I love trays and have a few in our home already, but not one that allows me to comfortably sit in bed on my laptop or iPad (with the attached keyboard).

I don’t know if you ever saw the DIY pipe tray from Donna of Funky Junk Interiors, but I instantly fell in love the moment I came across it! If you follow my blog you probably know we have worked on quite a few copper pipe projects recently, so I decided to create a similar one using items we already had on hand.

How to Make a Rustic Modern Copper Pipe Tray

The only item I had to buy more of was Epoxy, which is only necessary if you are using copper pipe since you can’t thread it like other pipes. Epoxy {or some other sort of heavy-duty glue} helps adhere the pipes to the pipe fittings without them coming loose since they can’t be screwed into one another.

Remember that you can customize the size and materials of this tray to whatever you would like.  I know this list may sound intimidating, but it’s really not too bad.

Also, I mention using a 10-foot pipe because I know at Home Depot it is more cost-effective to purchase {1} 10-foot pipe for $10 rather than a smaller size pipe. In fact, you could get 2 trays out of one 10 foot pipe, and then just purchase additional wood and pipe fittings, or buy them in packs. Then you could make 2 trays for even less money. Maybe give them both as gifts or give one and keep one? Just saying… 🙂

---

• Pipe Cutter {or get the sizes cut at the hardware store
• Ryobi Miter Saw {or get the wood cut to size at the hardware store}
• Ryobi Airstrike {you could also just use screws}
• Ryobi Drill
• Bar Clamp
• Materials Used:
  
• {1} 10 ft. Copper Pipe {you will have extra left over}
• {4} Floor Flanges {1/2 inch}
• {4} Male Adapters {1/2 inch}
• {4} Elbows {1/2 inch}
• {4} End Caps { 1/2 inch – not pictured above}
• {4} Bell Hangers {1/2 inch}
• {4} 30″ 1×4
• {2} 12″ 1×4
• Epoxy
• Danish Oil or Stain {optional}
• Wood Glue
• Measuring Tape
• Square
• Pencil
• Copper Pipe Cut List:
• {2} 8″ Copper Pipes {1/2 inch} – used for legs
• {4} 6.25″ Copper Pipes {1/2 inch} – used for legs
• {2} 7.5″ Copper Pipes {1/2 inch} – used for handles

---

The first thing I did was cut some of the 1×4 scrap boards we had lying around in the garage. Depending on the project, we sometimes purchase the more rustic looking wood at Home Depot so that it has more character. I wanted this project to be a bit modern rustic so I decided to go with some of the more interesting pieces of wood, especially since I didn’t plan on staining it – just adding some danish oil.

I cut 4 boards to be 30 inches long using our miter saw and then cut 2 additional boards to be 12 inches long. The 4 boards would serve at the top base of the tray and the other 2 pieces would be the support that holds the boards together, and where the handles would be placed.

I first glued the {4} 30-inch boards together, clamped them into place and then used the Ryobi Airstrike {I LOVE that thing!} to attach the {2} 12-inch pieces of wood for support. Since the wood I was using was roughed up a bit and the edges were a bit rustic and not super even, I decided to make these 2 side pieces smaller than the width of the tray.

Once I had the wood section of my tray built, I went over it a few times with some danish oil rather than stain. Then once it was dry I started working on the pipe handles and legs.

There are several different ways you could do the legs, but I decided to use elbows and make “U” shape legs since I had extra pipe and elbows.

Creating the Copper Pipe Legs:

Once I had cut all of my copper pipes to size, I measured where I wanted my legs to go and screwed the flanges into the bottom of the tray first. Afterward, I screwed the male adapters into the floor flanges.

I then began to add the copper pipes and elbows, making sure to add Epoxy to the pipe fittings to make them secure. Usually epoxy comes with a small stick to use, but this pack didn’t so I just grabbed a popsicle and cleaned off the stick. Worked like a charm 🙂

 

After the copper legs were attached I set some heavy boards on top and let it sit for a few hours just to be sure it was good to go.

Attaching the copper pipe handles:

Afterward, I flipped the tray back over and began adding the copper pipe handles using bell hangers. I had purchased a couple of packs of these when we did our navy and copper dresser, nightstands and DIY curtain rods, so we had just enough left over for this project.

I just measured out where I wanted them, screwed the bell hangers into the side pieces of wood and the screwed the copper pipe inside of the bell hangers. Using epoxy, I glued some 1/2 inch tube caps to the ends of the pipe to make them smoother and give them a more “finished” appearance. {The end caps are not pictured in the photo above}.

Cleaning the Pipes:

By the way, you can clean the pipes with some steel wool and water (or ketchup and salt as seen here), and use high acetone nail polish remover to get rid of the red or blue markings printed on the pipe. This product also works well when it comes to cleaning copper.

Once the pipes are clean you can spray them with some clear sealer to help protect them from getting dirtied up. I decided to hold off on this step until my tray was finished because 1. I’m impatient and 2. I figured I would just dirty them up while putting them together anyway.

And here is the new DIY Copper Pipe Tray all finished, woo-hoo! What do you think?