A few weeks ago I stopped by The Hardwood Store in Gibsonville and picked up some hard maple and bubinga. At the time, I did not have a project in mind, but i eventually decided to make a tray. I ripped the maple into 5/16 strips, and the bubinga into strips that were 1/2, 1, and 1 1/4 wide and glued up into 3 sections I could run through my planer. Each section started at 24" long. Once the 3 sections were glued into one, I used a Whiteside bowl/tray bit and a homemade circle jig to route out the inside of the tray, going down 1/2".
After transferring reference marks to the backside of the tray, i again found the center (I hoped!). Moving the center jig and extending the bit to the outer edge of the tray, I changed to a 5/16" straight bit for my router, plunging about 1/4 deep with each pass to leave the lip of the tray 1/2 wide.
Initial finish is 2 coats of clear shellac brushed on, final coat will be rattle can of satin poly.
After transferring reference marks to the backside of the tray, i again found the center (I hoped!). Moving the center jig and extending the bit to the outer edge of the tray, I changed to a 5/16" straight bit for my router, plunging about 1/4 deep with each pass to leave the lip of the tray 1/2 wide.
Initial finish is 2 coats of clear shellac brushed on, final coat will be rattle can of satin poly.