Take your other piece of 5⁄4 decking and cut it into four pieces, each measuring 30" long. Leave the original factory edges, then plane all pieces to a final thickness of 7⁄8". With the tablesaw fence set at 11⁄4" from the blade, rip one edge off each of the boards and set these strips aside for later use. The four wider pieces are for the curved legs, and you’ll get best results if you cut them all at the same time. Stack them as a group (keep the sawn edges flush), then temporarily tack them together using a light coat of spray adhesive.
Use a 1"-wide ruler or piece of wood to draw a grid of 1" squares on one face of the group, then mark the leg curves using the grid diagram in the plans as a reference before cutting everything on a bandsaw. Keep to 1⁄32" on the waste side of your lines, then sand to final shape.
With all four pieces still together, mark the location for the pivot holes and drill them as a group using a 1⁄8"-diameter bit. Use a little paint thinner to help separate the four legs after cutting/sanding and to remove the glue. Then drill the 3⁄4"-diameter x 3⁄8"-deep countersunk pockets on the outside faces. It’s essential that you drill these pockets on the correct face, so think before you make a move. Once the countersunk pockets are done, follow by drilling straight through the 1⁄8" pilot holes with a 1⁄4"-diameter bit for the shanks of the bolts. Finish-sand using 150-grit sandpaper, slightly rounding over the sharp edges. Using 1⁄4"x 11⁄2" brass machine screws, nylon lock nuts and brass washers as laid out in the plans, bring together the parts to make two X-shaped supports.
Adding the stretchers
The stretchers connect the legs, and you should make them now from the 11⁄4" x 30" offcuts you saved earlier. Use a block plane to clean up the two rough edges and apply a 3⁄16" chamfer to all corners. Cross cut two pieces to 261⁄2" long, and the other two to 281⁄4" long. Check the orientation of the leg assemblies to make sure they’re mirror images of each other (so they’ll fold), then attach the top stretchers using waterproof glue and #8 x 11⁄2"-long deck screws in countersunk holes. Keep the top edges of the top stretchers approximately 1⁄16" below the top ends of the legs. Repeat this process for the bottom stretchers, but position them approximately 31⁄2" from the bottom ends. Fill the holes with tapered plugs and sand flush.
The stand features two straps that hold the tray in place, while also making it easy to remove it. (As well, the straps allow you to fold the stand when not in use.) You need to have one full wrap of the straps around the top stretchers. Secure them with a couple #6 x 1/2"-long pan-head screws. As you work, make sure the stretchers measure 14 1/2" apart when the legs are open.
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