitted, and it was square, and the sides were vertical - I kept checking since that obviously couldn't be right, but it was.
The 2 mahogany (found at a dump and therefore free, as was the base) "teeth" on each corner are a nice design touch made to hide the fact that I'd very cleverly (not) cut the slots the full length of the plank so I had holes at the joints. It was supposed to be a bit bigger, but I'd divided by 2 wrongly cutting the planks in two.
To date I've been happy with some of my designs, but never their implementation, and, whilst this is far far far from perfect when you look up close, I'm quite pleased with both the design and the implementation.
Riga pine and canadian red cedar stained whatever that "scraps from the floor and glued up into a panel like chipboard" stuff is called. Oil and varnish.
The wife's comment - "It's kinda heavy".

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Very interesting use things at hand and clever, yes clever, chip board effect! Good job!
 

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I have been getting ready to make a tray, also with wood on hand. I have redwood to work with. I hope I manage all the mistakes I will probably make as well as you did.
 

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I agree very clever. I'd like to see you try that and dye the woods different colors.
 

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You might have kept your cost below 5 euros, but this tray would cost many times that much! I hope the recipient appreciates all the fine work!

Certainly a nice use of scrap. Here we call the chip board OSB (oriented strand board).
 

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Yes! It's a success.
Very beautiful tray and very prudent use of scraps.
 

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Very nice tray! No project goes together perfectly, it's how we manage the mistakes that matters.
 

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I did a table a few year's ago that was a mistake from the first cut to the last, I know your pain. Looks cool anyway.
 

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Sometime a mistake is fate stepping in to make our projects better, other times it is just expensive firewood. Nice tray.
 

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looks nice, but try making one with ceder for the bottom
 

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LOL like that's relevant.
 

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Nice tray, I am making something similar. May I ask how you managed to cut out the hand holes?
 

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Nice tray, I am making something similar. May I ask how you managed to cut out the hand holes?
- nutmegger13
I believe I first made the thing I wanted out of fairly thin MDF. Then "rough cut" the hole in the final wood. I attached the MDF template to the final wood in the areas at the top that would later be removed for the rounded shape - since it was going to be removed, I just screwed it. Then finished out the handle cut using a flush-trim bit against the template. Final roundover with a roundover bit.
 

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I like it! Did you put enough finish on the base to give it some character? If that makes sense. I've seen particle board cabinets finished with a clear oil base finish, and the speckled character was pretty cool.
 
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