Small Trays Made From Leftover Scraps

I have A CNC. I have a bottle of wood glue, and several clamps. I also have several small odd shaped wood scraps begging to be used for something useful.   

Small scraps glued up can make larger boards. Here are a few shallow wood dishes/trays all made from glued up scraps.  

This first oval dish was cut from three maple scraps glued together. I used my CNC to cut the top recess and rounded edge.  Then used my router table to bevel the side 11.25 degrees, and follow that up with a small 45 degree transition to the bottom.  

Oval Tray

This second tray was the best shape to make from two glued up corners saved from a hexagon table top cutout. 

Diamond Tray

This walnut version was made from several walnut scraps. Add in patching two screw holes with walnut dowels to increase the potential final size. For this one I used the modelling tool in Aspire to create the center recess. It also has a 45° chamfer on the bottom edge.  A rounded rectangle.

4" x 6"

This 4" x 4" Cherry example required several bit changes, and used the VCarve toolpath to make the crisp inside corners of the dish. It used up the left over corners from a round plant stand cutout. Its shape echoes the shape of the glued up corners. 

V-Carved Cherry Dish

Several bit changes were required.  Bits used (in order) were a 3/16" end mill to clear out the center area of the dish, then a 60 degree V-Bit to slope the sides and create the sharp inside corners. A 1/4" end mill cut a clearance path for the final bit and profile out the final shape.  Last bit used on the CNC was a side cutting V-bit to put a groove around the sides as shown below.

VCarved, V-cut, and beveled. 

As with all of these trays some follow up work was needed.  The waste perimeter was roughly cut off using my bandsaw.  A flush trim bit cleaned up the bottom edge on my trim router table.  Lastly a 45 degree chamfer bit beveled the bottom edge. 

Beveled bottom and side groove.

Lastly, an octagon dish. Made from one scrap board nearly 11" long and 2.6" wide.  It had a rough bark side.  I cut it in half and glued the good sides together to make a roughly 5" x 5" block close to 7/8" thick. The inner and outer sloped sides were 3D toolpaths.  The center of the top was a pocket toolpath to bring it down to the bottom of the inner sloped sides.  Hard maple with tight grain cut nicely on the CNC. 

Octa Dish

These are small examples of the value you can find from small scraps of wood left over from previous projects. Glue thin scraps together to make thicker boards that may be more useful. Any scraps with a straight edge can usually be glued up to make a larger board.  A trip across a jointer may be needed to face the edges for the best glue joint. I have a small benchtop jointer that is perfect for this task. Its small expose blade gap between tables make it safer than larger jointers with a larger expose blade gap to slide over. 

So save those odd scraps.  When boredom or inspiration strikes take a few and glue them up to make a larger board that can become something useful.  

Comment encouraged!

4D

Iteration and a Simpler Trim Router Table

Iteration wins again.  After two failed attempts to make a version of my clamp on trim router table for the Performax (or Makita or Wen or Hercules or Avid Power or Mics HP Rocky or ...) trim routers I came up with this version.  It uses the braces of the previous attempt, but a new plywood top. No insert plate, but rather a recess for the router base and 4 holes for screws to hold it securely to the bottom of the plywood top. No worry about the insert plate being flush to the top

No insert plate needed

I found another piece of 12mm plywood large enough to cut the new table top from. It has a larger center hole for better vacuum suction around the bit being used. I rotated the mounting holes so the vacuum connection would be easier to attach to. 

Direct hose connection

I also enlarged the dovetail slots so the braces would slide in easier. They were still a challenge to insert all the way, but hopefully this is the last time they need to.  A simpler version for those who don't have a way to clamp the braces vertically would be to use simple blind dados and glue the braces in. 

All that is needed is 12mm baltic birch plywood, a 1" dowel with offset 3/4" diameter ends, and a short length of 3/8" dowel for the handle.  Rotate the handle 90 degrees toward you to release the trim table from the bench.  

A hook for the chuck wrenches keeps them close at hand.    I've got 4 of these trim routers and can put a different router bit in each. I can swap them out quickly as my needs change. 

The only thing better than having one trim router table is having two.  

Now there are two.

Of course two tables each need a connection to the dust collector.

Gated Hose Splitter

I can close off either side when I'm only using one table. 

 

A side project that may be useful would be a clamp on router bit rack. A place to keep the assorted bits I have close to the trim router tables.  Perhaps with a flip-over lid to keep the dust and chips out.  

My mind now rests easy having solved all the nagging problems found with previous designs.  These tables detach quickly and store under the bench they are clamped to.  

Comments and questions are welcomed and encouraged. 

4D