serving tray - work in progress

[areynoldsre]

I am off to the workshop to finish my serving tray project. The next step is to trim the walnut sides and glue the thing up.

Here is a picture of the marquetry that will be the bottom of the tray. I've got two of these:

This is the sides taped up in a test fit:

There is a third one I am working on but it will have birds instead of a rose.

[bglenden]

Very nice! What is the green wood?

Cheers,

Brian

[areynoldsre]

Very nice! What is the green wood?

Cheers,

Brian

That is a dyed poplar veneer. The yellow is also a dyed veneer.

[fransikaner]

VERY nice workmanship and design. Thanks for sharing, Andrew!

[duckkisser]

looks nice..... looks like it would be perfect for serving lemonaid out in the rose garden.

[Derwood]

Wow. Job well done so far. This stuff always amazes me. Thanks for sharing!

[mds2]

I can't imagine the patience it must take to something like this. Do you use hot sand on the edges?

[areynoldsre]

I can't imagine the patience it must take to something like this. Do you use hot sand on the edges?

It's not really that hard to do. I've got maybe 6 hours total invested in trays so far (time to do both). The scroll saw work is the most detailed but that was only a couple of hours. Some day I'll do a video of the process.

and yes the edges are 'sand shaded' - basic I've got a hot plate with old cast iron fry pan filled with sand. You let that get hot and then dip the edges of the roses in it. It makes a nice effect.

[duckkisser]

i want to start incorporating sand shading in my turnings. was going to sand smooth and then eather poor sand inyo the bottom of bowls or use on the foot or rims of the bowls. this was so i can create a shading effect and have two tones on the wood. anyone know if this is posible with thicker wood like a completly turned bowl? i have only seen this done with veneer. andrew do you think you could try this with a thicker piece so i know if i want to go buy a hot plate or not?

[areynoldsre]

i want to start incorporating sand shading in my turnings. was going to sand smooth and then eather poor sand inyo the bottom of bowls or use on the foot or rims of the bowls. this was so i can create a shading effect and have two tones on the wood. anyone know if this is posible with thicker wood like a completly turned bowl? i have only seen this done with veneer. andrew do you think you could try this with a thicker piece so i know if i want to go buy a hot plate or not?

I've never seen it done or tried on thicker woods. Might work but you might need to get the sand hoter than my little hotplate will. I know some folks use a gas stove to heat the sand (like a propan camp stove). But I got a cheap hotplate for less than $20 so it might be a cheap experiment.

[duckkisser]

dont see why it would not work as long as you can eather keep applying heat or leave in the sand for a slightly longer time. would not think thickness would factor in too much say 1/4-1/2 inch wood. most wood starts burning between 120-150 degrees which is easy to get on most cooking instruments. since this is going to be done on the surface of a already sanded bowl before it is finished it would not have to get down deep into the wood grain to created a intresting shading. i have seen chared bowls and vases that i tought was cool but im thinking it might be a bad idea to hand one of my studients a blow torch. plus my boss might have a problems with blow open flames in the class. here is something that im thinking i might do.

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=charred+wood+turnings&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=N&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&biw=1366&bih=578&tbm=isch&tbnid=yVpaOZzQQl1M7M:&imgrefurl=http://www.etsy.com/listing/92904996/charred-oak-bowl&docid=2Kxh26lE1hbHJM&itg=1&imgurl=http://img3.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.311622279.jpg&w=1500&h=1125&ei=n02_T6bhN6OA2wWlm-CcCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=627&vpy=129&dur=929&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=150&ty=101&sig=104868604038687360682&page=2&tbnh=124&tbnw=187&start=24&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:24,i:132

[areynoldsre]

That bowl looks great. I can understand the problems with doing in a class with students. The only problem I've found is the amount of sand that my cheap hotplate can heat up isn't that much - I might have 2-3 cups of sand in my little castt iron pot. To do a bowl like that might require stepping up the amount of sand from what I normally do so I wonder if a cheap hotplate could heat more sand. It might but I am thinking you might need a better heat source than my $20 Target hotplate.

[duckkisser]

Hmmmm didn't think of that. The vase I showed has been chared with a flame I'll have to look around for a skillet wonder if my mom would mind me taking her good skillet.

[PaulMarcel]

For sand shading, I use a portable gas hotplate. Super inexpensive at asian markets. I have 4 and only one cost more than $20. You can buy the butane cartridges there also, Each cartridge lasts close to 2 hours on high (which is really hot) and costs about $1.20. While not appropriate in a class setting, it definitely works well in a shop for sand shading or the occasional impromptu shabu-shabu with other woodworkers

I like the marquetry pattern; nice curved filetti. Also see you have the sloped sides worked out... nice! Sloped sides on the tray seem to highlight the bottom work better.

[duckkisser]

ok so i bought a electric skillet and it did work but not well enough. i dont know if there is a thing in there that makes the skillet cool off so it does not over heat but it did burn the wood dark enough nor fast enough. i have seen sand burn wood just by picking it up and pooring it across the surface. so a small electric skillet might work for thin vineer but thicker wood need a hoter heat. the skillet says it gets to 400 degrees but i wonder if it realy gets to that hot. i think ill need to get hoter like 600 degrees. i put a small scrap bowl that broke into the sand i used pine and oak and maple all the pieces took nearly a half hour to get black on the very edge nearest the metal. the skillet i gave it a hour to warm up and make shure it was dry.

basicly i have decided to just use the stove to burn the rims of my bowls. while i know it wont get super dark as dark as scorching it. but it will get dark enough to create a light black instead a char burn look.

[areynoldsre]

For sand shading, I use a portable gas hotplate. Super inexpensive at asian markets. I have 4 and only one cost more than $20. You can buy the butane cartridges there also, Each cartridge lasts close to 2 hours on high (which is really hot) and costs about $1.20. While not appropriate in a class setting, it definitely works well in a shop for sand shading or the occasional impromptu shabu-shabu with other woodworkers

I like the marquetry pattern; nice curved filetti. Also see you have the sloped sides worked out... nice! Sloped sides on the tray seem to highlight the bottom work better.

You've been talking to Paul Schurch haven't you? I believe he uses gas for his sand shading. I've thought about it but the bench I work on has all my finishes stored underneath so I'm a little concerned about open flames in that space. but I think I'm going to have to work something out because the hotplate is fine for small thin pieces but doesn't get pieces as dark as I'd like.

The sloped sides took a bit to workout. I've never done that before but with the help of the guys at our marquetry club we got it done.

[areynoldsre]

so a small electric skillet might work for thin vineer but thicker wood need a hoter heat.

Yes that's what I've found. For the small veneer pieces I do the hotplate is okay but it has its limits.

[duckkisser]

i think ill just sand shade in the house ill get a pan that i will dedicate to sand and put my bowls into it on the sand. i know the stove wil get plenty hot enough and it wont have a limiting factor that will auto cool the heat element. i dont want to scorch the entire piece i just want to do the same shading they use on veneer on the edges, foot, or bottom of bowl that way it it got a dark to light shading on it. i havent been able to find stuff that is similar so i might be coming up with something unique.