I made a number of walnut serving trays over the holidays. I wanted them to be simple, circular, and pleasant to the touch:

No build pictures for these. I edge-joined three pieces of walnut together. Then I used a variety of circular shapes – a large plate, a Home Depot 5-gallon bucket, and maybe a few other things – to trace a circle of the right size.

I then cut them with my jigsaw. The circles are not perfect, but that’s OK. I rounded over the edges using the router with a 1/2″ roundover bit, then used a large Forstner bit to drill the finger hold, and rounded over that, too.

I finished them with Tried and True linseed oil and beeswax for a food-safe finish.

 

Here’s a simple mitered box to hold my wife’s jewelry:

It is a straightforward mitered box with butt hinges:

The bottom is lined with leather, under cherry dividers held in place only with friction:

The lid has a simple lip that I made with a rasp and then sanded smooth:

Here it is unfinished:

And here, finished with satin Arm-R-Seal: