Gifts & Small Projects

Stylish Serving Tray

Carry food and drinks in style with this elegant serving tray.

Difficulty: Beginner
Time: 2–3.8 hours
Cost: $$

About this build

Carry food and drinks in style with this elegant serving tray. The cutouts make great carrying handles and add to the good looks, and they disguise the fact that this tray is simple to build from just a couple of 1/4" thick “hobby boards” and a 24" square piece of plywood.

Tools

Essential

Circular Saw
Jigsaw
Miter Saw
Random Orbit Sander

Optional / nice to have

Tape Measure

Materials

Item	Qty
Board, 1/4" x 3" (2 1/2" actual width) 48"	2 board
Plywood, 1/2" Thick 24" x 24"	1 board
Wood Glue	1 each
Masking Tape	1 each
Wood Filler	1 each

Overall cost: $$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.

Cut list

Part	Qty	T × W × L
Short Side	2	1/4" × 2" × 18"
Long Side	2	1/4" × 2" × 18"
Bottom	1	1/2" × 18" × 18"
Foot	4	1/4" × 2" × 2"

What to buy

Buy 2 boards at 8 ft.

1/2" × 18"

1 board

1/4" × 2"

1 board

18"18"18"18"2"2"2"2"

Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →

Start building →

Instructions

1Create the Sides and Feet
- Cut two Short Sides, two Long Sides and four Feet to length from 1/4"-thick boards, as shown in the cutting diagram.
- Next, cut out the arches in the sides using a jigsaw and a fine-tooth blade. The best way to do this is to cut one arch, sand it smooth, and then use it to mark the other three pieces. Be sure the arch is centered on the length of each piece.
2Create the Bottom
- Cut the Bottom from 1/2"-thick plywood, as shown in the cutting diagram.
- Lay out the arches and cut them with a jigsaw.
- Sand the arches smooth, and then fill any voids in the edges of the arches with wood filler.
- Then sand the filler smooth.
3Attach the Sides
- Sand all of the pieces smooth, then you can glue the tray together.
- Start by attaching the Short Sides, making sure the ends are flush with the ends of the Bottom.
- Then glue on the Long Sides. You can use masking tape to hold everything in place while the glue sets.
4Add the Feet
Sand the Feet smooth, and then glue them in place on the underside of the Bottom. Again, you can use masking tape to hold the feet until the glue sets.
5Sand and Finish
After the glue sets, sand off any glue squeeze-out, and then you can paint, stain, or clear finish the serving tray to suit your taste. We painted ours, and then cut a square of colorful wallpaper and attached it as an accent.