Popular Post wtnhighlander Posted November 19, 2022 Popular Post Report Share Posted November 19, 2022 I mentined this in another thread, and was asked about a journal. I didn't take many photos, because I was figuring it out as I went, but here is a detailed write-up, illustrated, sometimes with staged, after-the-fact pictures. This classic 'Tea Tray' design can include many different embellishments, but I will focus on the basic form and construction. This guide is aimed at tablesaw operations for most of the machining. Step 1, Determine dimensions. I suggest starting with maximum outside dimensions, unless there is a requirement to contain a specific internal volume. Common tea tray size is around 12 x 16 x 2 (inches). Mine is much larger, specifically to hold a standard 1000 pc. jigsaw puzzle. Tray inside dimension is 21 x 28". Sidewall height is about 3 finger widths for my hands, a bit over two inches. Step 2, Mill Stock. Cut and mill sidewall stock (let's call them rails) straight and square. Suggested thickness for a typical tray size is 1/2", and can vary. My large tray has 3/4" wall thickness. Rip stock to 2" wide, or to suit your preference of width. Allow 1 width dimension extra at each end of all rails for cutting the miters. Include 2 pieces of rail stock, approximately 2 hand widths in length each, as adders for the hand holds. Step 3, Cut rails to shape. The 'Miter Angle" is the angle of TS blade to the table = 360 / # of corners, / 2. For a rectangular tray, that is 45*. The "Splay Angle" is the angle of the miter gauge to the blade. A pleasing splay can be found by drawing a diagonal across the end section of your side stock, and setting a bevel gauge to match the wide face of that stock against the head of a square, with the square's blade held along the diagonal. You might also calculate the same angle using trigonometry, which returns a hair over 14* for a 0.5" x2.0" section. This angle can vary as you like. My large tray is splayed to 12*, which is a bit subtle, I think. On each side piece, label one face "out", the opposite face "in". Mark a center line across the face of each piece, including the adders for the hand holds. Mark out from the center to lay out the cuts. If the minimum dimension is critical, mark on the "in" face, bottom edge. If outside is critical, mark on the "out" face, top edge. From the critcal dimension mark, strike a line across the edge at the miter angle, and across the face at the splay angle. Remember that the long point of each corner will be the top edge, "out" face. Carry you layout lines around the entire piece, as using stop blocks to set your machine cuts is very complicated, once an angle is cut on the end of the piece. Start with the miter gauge in the right-hand slot, and rotated clockwise to the desired splay angle. Place the first piece with the bottom edge against the miter gauge, and the "out" face up. Cut to the layout line on the "left" end of the piece. Repeat on the other side pieces. Move the miter gauge to the left slot. Place a side piece with the top edge against the miter gauge fence, "in" face up. Cut to the layout line on the right end of each piece. At this point, both ends of the rail will have a compound miter cut facing up if the "out" face is against the table. Check that the opposing side pieces are exactly the same length by placing the "out" faces together, with the bottom edges against the saw table. The points should match exactly. Fine adjustments can be made safely on the left end of each piece. Miter gauge in right slot, bottom edge of the rail against the gauge, "out" face up. With the saw running, blade still tilted to the miter angle and elevated well above the work piece thickness, withdraw the piece to clear the blade and advance the gauge forward until the work piece aligns with the center of the blade. Slide the work piece to the left, until it lightly rubs the plate of the saw blade. Holding the work tightly against the miter gauge, draw it back toward yourself, across the moving teeth. In this direction, little or no matetial will be removed. Without releasing the work, move the gauge forward again to slice away less than 1/64". Repeat as needed. Finish the sides by cutting the bottom edge to the splay angle, and making the groove to hold the bottom panel. I prefer to cut the bottom with the fence to the right on my left-tilt saw. Set the blade to the splay angle, elevated to just cut through the workpiece thickness. With the "out" face of the work down against the table, upper edge against the fence, adjust the saw fence to allow the cut to exit right at the face-up corner of the bottom edge of the work. Rip all the side pieces with this orientation. To form the groove, leave the blade tilted to the splay angle, and lower it to a height roughly equal to the bottom panel's thickness. To keep a square workpiece against the fence, move the fence to the left of the blade, as the freshly-cut bottom of the rail now must face to the right, and might not sit squarely against the saw fence. Place the workpiece "up" edge against the fence, "out" face up. Adjust the fence so that the blade cuts about 1 bottom panel thickess away from the bottom edge of the side workpiece. Cut each side piece with this orientation (featherboard recommended), and repeat as needed, adjusting the fence toward the blade until the groove fits the bottom panel thickness. Step 4, Cut bottom. Assemble the sidewalls temprarily with tape. Use pinch sticks to measure the groove for sizing the bottom panel. If the bottom is solid wood, take expansion into account, which could require deeper grooves. Cut bottom panel to fit. Use sheet stock, or construct a light panel for the bottom. 1/4" ply is good for a tray much larger than suggested, and is what I used for this large tray. Options: Hand holds can be included in this shallow design, by gluing the 'adder' pieces mentioned earlier to the edge of each ednd rail, with the centers aligned. You did mark ALL the centerlines, right? This doubles the face width in the middle of each end rail / wall, providing plenty of space to cut hand holds. For me, slots about 4.5" long and 1 1/8" wide are comfortable. I centered them along the glue line between the rail and adder piece. Cut the slots by any means you prefer. I used a forstner bit and scroll saw. Next, I used a compass and eyeballed various radii to create a pleasing curve over the slot, and cut it with a bandsaw to give the hand-hold its final shape. Decorative edges - some designs use a 'wavy' or curved top edge as a stylistic element. These are much easier to cut before assembly. My tray retains its straight side rails for utility. The top edge may also be beveled to the splay angle, oriented opposte the bottom edge, so that the top is "flat" relative to the surface on which the tray rests. Note that this option complicates the addition of integral hand-holds, unless the walls are wide enough to include the slots without adder blocks. Ease edges and sand the parts as desired, prior to assembly. Assembly. Use the bottom panel as an alignment aid for assembly. If cut correctly, parts should naturally align, but larger sizes may benefit from angled clamping blocks to help hold things in place. I used masking tape to hold the corners together while the glue set. If the bottom is a stable sheet material, glue it as well for added strength. If desired, use dowels or splines to reinforce the miter joints. In my experience, this isn't necessary if the joints fit well, especially if the bottom panel is glued in. Here is my tray, almost finished. It needs another coat of GF Alabaster Milk Paint, this was a 'trial run' to check the fit of a puzzle. I am also including a thin sheet of acrylic to cover a finished puzzle, so it can be displayed for a while. The acrylic cuts cleanly enough with my tablesaw, although it stinks, terribly. I did have to employ my extended fence attachment, and tape a strip of wood along the bottom edge, which the sheet could rest on, preventing it from sliding under the fence. I added blue tape on top of the protective film, hoping to eliminate chipping. The cut was clean, but I doubt the tape actually did anything. Blue tape DID come in handy, forming tabs to lift the tight-fitting sheet out of the tray while testing. I'm sure swapping puzzles will be a little more complicated. Thanks for wading through this very wordy post. I hope it is helpful to someone who has never attempted a project like this. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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