Lacewood Veneered Serving Tray with Purpleheart Inlay

Today we are showcasing this Brazilian Cherry and Lacewood Veneered serving tray from way back in 05’.

It was born when I was experimenting with a technique that allows coves to be created on a table saw.  This is seen on the underside of the frame.  After making those deep coves, I thought, “what can I make with this?”  After some time to consider the possibilities, a light bulb came on in my head.  

“I was experimenting with a technique that allows coves to be created on a table saw”

I will make it into a serving tray!  I grabbed some plywood, a bit of Lacewood veneer for the front, and some cherry veneer for the back and got to work.  

As many woodworkers know, if you put veneer on one side you need it on both.  So I glued the cherry veneer on the back and Lacewood on the front.  The Lacewood veneer was pretty narrow, so I had to use two pieces.  First I stacked them and put a straight edge along side, then cut them both at the same time with a utility knife to make sure the had a seamless joint.  Unfortunately, after glue up,  the joint itself looked good, but the grain just didn’t match up to my satisfaction.  

After a few minutes reconsidering my life decisions, I remembered something one of my favorite woodworkers David J. Marks had said in a recent inlay course I had taken.  He said “Mistakes are an opportunity for embellishment”.  So with his wisdom, a small piece of Purpleheart, and my trusty router I carved out a dado down the middle of the freshly veneered (Lacewood) ply.  I was then able to inlay the scrap of Purpleheart into in and the issue was resolved.

Next, biscuits were added to help align the frame with the plywood. it was glued and clamped it all up, the next day; BOOM I had a really cool tray. A tung oil finish was applied and the project was complete!

What do you think?