Idiot Proof Beer Serving Tray.

by Dvda2108

3.2K488

Intro: Idiot Proof Beer Serving Tray.

ever walked around with a serving tray just to knock over all the drinks?

no need to panic anymore, I made some serving trays that make it almost impossible to spill your beer.

here's what you need:

- anti-slip waterproof multiplex (40cm*40cm) 18mm thick for the bottom piece

- waterproof multiplex (40cm*40cm) 18mm thick for the top piece

- some leftover pieces of multiplex to use as spacers

- a pockethole drill

- some screws (inox screws work the best)

STEP 1: Cutting the Holes and Grips

first off start by cutting the multiplex into a square piece 40cm by 40cm

round of all the corners and cut in some handles for easy use.

drill the pocketholes - the size of the holes is really up to you (I made 63mm holes) and what you want to serve or carry around (soda-beer-...) I made twelve holes = 2 sixpacks

sand down the holes to make a smooth finish

STEP 2: Add the Spacers

next up is to prepare the base: rounding of the corners (you can use the tops as a template - once you have one piece it becomes the template for all the other pieces).

cut some rips of waterproof plywood (about 5cm wide) and screw them to the base (keeping in mind to put the anti-slip side up facing the spacers otherwise it's no use to use anti-slip multiplex) this will keep the bottoms of the glasses in place and stop the glasses from moving around on the base

STEP 3: Screw Down the Top

once the spacers are in place screw down the prepared top. sand everything down to a smooth finish.

STEP 4: Enhace the Waterproofing

I decided to burn the tops and then finish them with a clear boat varnish to add durability.

first burn the tops

the you sand them down to a very fine finish and varnish everything except the bottom anti-slip part, DO NOT VARNISH THAT!!, the anti-slip wil lose it's purpose and you end up with a slip 'n slide serving tray. trust me.

STEP 5: Done

I made a couple of these which are/were used at some summer festivals

I also have one at home to use in our garden and it works great, If you have kids these serving trays are great, they can hit the table numerous times and the drinks won't spill or fall over...unless you fill them to the rim.. then they will spill over, but that's no problem because everything is made out of waterproof wood so if something spill simply hose it down and leave it outside to dry.

now go get yourself a beer and enjoy the rest of the summer.

8 Comments

jordi D 7 years ago

looks very useful.

Also good choice of beer :)

Maybe you can add a bigger hole in the middle if someone wants another beer with a bigger glass.

Dvda2108 7 years ago

aaah, a fellow belgian builder ;-), the glasses are only there for the picture, these trays were designed to fit Duvel glasses because that's what we usually drink. but you can drill any size pocket hole and use any size of spacers to fit the glasses of your preffered beer or soda or water...but i'm belgian so it's there to fit beerglasses ;-).

Penolopy Bulnick 7 years ago

This is great! If you are serving different types of beers, you could put chalkboard paint on the tray and write the names of the beers (or who the beer is for) next to the classes :)

Dvda2108 7 years ago

yep, I've already done that with the tray I have at home, stops my kids from arguing ;-)