When it comes to furniture, woodworkers have an advantage over other people. If we can't find what we're looking for in stores, we have the option of heading out to the workshop to build it. This was the case recently when I was shopping for a serving trolley for my patio. I wasn't satisfied with the molded plastic versions sold by most garden centres, so I built my own out of wood. It's made with cedar, a traditional wood for outdoor furniture because it resists decay, is lightweight and relatively inexpensive.
When building furniture intended for outdoors, use corrosion-resistant stainless steel or brass screws, and a weatherproof glue such as a Type II PVA or polyurethane adhesive.
Getting Started
Cut the parts for the removable serving tray and the main cart parts, including the bottom shelf. Prepare a full-size template to mark and cut the tray ends, including the handle openings at each end. These start with a 1" dia. hole drilled at each end; the remaining waste is removed with scroll saw cuts. For a more comfortable grip, round over the handle edges with a table-mounted router.
As you can see, I used finger joints for all outside corners; I think the beauty and strength of the interlocking fingers are worth the extra work. I used a tablesaw and dado blade to cut mine.
With finger joints done, continue by preparing slats for the removable tray and the bottom shelf. Rout a decorative 1/8" bevel along the edge of these slats using a table-mounted router and a 45° bearing-equipped chamfer bit. Next, cut a 3/8"-deep x 3/4"-wide dado along the sides of the serving tray and the bottom shelf sides to receive the slats. Centre these grooves to avoid cutting into the fingers at the corners.
The plans show how the tray support cleats are fastened to the sides at the top of the cart. Install these strips now, before further assembly. I bevelled the exposed edges of both cleats using the same chamfer bit as before. Cleats are secured with weatherproof glue and 1 1/4"-long screws.
Now it's time to assemble the serving tray, the frame it sits in and the bottom shelf frame. Make sure everything you need is close at hand, including a a sharp chisel to remove glue squeeze out when it's half dry, a mallet with blocks of wood to pound on and plenty of clamps. Strap clamps are best for this job. It's also a good idea to cut some small blocks to regulate slat spacing during final assembly. Before you get out the glue bottle, dry-fit everything and fix any last-minute problems you find. After the parts are glued and clamped, recheck for square corners before setting the assemblies aside to dry overnight.
Want rounded corners on your tray? Cut a 3/4"-radius curve on the outside of each corner joint using a bandsaw. Don't round the corners with a router or they'll splinter.
Image at left: The bottle holder should be custom-cut for your favourite beverage choices. Choose wood that's free of knots for strength
Adding Accessories
To make the wine rack, cut the rack blank to size, then scroll-saw three evenly spaced holes to receive the bottles. I cut two 3 1/4" dia. holes and one 3 3/4" dia. hole to fit the most common bottle sizes. Bandsaw the corners of the rack round, then rout a 1/4" round-over profile on all the edges except the wine rack ends; they connect with the grooves in the back legs.
For the wine glass rack, glue and screw the 1/4"-thick inner and outer rails to the three spacers. Then use glue and a 1 1/2"-long screw at each end to attach the rail and spacer assemblies to the undersides of the support cleats on each side of the cart's main upper frame. The wine glasses are suspended upside down by their bases.
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