Project 1 – Food Tray

Process and Tool Documentation

Design

I had a few sketches with different designs. I picked the design of the negative space of my brother’s dog and cat as the silhouette of this project. If the project is successful, I wish to gift it to my brother and sister-in-law as a wedding present. 

Fabrication

1. I used the band saw (BS) to cut my piece into the shape that I designed. The cuts have aligned the line of my pencil marks but leaving room for sandings.
2. I used scroll saws to cut intricate curves of the cats’ tail. The curve acts as the hanging holes, so I decided not to use the drill press. Also, compositionally I think keeping the central part clean looks better.
3.  I used three different sanding files to smoothen out the zigged and sharp turns. I have to adjust different files according to the shapes and curves.
4. Andy gave me four different sanding papers 80, 120, 240, and 320. I have to wrap them around a screwdriver to further smoothen out the details. This step took the most energy and time.   
5. I used the belt sander and disc sander to sand the outside of my piece. I only rounded the upper left corner for aesthetic reasons.
6. I used the random orbital sander to smoothen out the flat surfaces, front and back.
7. The final step is to use sanding blocks or sanding foams to sand out the edges and corners. I used 400 and 800 sanding blocks to finish the piece.

Week 2: Routing and Finishing 

1. Routing: the purpose of this step is to shape or round the edge. Since my piece has more curvatures and details, I decided not to use the router. Instead, I practiced using the router on a test piece. However, I burnt the edge a little, indicating that I moved the router too slow. Also, I made the mistake of moving the router clockwise, which made the edge uneven and rough.
2. Sanding: Alternatively, I used sanding blocks to round the shape, ranging from 340 to 800, because I don’t want the edges to be rounded too much, else the silhouette would be too blurry.
3. Finishing: The final step is to apply mineral oil and butcher’s block conditioner, which I think is the easiest step of all. After applying the conditioner, I left the lab for another project. When I returned, the door was closed and I had to wait till the next morning to burnish the piece. Hope that won’t damage the wood.