Ottoman Tray.

[Curly]

Marla bought an Ottoman to put in front of our couch. They are nice to put you feet on when reading a book but they are lousy at putting a beverage on so I made a tray that sits on top. A Quarter Sawn Oak panel framed in Bak Walnut, Boiled Linseed Oil and Paste Wax finish.

One thing I do for panels that most people don't do is to put a small dowel (1/8") in the centre of the groove on the end of the frame pieces and notch the centre of the panel. That ensures the panel is centred when I glue it up. Most people would, if anything, use SpaceBalls or bits of O-ring etc. Any seasonal movement of the panel will always be even. It isn't so important in a flat panel like this but if it is a raised panel the reveal may not be even if provision for centring wasn't taken into account. One of the pictures shows a mockup in scrap. The dowel in the finish piece being glued and trimmed flush.

 

[Dalecamino]

That's nice Pete.

 

[lorbay]

Very cool Pete.
Lin

 

[1080Wayne]

Looks good , but where do your feet go when the beverage is in one hand and the book in the other ?

 

[Curly]

On the half of the Ottoman that isn't under the tray. The Ottoman is 30"x42" so lots of real estate.

Thanks gents.

 

[Charlie_W]

Great tray Pete! I like the choice of quarter sawn oak for the panel.

Right on with locking the panel in the center. Years (decades) ago, we used to use a pin gun to lock panels in place on kitchen cabinet doors. This was before space balls came on the market.

 

[Curly]

Pinning would definitely be quicker, just not as woody.

 

[Curly]

The view of the dowel on the backside.

 

[SteveG]

Nice addition to the ottoman.
I am building kitchen cabinets and am just at the point of building the cabinet doors. Already have the space balls, but might incorporate the dowel thing to register the door panels more precisely. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Curly]

You're welcome. If you don't want the dowel to show at all drill the hole into the bottom of the groove. Then the dowel is hidden in the slot. A suggestion from a fellow on another forum.

 

[Hubert H]

NICE!