Do It Yourself Industrial Wooden Tray

I am a little into woodworking lately can you tell?  I made a mantle with my dad awhile back and I am unstoppable ever since.  I guess I got bitten by the woodworking bug. 

These little trays are fantastic to make with scrap wood.  Everything here came from my scrap pile and all were furring strips so even if you don't have wood scraps you will only have a couple bucks in a tray like this.  The most expensive thing about this tray was buying a can of black spray paint since I ran out of mine mid spray...grrr!

   To make your own simple tray you will need:

Scraps of wood-I used 1x3 inch furring strips and my tray is 18 inches long and 12 inches wide

Pocket Hole Jig or Wood Glue

Pocket hole screws

Drill

2 pieces of 4 inch plastic pipe in a 1/2 inch circumference.  I use plastic pipe in the underground sprinkler section and it's super cheap

1/2 inch galvanized clamps with screws

Black Spray paint

Saw or precut wood

Phillips head screwdriver 

 Start by deciding on how long and how wide you want your tray.  Once decided and wood is cut use your Pocket Hole Jig to drill a pocket hole on each end of the wood.  Always lay out your boards so you know which will need holes and which is top or bottom etc.  Once your holes are drilled use your pocket hole screws to attach the boards together.  Sand everything well and then flip it over and cut 2 small pieces the same width as your tray and attach those with a couple screws.  Since my boards are 1x3s I used 1 1/4 inch wood screws from the bottom of the tray into the little end pieces.  Whatever you do just be sure the screws won't come through the board.

  Once my tray was assembled I used Espresso wood stain by Minwax and let it dry well.  I then took my 2 4 inch pieces of pipe and sprayed them with the black spray paint.  Let that dry and then find the middle of your end boards and place them on there and wrap your 1/2 inch metal clamps around them and screw them into the board.  I used 1 inch #10 screws for this. When you add your clamps make sure your screw head is large enough to cover the hole in the clamp so it won't slip off. 

 This makes the perfect display tray.

After everything was assembled I used poly acrylic and coated the whole thing.  This helps with repelling dust and I highly recommend it!  I used a semi-gloss polyacrylic coating.  If you want a matte finish be sure to get satin in the polyacrylic.  I usually use satin but they were out when I went to pick up a new can so I just settled for the semi-gloss and it turned out that I liked it but not for all projects.

A very simple tray that doesn't look simple!  A perfect way to use up scrap wood.  I hope you love yours as much as I love mine!

. . . Easy Peasy DIY Tray . . .

I recently made a super duper Easy Peasy Tray that was just created out of scraps of plywood.  So simple and an all purpose item.  I love this for serving drinks or just sitting on the table as a decorative item.  Nothing fancy about it but it was fun to create.

As it happens you will see that I no longer have this tray in my possesion because my grandmother found a much better use for it than just serving drinks...

You will need:

A piece of plywood cut to the size you want--make sure you have the pieces for the ends and sides cut as well.  You could do "taller" sides but I wanted this to be pretty shallow

Wood Glue

Finishing nails

Spray paint

Scrapbook paper

Mod Podge

Sandpaper

 • Gather your supplies

• Glue the ends and sides to the base with wood glue and let dry completely

• Once the tray has dried add a few finishing nails to guarantee you have a sturdy tray

 • Sand your entire tray then spray paint in the color of your choice

• Cut your scrapbook paper to fit inside the tray.  I used two sheets of 12x12 and cut them so there was a seam right in the center of the tray.  You barely can see the seam because I matched the pattern

• Coat the entire surface of the tray with Mod Podge

• Glue down your cut sheets of paper and coat with several layers of Mod Podge being sure to smooth out any air bubbles.  I used an old spatula.

 • Once the Mod Podge layers have dried you will want to lightly sand it then coat it with a clear polyurethane spray.  I used the Matte Finish by Krylon

  • • • Love!

  • • • Simple!

 • • • Pretty!

After spotting my pretty tray Grandma, my mom and I brainstormed that it might just work for her walker.  It has worked like a charm!  She now has a surface to put things on when she is walking around and working in the kitchen etc.  It has been a lifesaver for her!  We used two screw eyes in the bottom of the tray and looped a tie wrap through those and attached it to the support bar of her walker.  She is one happy camper now!  So glad it worked out like it did! 

Tatertots and Jello

Cheerios and Lattes

Be different Act Normal

Funky Junk

Simply Designing

Whipperberry

Young and Crafty

Serenity Now 4 Amanda
Craft Envy
Lolly Jane Boutique
Six Sisters Stuff
Classy Clutter