Practical and stylish: the DIY serving trolley

A serving trolley with a circular wooden frame stands in a smart living room. — The circular wooden frame gives the DIY serving trolley a very special look.

Difficulty
medium
Cost
< 92 £
Duration
1-3 h

Introduction

A stylish serving trolley is high on the list of interior design trends. And of course, it’s not merely a piece of furniture. It’s very practical too – for transporting drinks or crockery. We’ll show you how to build your own trolley with a circular wooden frame.

Have you heard about our 18-volt system yet? It offers a very wide variety of devices for many uses. The thing that makes the project below so special is that you can use the same rechargeable battery for every part of this project. Simply swap out the battery pack, insert it into a different device that is part of the 18-volt system and continue to the next step.

It should go without saying that your safety is paramount throughout every step of the project, so make sure you take the necessary precautions to protect yourself. You can find everything you need to know about the correct protective clothing you need when using each type of tool in our overview.

You need

2x plywood board, 400 x 600 x 18 mm
3x plywood board, 400 x 100 x 18 mm
2x wooden hula hoop, 700 mm diameter
Copper sheets, 1 mm thick:
1x 582 x 400 mm
1x 600 x 400 mm
3x 120 x 400 mm
1x 100 x 400 mm
4x furniture casters with 10 x 40 mm stem (load capacity 30 kg)
Nine 4 x 50 mm wood screws
Eight 4.5 x 60 mm Spengler screws with ‘copper’ washer
Matt black spray paint

L: Length, W: Width, H: Height, D: Diameter

Let's go - step by step

Step19

Marking the hoops

A measurement is being marked on a wooden hoop using a set square and a pencil.

A mark is being made on a round wooden hoop using a pencil.

You need: pencil, Set square, Plywood board, 400 x 600 x 18 mm, Wooden hula hoop, 700 mm diameter

First, mark the points on one of the hula hoops where the shelves will be attached later. To do so, place one of the plywood boards (400 x 600 x 18 mm) on the hoop and position the short sides of the board so that the corners are flush with the hoop. Then mark the position of the board onto the hoop using a pencil (figure 1).

Then use a set square to mark the centre point of the hoop width at the four marked positions (figure 2).

Step29

Drilling holes in the hoops

A hole is being drilled in a wooden hoop using a cordless combi drill.

When drilling, place a wooden board underneath so that you don’t damage your work bench.

You need:

Cordless combi drill

Brad point drill bit

, g-clamps, 2x wooden hula hoop, 700 mm diameter

Lie the hoop that has already been marked flush on top of the second hoop and secure to the work bench using G-clamps. Then use a 4 mm Brad point drill bit to drill a hole through both hoops at the four marked points.

Step39

Spray painting

A wooden hoop is being sprayed with black paint.

Make sure you cover your work bench fully with paper before spraying.

You need: masking tape, masking paper, Matt black spray paint, 2x wooden hula hoop, 700 mm diameter, 4x furniture casters with 10 x 40 mm stem

Cover your work bench fully with masking paper and carefully mask the rubber part of the four casters with masking tape. Spray the casters and both hoops black from all sides.

Step49

Drilling holes into the boards

A screw is being countersunk in a wooden board.

A cordless combi drill is being used to drill a hole at the edge of a wooden board.

You need:

Cordless combi drill

Suitable bit set

Brad point drill bit

, pencil, pocket rule, g-clamps, 2x plywood board, 400 x 600 x 18 mm, 3x plywood board, 400 x 100 x 18 mm, Wood screws, 4 x 50 mm

Next, on one of the large plywood boards (40 x 600 x 18 mm), mark three drill holes on each of the two short sides. Then place the large board on top of the two small boards (figure 1), clamp securely and drill the holes at the marked points using a 4 mm Brad point drill bit.

Repeat this step with the second large plywood board. In this case, however, only drill the holes on one side for a small board. You can see the L-shape of the trolley’s top shelf in the title picture.

Then screw all the boards together (figure 2).

Step59

Sanding

A wooden structure is being sanded down using a multi-sander.

It’s worth giving the structure a quick sand, including where the holes were drilled.

You need:

Multi-sander

80 to 120-grain sanding sheet

, g-clamps, Screwed together wooden boards from step 4

Sand down all the drill holes and edges using a G120 sanding sheet.

Step69

Drilling holes for the casters

A hole is being drilled on the underside of a wooden structure.

You need:

Cordless combi drill

Brad point drill bit

, pencil, pocket rule, Wooden structure with two narrow boards from previous steps

To make the holes for inserting the casters later, mark a total of four points centrally on the narrow boards, 3 cm from the edge. Then drill holes that are approximately 40 mm deep using a 10 mm Brad point drill bit.

Step79

Gluing on the copper sheet

Mounting glue is being applied to a copper sheet.

Before you apply the glue, make sure you know which sheet goes where.

You need: glue, masking tape, Wooden structure from previous steps, Copper sheets, 1 mm thick:, 1x 582 x 400 mm, 1x 600 x 400 mm, 3x 120 x 400 mm, 1 x 100 x 400 mm

Apply mounting glue to the five copper sheets and glue them to the upper sides of the two shelves (see the title picture for positioning). For optimum adhesion, secure the sheets with masking tape while drying.

Extra tipp:

Spray the copper sheets with clear varnish before gluing. This helps to stop the copper tarnishing so quickly!

Step89

Attaching the wooden hoops

A wooden hoop that has been painted black is being screwed to a copper-topped wooden board.

You need:

Cordless combi drill

Suitable bit set

, All components from previous steps, Eight 4.5 x 60 mm Spengler screws with ‘copper’ washer

Next, screw the wooden hoops to the two copper-topped elements. To do so, place the hoops in turn onto the two wooden structure elements so that the pre-drilled holes are positioned over the corners of the wooden boards. Secure the 4.5 x 60 mm Spengler screws at the correct positions.

Step99