This piece stood as quite the challenge, because I had to make two separate pieces, the cover and dish, fit together snug enough that the cover wouldn't move from being scratched on, but also loose enough that it could be removed. I first made the dish piece by edge gluing two 5.5x14x0.375 inch boards to make an 11x14 inch base plate. 
I then glued two layers of boards on top to make a wooden drawer track for the cover to slide in and out of. After this, I started work on the cover, which I made primarily out of Aspen. I edge glued two boards to make a 6x5.5inch cover, then glued Pine on the bottom half of the cover to make slides that would go into the drawer track made earlier.
I cleaned up the edges using a palm-router, and sanded down the top to adhere the sandpaper. Using spray adhesive, I applied the sandpaper to the top of the whole piece. I then used a utility blade to cut around the edges of the cover so it can be moved. Finally, the piece was finished using food and dog safe Tung Oil for the inside and weather resistant clear stain for the outside.
Original Design Files
