Cocktail Hour

For quite a while, I've been trying to figure out a way to integrate some kind of existing artwork into my woodwork – lets call it mixed media.

Now there are a number of methods to transfer artwork onto wood, such as printing an image, pva glue it face down onto the wood and rub away the paper. But for me, I find these things tend to look a bit arts and crafts, when I want something that looks more like a professional manufactured product.

The next question is; what type of product would suit such a mixed media approach?

Recently, I was playing around with making a round base for a lamp. I did this by gluing up lots of blocks of wood, then cutting it into round with a template and my router table. I eventually lost interest in that lamp project, because it had other issues to figure out and wasn't going anywhere fast.

However, it sparked off the idea that I could use a similar method to make a round drinks tray. Plus, I figured this was a perfect opportunity to integrate some mixed media for the base.

My first thought was I could use something like a vintage drinks ad from a magazine, glue it to a board and then cover it with coats of varnish. Halfway into that project, I remembered why I hate varnish so much. Because it shows up every defect and you have to wait for it to dry, sand it and repeat many times to try and get an even finish. It was just way too time consuming without guaranteed professional looking results. Plus, forget about trying to do it in a dusty workshop. Dust specs love to ruin a varnished surface.

Then I decided maybe art resin was the answer. And it almost was. This time, instead of a magazine ad, I started with a retro record cover. And coating it with resin looked really great.

So, then I went about making the round wooden tray part. If you've ever tried routing a round shape out of wood, you will know that the bits love to grab onto end grain, or if you're going against the grain in any section, you're likely to tear out a big chunk of wood at any moment. So that also involved quite a bit of trial and error, and some various spiral router bits.

Finally I had a usable piece and now it was time to marry it to my resin covered base. I created a rabbet inlay underneath of about 10mm in, glued in my base and fixed it into place with some brad nails.

That's when disaster struck again. Some of the resin lifted off the artwork where the nails went in and one bit even cracked.

But now I'm at the end of making my prototype, I think I know the answer for my next iteration. Glue the record label to my wood base. Make the round sides, Glue and nail it all together as before....and then do the resin pour at the end!

Anyone looking at pictures of my prototype tray, will probably think that it looks pretty easy to make. But as with most wood working projects. They're always a lot more work than you think.