This project was built and designed by Billy from Newton Makes.
This build takes a simple wood tray and dresses it up with contrasting wood tones, a sculpted interior, and clean beveled edges that look far more complicated than they actually are. Using just two types of hardwood, Billy shows how a small, budget-friendly project can become an impressive handmade gift with a few clever shop tricks along the way.
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Choosing and Prepping the Wood
Billy kept the material list short for this build, relying on just two wood species to create the entire tray. One board served as the main body, while a darker hardwood was chosen to create contrast for the sides and base.
After milling the rough lumber, he noticed that one face of the darker board was noticeably richer in tone than the other. Rather than guessing, he cut a second matching piece so he could choose the more attractive, higher-contrast side for the visible portions of the tray.
To get the dark wood exactly where he wanted it, Billy ripped the boards down and glued them together before resawing the assembly into thin strips. This gave him a thin strip of darker wood to use as an accent along the edges of the tray, maximizing contrast while minimizing waste.
Grain Direction and Visual Balance
Before gluing the final panel together, Billy paid close attention to how the wood grain curved on each piece. He intentionally oriented the boards so that any grain arch pointed downward rather than upward, a subtle trick that makes the finished piece feel visually grounded rather than top-heavy.
He also factored in color placement, making sure the darker tones ended up near the bottom of the panel. Combined with the grain orientation, this small decision helps the tray feel balanced and intentional, even before any shaping begins.
Designing an Irregular Shape
Instead of sticking to a basic rectangle, Billy wanted the tray’s opening to have a more unconventional shape. He used Inkscape, a free vector graphics program, to combine several shapes into one cohesive template, complete with an outer border and a transparent center to mark the area that needed to be removed.
This template was then printed, trimmed along one edge to align with the workpiece, and adhered using spray adhesive. Lining up the template directly with the board’s edge saved an extra cutting step later on.
Cutting the Interior Shape
With the template in place, Billy used a scroll saw to cut out the negative space, drilling a small entry hole and threading the blade through before following the lines. He noted that this same cut could easily be done with a jigsaw or band saw for anyone without scroll saw access.
A larger blade made it easier to follow straight lines accurately, and any minor entry cuts could simply be glued back together afterward without affecting the final look.
Routing the Recessed Interior
To create the sculpted, bowl-like interior, Billy used a core box router bit with a ball bearing guide that rides along the template, producing a smooth, curved recess. Since removing that much material in one pass would strain the router, he first drilled a series of holes with a Forstner bit to clear out the bulk of the waste.
He left extra material at the bottom of each hole to avoid any visible marks, planning to clean it up with the router in later passes. Swapping the router’s base for a larger acrylic plate gave him more surface contact and stability, reducing the risk of tipping into the workpiece mid-cut.
Working in several shallow passes, Billy traced the perimeter before clearing the center, gradually lowering the bit until reaching the final depth. The results came out smooth almost everywhere, with just a few rough spots in the center that were cleaned up using a rotary tool and small sanding attachments.
Cutting the Tray to Shape
With the interior complete, it was time to trim the panel down into its final tray shape using a table saw. Billy intentionally left the router template attached during sanding, since it doubled as a built-in cutting guide for this next step.
By matching the miter gauge angle to the lines on the template, he could cut each side without needing to measure anything. This made it easy to visually confirm each angle and adjust as needed before committing to the cut.
Adding a Beveled Edge
Rather than stopping at a flat-sided tray, Billy used the extra material he’d left in the side thickness to add a beveled edge around the entire perimeter. He set the table saw blade to a steep angle and ran each side through, flipping the piece as needed to bevel all edges evenly.
To handle the unusual angles created by the irregular shape, he glued offcuts from earlier cuts onto thin cardboard, creating custom guides that could register against the table saw fence. This simple jig let him align the workpiece correctly without extra measuring or specialized hardware.
Finishing the Interior and Exterior
To add contrast, Billy chose to dye the interior of the tray black using a water-based dye. Since water-based products can raise the wood grain, he dampened the surface first, let it dry, and lightly sanded before applying the dye to keep the texture smooth.
Two coats were applied with a foam brush for even coverage. He mentioned that velvet lining or paint could work as alternatives, but ultimately preferred the look of the dyed wood for this build.
The exterior was sanded through progressively finer grits, using sandpaper adhered to a flat MDF block to keep the surface true. For the final finish, Billy chose a matte spray lacquer to preserve the lighter tone of the primary wood species rather than the warmer tint that an oil finish would introduce.
Final Thoughts
This tray proves that a striking, dynamic project doesn’t require a long list of materials or complicated joinery. With just two wood species, a custom template, and some thoughtful detailing like the beveled edge and dyed interior, Billy turned a simple shape into a standout piece.
The techniques used here, from grain orientation to using leftover scraps as cutting guides, are easily adaptable to other small projects like boxes, trays, or cutting boards.
See Billy’s plans here: https://www.newtonmakes.com/shop/p/geometric-tray-project-plans
Matt’s Take
These are my personal thoughts and tips based on my own experience in the shop. This section is not written, reviewed, or endorsed by the original creator of this project.
That table saw bevel jig Billy rigged up with cardboard and offcuts is a great example of solving a problem with what’s already on your bench instead of buying a specialty tool. Irregular angles like this trip up a lot of people because they assume they need some kind of adjustable sled or protractor gauge. Really, all you need is something flat that registers against the fence and holds the workpiece at the right angle relative to the blade. Keep an eye on those glue joints on the jig, though, since repeated passes can shift things slightly if the offcuts aren’t secured well.
On the router recess, drilling out the waste with a Forstner bit before running the core box bit is just good practice any time you’re hogging out a deep pocket. It keeps the router from bogging down and reduces the chance of bit deflection or burning. If you don’t have a larger acrylic base plate like Billy used, even a simple shop-made auxiliary base out of plywood or acrylic can make freehand template routing a lot more stable, especially on a piece this size where tipping is a real risk.
One thing worth remembering with water-based dyes is that raising the grain first, like Billy did, really does make a difference in how even the final color looks. Skipping that step on open-grained woods especially can leave a blotchy or fuzzy finish after the dye dries. It’s a small extra step, but it pays off.
Lastly, always keep push blocks or a GRR-Ripper style tool nearby when beveling small pieces on the table saw. Steep angles and small parts are exactly where fingers get too close to the blade without realizing it.