Tray making

Today I finished preparing the tray/trivet bases. The first photograph shows these after each had been cut to size, had holes drilled at one inch intervals around their perimiters, and after each had been sanded. The sanding blocks, numbered "1", "2" and "3", have sandpaper with finer and finer grits as one moves from 1 to 3.

Two potential trivets are also shown in this photograph with their marble tile inserts.

Photograph #2 shows one of the selected tray bases after it had been given a light coating of beeswax. This non-toxic finishing coat is widely used for finishing salad bowls and other wood products. It gives a nice sheen to the tray surface and brings out the grain. Its gives the tray base a warm feeling.

This particular tray base had forty holes drilled around its perimiter. Photograph #3 shows the tray with forty stakes placed through these holes in readiness for the weaving process. In photograph #4, the tray base is secured with these stakes by going "in front of one then behind one and over the previous stake end."

The last photograph shows the tray base in readiness for the weaving.

Photographs of the finished trays will come in the next blog. Be patient!