Office Desk Tray – Woodwork is always a satisfying pastime however we do not always have the time to make the things we would like to. Sometimes we need a little push or some free ideas that take the thinking out of it for us.

Here is a very simple easy to follow tutorial to make an office desk tray.

This simple office desk tray could be made from off cuts or you can buy the material.

What you will need:

10mm thick lengths of wood, you can use any wood even MDF if you have some off cuts, 10mm is suitable as you do not want to make this tray too heavy, but thicker material will work fine

Cold white wood glue

20mm Panel pins or nails, you can use staples if you have a staple gun

A piece of 5mm ply wood, MDF or hardboard

Hand saw, a cross cut saw works great

Carpenters pencil

A measuring tape or rule

Carpenters square

Method:

Using the hand saw cut the timber into the correct lengths, 350mm for the sides and 240mm for the ends.

Note: The length of the sides will vary dependant on the thickness of the timber.

The height I selected is 90mm, you can make this 100mm or 80mm depending on the off cuts or timber you have available.

You can use reclaimed pallets for this as well, the timber may have to be planed depending on the type of pallet it comes from.

Cut your base to the size of your sides and ends.

Cut out a half circle or arc shape on the one end, this allows paper or files to be lifted out easily.

Apply cold white glue to the sides of the end pieces, place between the side pieces and pin with the panel pins. Use the square to square the pieces up and allow the glue to dry. Clean off any excess glue before it dries with a damp cloth.

You can use clamps to hold the pieces and not use panel pins at all.

Once the glue has dried, place the base on the frame to check it fits. Apply glue to the one face of the frame and place the base on top, pin it with the panel pins. Clean off the excess glue with a damp cloth.

After the glue has dried sufficiently, you can sand down any edges that may have not lined up 100%. Round off any sharp edges.

Now you can apply a coat of lacquer or paint to suit your office space.

Office Desk Tray Stack

To make a stack of the desk trays, you can make up four or five trays and tie them together with two strips of timber on each side. You can use screws or 4mm bolts and nuts.

As indicated in the sketch below.

Have fun making these for your office or as gifts for friends.

Alternatively you can buy something similar here.

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