# Dovetailed Tea Tray



## BigRedKnothead (May 12, 2015)

I've done quite a bit tricking out my shop and tools, now I've turned my attention to spoiling my wife a bit. Besides, I couldn't take seeing her use a sheet pan for a tea tray.

The piece is pretty straight-forward....
- Half-blind dovetails. I took my time and cut these by hand. Matter of fact, these are the first dovetails I made that aren't practice or just something in my shop. The practice must be paying off, because they turned out really well.
- Cherry for the ends, birdseye maple for the sides and bottom. The bottom is some 3/8" solid birdseye maple with some heartwood that I bookmatched. It rests in a groove around the sides with room for seasonal movement.
- Finish is several coats of minwax tung oil. I like the tone this stuff gives figured maple. Finally it was buffed with Howards feed 'n wax.
If you flip it over you can find the repair for a small mistake I made. Oh well, my wife already knows I'm not perfect























Thanks for looking, Red

Reactions: Like 5 | EyeCandy! 2 | Way Cool 11


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## ripjack13 (May 12, 2015)

Wow Red! That is superbly stupendous !!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Tony (May 12, 2015)

Great job Red! Tony

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Sprung (May 12, 2015)

Red, I saw that on LJ's and can't remember if I commented there or not. That is a superb piece - well done!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Kenbo (May 13, 2015)

Fantastic work. Love the contrast!!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Nature Man (May 13, 2015)

Taking woodworking to the next level, one dovetail at a time. Great job! Your wife must be pleased. Chuck

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## SENC (May 13, 2015)

Nice!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Mike1950 (May 13, 2015)

Nice work- beautiful wood combo

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## ironman123 (May 13, 2015)

Very nice dovetailing. Super looking tray. You did that proud and your wife will be proud of you.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## barry richardson (May 13, 2015)

Really nice Red! I imagine half-blind dove-tails are harder than through dovetails when you make them by hand?


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## Kevin (May 13, 2015)

Nice work Red. 

Guys don't expect him back anytime soon, his wife is busy rewarding him.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## NYWoodturner (May 13, 2015)

Wow - That is really stunning. I really like the finish too. Excellent work Red!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## NeilYeag (May 13, 2015)

Angles, curves, contrasting woods, book matching! Really taking a simple object to a high level. Great job.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## BigRedKnothead (May 13, 2015)

barry richardson said:


> Really nice Red! I imagine half-blind dove-tails are harder than through dovetails when you make them by hand?



Well Barry, that's kinda one of those "yes and no" answers. It does take a little longer to clean out the sockets on half blinds. But! There' only _one _show face on half blinds, so I really believe it's easier to get a cleaner _looking _dovetail. For example, if you didn't get your saw totally 90 degrees when sawing the tails, and the tails taper a bit. Well, you'd be able to see that on full dovetails, where as that would be hidden on half blinds. Hope that makes sense. My half blinds aren't always pretty on the inside, just on the show face.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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