How to Make Wooden Serving Trays With a Router

Every home should have at least one serving tray, even if the homeowners don't entertain guests very often. They come in handy for snacks when your favorite program is on or when you curl up beside the fireplace to read a book. Some of them are used as lap trays to do homework on or to tinker with a project. Create one with decorative molding and place it at the center of the coffee table as a conversation starter with friends and family. Build yours from solid lumber, a couple of different router bits and a router table.

Instructions

1

Install the 3/4-inch mortising bit in the router. Set the depth of the bit at 3/8 inches deep. Adjust the router table fence so there is 3/4 inch between the bit and the fence. Turn the router on, run a piece of scrap wood over the bit, and turn the router off.

2

Check the depth and the space between the side of the wood and the groove. Make adjustments, if necessary. Place one of the 1-by-4-by-18 3/4-inch pieces of lumber on the router table and set the 1 1/2-inch side against the fence. Turn the router on and run the lumber over the router bit the full length of the lumber. Repeat this with the other 18 3/4-inch piece and the two pieces of 1-by-4-by-12 1/4-inch lumber. Turn the router off.

3

Remove the 3/4-inch mortising bit from the router and install a 3/8-inch mortising bit. Set the depth of the bit to 3/8-inch and then set the router table fence on zero-inches. Turn the router on and run a scrap piece of wood over the router bit. Turn the router off.

4

Verify that the measurements of the cut are 3/8 inches deep and 3/8 inches wide. Adjust the fence or height of the bit if necessary.

5

Place the miter guide in the groove in the router table. Be certain it is set on zero-degrees so it is perpendicular to the router table fence. Set one of the 18 3/4-inch pieces on the router table with the groove on the bottom and the long side against the miter guide. Set the end of the piece against the router table fence.

6

Turn the router on and run the piece over the router bit. Turn the piece around so you can run the opposite end of the piece. Repeat this for the remaining pieces. Remember to keep the 3/4-inch groove in the pieces on the bottom. Turn the router off.

7

Apply wood glue in the 3/4-inch groove of the four pieces and in the notches of the 12 1/4-inch pieces. Place them around the four sides of the 1-by-12-by-18-inch lumber. Fit the corners together.

8

Slip two bar clamps across the width on the serving tray near the corners and tighten them down snug. Turn the tray over. Place two more bar clamps over the length of the tray near the corners and tighten them down as well. Remove the surplus glue with a moist towel.

9

Take the clamps off the tray once the glue has dried. Scrape any missed glue with a thin putty knife. Sand the serving tray with 100-grit sandpaper. Install the handles on the 12 1/4-inch sides according to the manufacturer's instructions.