Make your own Serving Plates and Platters
When you love to entertain or have guests staying for the holidays, making your own serving plates or platters will ensure you can feed everyone in style.
20/12/2020
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When you love to entertain family and friends or have guests around for a braai or a meal, you want to make sure you have enough dishes to display and serve, even if it's only a braai in the garden. There are hundreds of ideas for making serving plates and platters using scrap wood, reclaimed pallet wood or buying a piece of laminated pine shelving from your local Builders Warehouse. In this feature, we share a variety of easy-to-make designs that you can create in a weekend or a day or two. So, if you are expecting guests over the holidays and are worried about not having enough serving plates or platters, you can choose from one of the designs below to make them easily and affordably - using only basic power tools.
MAKING A WOOD SERVING PLATE OR PLATTER
- WOOD IS ANTIBACTERIAL
Bet you didn't know that wood has natural antibacterial properties that make using wood to craft serving plates or platters a sensible choice. Plastic or melamine can easily be scratched and it is these fine scratches that can harbor bacteria and germs. Wood, on the other hand, is antimicrobial, which means that wood eliminates almost 99% of harmful bacteria. That's why you see chopping and cutting boards being made out of wood and why wood is far better than plastic for serving food.
The antimicrobial properties of wood prevent the growth of microorganisms while the antibacterial properties kill off bacteria. Plastics and other manufactured materials serve as a host for both bacteria and microorganism that are difficult to kill off, even after being put through a cycle in a dishwasher.
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- WOOD IS RECYCLABLE
Plastic and melamine are most definitely not considered as eco-friendly, as we all know, yet wood can be recycled over and over again. Over and above this, wood is self-healing and you can easily restore a wooden chopping block, serving plates or platters simply by sanding them smooth and then applying a food-safe Butcher Block Oil or Conditioner.
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- WHY WOULDN'T YOU CHOOSE WOOD
With everything it has going for it, why wouldn't you want to make wooden serving plates and platters, ones that you can use again and again when you have guests.
- A WORD OF CAUTION
If you are planning to make use of reclaimed pallet wood, use only pallets manufactured for domestic shipping. Pallet wood that has to travel is treated with a fungicide and/or insecticide that is harmful to your health. If in any doubt, don't use it - rather pop into your local Builders for a piece of laminated pine shelving.
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- TREAT THE WOOD
To extend the life of your handmade wooden serving plates or platters, regularly apply a Butcher Block Oil or Conditioner. These products are specially formulated to be absorbed into the surface of wood to protect and enhance the natural beauty.
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WHAT TOOLS YOU NEED
There are 3 basic tools that every DIY enthusiast should have; a quality drill / driver, jigsaw and a decent sander. With these 3 tools you can cut, assemble and sand to make different shapes and sizes, single serving plates or tiered platters. If you already have the wood it won't take you long to make a set of plates or platters and you will be prepared for any number of guests.
You only need a drill / driver, jigsaw and sander to make assorted plates and platters for entertaining.
Your wooden serving plates or platters can be a simple shape or design or can incorporate other natural materials. Think recycling leather belts into straps for your plates, adding wooden feet using upcycled cabinet handles; there are so many ways to add onto the design to make it more of a custom piece - something you made.
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If you would like to try something out of the ordinary, try combining different wood types together. Pine and Meranti for example, are reasonably affordable and can look great when joined using biscuit joints. Or splurge on more expensive exotic hardwoods to make your plates or platters.
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The nice thing about having the right tools is that you can cut out custom shapes for your platters.
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