Laminated Coasters
So I’m building a new item for the markets that I hope will be a good seller for the holiday season. It’s a set of laminated wood coasters with a holder, based on a design by Paul Sellers. I am using a variety of hardwoods (Oak, Walnut, Cherry, Purple Heart, Maple) to create an attractive holder and series of coasters that you can place out for use by your friends and family.
Steps
- Mill parts to size
| No | Description | L | W | T | Qty |
| 1 | Coaster Blank (strips of seven different woods) | 3-1/2” | 3-1/2” | 5/16” | 6 |
| 2 | Internal Holder Blank | 2-1/8” | 3-3/4” | 2” | 1 |
| 3 | Holder Sides | 4-1/4” | 3-3/4” | ½” | 2 |
| 4 | Holder Applique’s | 3-5/8” | 2-3/4” | 3/32” | 2 |
Wood types: Walnut, Purple Heart, Maple, Cherry, Oak
- Make the coasters: Mill the strips of wood for the coasters Seven strips 24” long, ½” wide and ½” thick. Glue Up to create a blank, 24” long that is 3-1/2” wide and ½” thick. Plane/sand down blank to 5/16” thick
- Cut blank into six 3-1/2” x 3-1/2” squares. Sand 100/150/220 grit to prepare for finish
- Create the internal section of the holder: Mill four ½” strips of wood for holder, 24” long x 2-1/8” wide x ¾” thick.
- Plane, sand strips down to ½” thick. Glue up four strips to one blank
- Crosscut the blank to final size 2-1/8” x 3-3/4” x 2”
- Use the tablesaw, tilted to 45-degrees, to cut a “V slot” in the blank to hold the coasters
- Now build the holder sides. Mill the wood to 4-1/4” x 3-3/4” x ½”. Use the tablesaw to cut a 45-degree angle at the top of the holder sides
- Use a belt sander to clean up the interior V-slot and to round over the top of the holder sides
- Now glue up the sides to the V-slot blank to create the final holder. Sand 100/150/220 grit to prepare for finish
- To build the decorative “applique” for the sides, follow a similar process. Cut six individual strips of wood ½” wide x 24” long x ¾” thick. Glue these together
- Rip the ¾” thickness in half to create two 5/16” thick pieces. Sand this down to 3/32”. Crosscut this to size and then cut the 45-degrees at top of each piece.
- Sand 100/150/220 grit, then glue to each side of the holder. Clean up any glue squeeze out, and do any touch up sanding
- To finish, apply three coats of wipe on polyurethane (so the coasters can resist water/alcohol).
