Dehydrator Update

Dehydrator Update

It was time for an update to a couple aspects of the dehydrator. Firstly, the trays I made to hold the stuff to be dried needed to be replaced. they were wooden and had warped really badly:

The replacement is a metal rod and 3D printed tray which hopefully won't warp. It also has a handle in the middle of the tray so lowering it into the dehydrator is going to be a lot easier.

Whatever is being dehydrated sits on a plastic mesh so that air flows easily through the trays:

The trays look a lot better than the wooden ones and I hope they will work a lot better as well.

The second update is an engraved front panel.

Which potentiometer controls what is now obvious, as is the function of the LED. This is engraved white on black plastic sheet. I need to make some nice knobs for the pots next...

Butlers Tray

I've been requested to make a butler's tray. This is a simple rectangular tray with simple cutouts for hand holds. A piece of plywood forms the base, and four small pieces of wood are used for the sides:

They will fix together like this:

The four edges are fixed together using finger joints. This is extremely easy on the woodrat.

I also routed a slot along the bottom edge of all four side pieces, the plywood base slots into this.

The side edges now need a cutout as a hand hold.  Unfortunately the test piece didn't go well. I have no secure way to cut what are essentially mortises on the woodrat. So, I have decided to make some accessories for the woodrat.

The tray will have to wait until I have finished those, then I'll be able to finish it.