Lightning Bolt Serving Tray Router Template (Clear Acrylic)

Lightning Bolt Serving Tray Template - Clear Acrylic Woodworking Router Template

Create lightning bolt serving trays, bold catch-all trays, small dishes, and handmade gifts with this clear acrylic woodworking router template. The Lightning Bolt Serving Tray Template is designed for routing recessed pockets into wood, giving you a sharp, energetic layout that works well for serving-style projects, decorative trays, themed gifts, and small-batch woodworking products.

The lightning bolt shape makes this template a strong fit for music-themed decor, kids’ rooms, sports gifts, bold modern pieces, market products, and custom trays with a more graphic look. Use it with dimensional hardwood, laminated blanks, offcuts, or multi-species glue-ups to create a finished tray that stands out from a standard round, square, or rectangle dish.

What You Can Make With This Template

This tray template is designed for routing recessed tray pockets into a wood blank, not for cutting a full board shape all the way through. The lightning bolt layout creates a themed tray that works well for both functional and decorative woodworking projects.

• Lightning bolt serving trays for snacks, display, and light serving use
• Bold catch-all trays for keys, coins, jewellery, watches, and accessories
• Music-themed, sports-themed, or modern handmade gifts
• Decorative trays for bedrooms, offices, shelves, bars, and display areas
• Small wooden dishes for graphic, modern, or themed projects
• Small-batch woodworking products for craft shows, markets, and online sales

Why Use a Clear Acrylic Lightning Bolt Serving Tray Template?

A clear acrylic router template helps you position the lightning bolt layout before routing. You can see the grain, colour, and natural features in your wood blank, making it easier to centre the template, avoid defects, and choose the best-looking area of the board.

The lightning bolt design gives the finished piece a more energetic and graphic look than a basic tray shape. The reusable clear acrylic template helps keep the routed layout consistent if you are making multiples for gifts, markets, themed displays, or small-batch inventory.

• Clear acrylic helps with grain alignment and project layout
• Reusable template for repeat tray and serving board projects
• Lightning bolt shape creates a bold, recognizable finished piece
• Great for themed gifts, modern decor, markets, and handmade products
• Works well with dimensional hardwood, laminated blanks, offcuts, and multi-species glue-ups

Recommended Products to Use With This Template

For best results, secure the template properly, use the correct router bits, and start with a flat, stable wood blank that gives you enough thickness for clean recessed tray pockets.

• Template Tape - used to secure the clear acrylic template to your wood while routing.
• Pocketing Bit - useful for removing the majority of the material from larger recessed pocket areas.
• Pocketing Bit for Inside Tray Profiles - used for the inside tray profile and leaves a 1/8" radius.
• Flush Trim Bit for Outside Profile - used when routing the outside profile of compatible template projects.
• Dimensional Wood - a natural fit for serving tray and dish projects when you want a ready-to-use hardwood blank.
• Cutting Board Strips and Accent Strips - great options for creating custom multi-species tray blanks.
• Walrus Oil Cutting Board Oil - a good choice for food-contact boards and serving-style projects.
• Grand Finishing Hardwax Oil - a great option for decorative trays, bold themed gifts, catch-all trays, and non-food-contact projects.

How to Use This Lightning Bolt Serving Tray Template

1. Choose a flat, stable wood blank that is large enough for the overall template size.
2. Place the clear acrylic template on the wood and adjust the position based on the grain, colour, and layout of the board.
3. Secure the template to the wood using Template Tape.
4. Use a larger pocketing bit to remove the majority of the material from the recessed pocket areas where needed.
5. Use the inside tray profiling bit to complete the pocket shape and create the 1/8" radius inside the routed pockets.
6. Rout in shallow passes for better control, especially around the angled lightning bolt shape and pointed detail areas.
7. Remove the template, sand the routed pockets and surface, then apply a finish based on how the finished tray will be used.

For food-contact or serving-style projects, choose a food-safe option like Walrus Oil Cutting Board Oil. For decorative trays, themed gifts, catch-all trays, and other non-food-contact pieces, Grand Finishing Hardwax Oil is a strong option.

Watch: How to Use Acrylic Router Templates

New to acrylic router templates or looking for a cleaner process? Watch this video for a helpful overview of how we use templates in the shop.

Template Details

• Template Name: Lightning Bolt Serving Tray Template
• Material: Clear acrylic
• Overall Size: 13" long by 7" wide
• Border: 0.5" wide
• Template SKU: 10-031
• Best Used For: Routing recessed pockets for lightning bolt serving trays, bold catch-all trays, small dishes, decorative trays, and handmade gifts
• What’s Included: One clear acrylic router template

Helpful Router Template Guides

Want to learn more about choosing router templates, router bits, and routing techniques? These guides can help you get cleaner, more consistent results with your acrylic woodworking templates.

• Template Guides
• Router Template Guide
• What Router Bit Do I Need?
• Template Routing for Beginners

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this template for cutting out the full lightning bolt shape?

This tray template is intended for routing recessed pockets into a wood blank to create a lightning bolt serving tray or dish-style project. It is not mainly intended for cutting a full board shape all the way through.

What can I make with the Lightning Bolt Serving Tray Template?

This template works well for lightning bolt serving trays, bold catch-all trays, small dishes, decorative trays, themed gifts, modern decor pieces, and small-batch woodworking products.

How do I attach the acrylic template to the wood?

We recommend using Template Tape. It secures the acrylic template to the wood without needing screws, helping keep your project blank clean.

What router bit should I use for the recessed lightning bolt tray pockets?

Use a larger pocketing bit to remove most of the material where needed, then use the recommended tray profiling bit for the inside tray profile. The inside tray profiling bit leaves a 1/8" radius in the routed pockets.

Can I reuse this clear acrylic woodworking router template?

Yes. The clear acrylic template is reusable, making it a good option for repeat lightning bolt tray projects, handmade gifts, craft shows, themed products, and small-batch woodworking.

What wood should I use for a lightning bolt tray project?

Dimensional hardwood is a great choice for tray projects because it gives you a stable, attractive blank to work from. You can also glue up cutting board strips and accent strips if you want a multi-species tray with more colour and contrast.

What finish should I use on the finished tray?

If the tray may be used for food-contact or serving-style use, choose a food-safe option like Walrus Oil Cutting Board Oil. For decorative trays, themed gifts, catch-all trays, and non-food-contact projects, Grand Finishing Hardwax Oil is a great option.

The Lightning Bolt Serving Tray Template is a reusable clear acrylic woodworking router template for turning hardwood blanks into bold, graphic tray projects. Pair it with template tape, the proper pocketing and tray profiling bits, quality dimensional wood, and the right finish to create a polished tray for gifts, decor, markets, or small-batch woodworking products.