trays of pallet delight

We have put another pallet tray workshop under our tool belts and all went as smooth as silk...

Exciting additions to the studio's tool collection have perfected the efficiency of this workshop. A big, thank-you goes out to our 8 new sets of pipe clamps...hooray!!!

And.... 2 new 12v Milwaukee cordless drills, added to our existing 2 18v, giving each bench their own designated drill for the duration of the workshop.

These additions have made a huge difference in the accuracy and flow of the workshop and has also given the makers more independence and has reduced any time pressure felt to complete certain stages due to equipment needing to be shared with their bench mate.

Plus...this is big, Big, HUGE news...
We have finally mastered the art of the transfers. I must admit that although I love offering this aspect to the makers it was becoming a huge stresser for me due to the unpredictability of the printing outcome. But...Happy, Happy, Day ( I actually did a little HAPPY dance) with a little brain storming over coffee Steve and I figured it out and for the first time in studio50 workshop image transfer history...there were no transfer printing failures!!! No reprints required!!! Each one turned out so, so amazing with prefect details and no smudging!!! So onto the workshop at hand....

Like most of the studio's wood focused workshops the makers mastered the art of sanding and got a really good workout in the process :)

Then they moved onto bracing the pallet tray and clamping the handles in place to mark and pre-drill the screw holes.

The braces are needed to keep the sides of the tray from bowing in due to the pressure from the pipe clamps, therefore keeping everything nice and square. Well..as square as you get with unplaned rustic pallet wood.

Screw holes are pre-drilled because the majority of pallet wood we use is hard-wood which is difficult to screw directly into, especially since the makers hand screw the finishing washers and #5 screws into place. This method also reduces splitting and cracking of the wood, broken screws and blisters.

Once the makers arrived to this stage it was time to take a break and enjoyed a rest outside under the stars with a selection from the tasters menu. This interlude gave me opportunity to ready their images and print so they could transfer onto their pieces.

The taster menu offered the pesto artisan pizza again since it was so well liked the last time I made it...Plus Steve requested it and who am I to deny him such a simple pleasure and leftovers he was hoping to enjoy for lunch the next day.