A few candle holders

[MyKidsDad]

I took some time off work this week for the holidays and the turning bug bit me. Turned a few oil candle holders and a holder for a tea light.

From left to right: black mesquite (from Argentina according to Woodcraft's website), olivewood (picked up for a song during the local Woodcraft's 12 days of Christmas sale

), a quilted maple/walnut sandwich with a bois de rose collar, and another olivewood. The olivewood tealight holder was supposed to be the twin of the olivewood oil candle holder (I oriented the grain opposite on purpose) but I dropped it and broke the neck where it was thin so reshaped into a tea light holder.

These are my first foray into something other than spindles. Any comments and critiques welcome.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Drstrangefart]

Nice work! Odd thing is I'm my kids dad, too.....

 

[Drcal]

GREAT JOB!!!!

Funny, but I turned some tea lights a few days ago. I am not very good at it but like you, I wanted to expand beyond pens and bottle stoppers.

I always run into trouble finishing the bottoms.

Today I turned a confetti light and it went well but it was end grain so I started with spindle turning. spindle is so easy....

I love the tea lights. One thing I like is that , other than the wood, there is no other "parts" investment except for a tea light which I get for about 10 cents at the Dollar Store.

Thanks for sharing. If you have any tips, pass them on.
Carmen

 

[MrPukaShell]

GREAT JOB!!!!

Funny, but I turned some tea lights a few days ago. I am not very good at it but like you, I wanted to expand beyond pens and bottle stoppers.

I always run into trouble finishing the bottoms.

Today I turned a confetti light and it went well but it was end grain so I started with spindle turning. spindle is so easy....

I love the tea lights. One thing I like is that , other than the wood, there is no other "parts" investment except for a tea light which I get for about 10 cents at the Dollar Store.

Thanks for sharing. If you have any tips, pass them on.
Carmen

Carmen,

How are you holding your Confetti Lights when doing the bottom? I usually hold them with a chuck with pin jaws. Bring up the tail stock to hold everything tightly and then take it away for the last little bit.

 

[ctubbs]

Eric, great job on the lamps. The Black mesquite looks like it is still moving. I have looked at it and looked but it still moves while I stare. They are all beautiful. The timber and work is excellent. congratulations and thanks for sharing.
Charles

 

[monophoto]

Very nice work!

I've made a number of tea lights - fun to make, and popular as gifts. I use a simple finish - several coats of tung oil, followed by an application of wax. That lets the wood speak for itself.

I've taken two approaches with the bottoms. Initially, I used a screwchuck to hold the workpiece. I drilled a shallow recess with a forstner bit before drilling the pilot hole for the screw chuck. The recess meant that the distortion in the bottom didn't cause a 'bump' that distorted flatness of the the bottom.

More recently, I've been using a glue chuck with some kraft paper in the joint.

But in both instances, I've glued a felt circle to the bottom so that the tea light won't scratch the surface that it is placed on. I've sized the felt circle to be about 1/4" smaller than the diameter of the bottom of the light.

If I had a scroll chuck (I don't - and after reading Ernie Conover's excellent book "The Frugal Woodturner", I may never have one), I would flip the piece over and use the jaws to grip the inside of the candle hole, and then turn a slight recess in the bottom.

 

[Drcal]

To finish the bottom, I use the scroll chuck with just the regular 25mm jaws. I make sure to do all I can before mounting this way so as not to damage the piece because of excessive handling. I am not a great turner and I tend to be heavy handed, so I try to be careful I am very proud of just being able to finish the bottoms. That is something I could never quite do.

I was having trouble with scratches on the top of the light where it rested against the face of the chuck jaws. I cut a piece of cadboard round and sandwiched it between the jaw face and the top of the light and it worked out well.

Here is a photo of the Confetti light I turned yesterday. The wood is Hormigo, which I love to turn. The figure is beautiful and it finishes well. I inlaid a small line of turquoise. Sorry--the photo is not great...just a quick one for this post.


Carmen

 

[wb7whi]

It is indeed nice workmanship but when looking at tea lights or oil lamps I see one major issue. What happens if the candel is lit and gets bumped?

When I make something like this I always tend to make the base larger in diameter than the top. That way it is harder to accidently knock down. Also tends to create some interesting designs.

I am not bashing your work but suggest it is something to think about. I know several woodturners (Russ Fairfield for one) who do not make this kind of turning anymore because of possibile liability issues.

Just a thought

 

[MyKidsDad]

Carmen I really like that wood. The grain is spectacular and I like the turqoise inlay. Is that the hormigo negro that Woodcraft sells? I've seen it there before but never really gave it much thought. Might have to take a look for a piece the next time I'm there.

Wayne, it's not something I took into consideration when I made them but after reading your post I went out and knocked all of them around just to see what would happen. Of the four shown in my post, only the one on the right side is even remotely a concern about being able to knock it over. They are bottom heavy by nature. THe other three just scooted across the table no matter what I did to them. THe right hand one is a little tippier than the rest but it was more like a weeble-wobble than anything. It would have to take a hard, direct hit to go all the way over. I'm not discounting your concern but think about typical candlesticks that hold taper candles. These are definitely not any more of a risk than those.

 

[Drcal]

Thanks.
The Hormigo is from Woodcraft and it is relatively inexpensive compared to some other species. I use it a lot. Try it. I think you will like it.

Wayne, thanks for the tip. I never thought of it tipping over. Mine is pretty heavy but I can see turning something with an even narrower base that could be a problem.

Carmen

 

[sbwertz]

Very nice work!


More recently, I've been using a glue chuck with some kraft paper in the joint.

I used this technique for the first time to turn the sounding board for the gavel. It worked really well. Took me a while to figure out how to get it off the glue chuck when I was done, but a whack with a wide chisel took it right off.

 

[wb7whi]

I agree that the work you displayed looked very stable but I have seen many that were a bit scary so I was interjecting the though for consideration for others who want to build candles. Simply meant to be a design approach not a critique