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A handmade tea light holder, crafted from a log.
I shaped a log from our firewood pile into a slab, and drilled holes for the tea lights. Its pretty simple really- but the most important part is picking an attractive piece of wood, and paying attention to nice finishing.
You need:
a log
a shaping tool. (bandsaw, hand saw, chainsaw, hatchet, plane, belt sander, mill, your teeth etc..)
a large forstner bit (either 1 1/2" or 1 5/8" - I'll explain the importance later)
drill
Optional:
bike
Disclaimer- use common sense or succumb to evolution.
I shaped a log from our firewood pile into a slab, and drilled holes for the tea lights. Its pretty simple really- but the most important part is picking an attractive piece of wood, and paying attention to nice finishing.
You need:
a log
a shaping tool. (bandsaw, hand saw, chainsaw, hatchet, plane, belt sander, mill, your teeth etc..)
a large forstner bit (either 1 1/2" or 1 5/8" - I'll explain the importance later)
drill
Optional:
bike
Disclaimer- use common sense or succumb to evolution.
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Ok, so for the wood, you have a couple of different options, but in general you want a hard wood (i.e. not pine 2x4) with nice grain, points of interest, like a knot, or a rough edge with some bark.
It can be any shape or size you like, as long as it is wide and deep enough to fit a tea light with a little extra on either side, as for length, it could be long enough for 1 to 100 candles.. but I think odd numbers of candles looks best.
I made two, one from option 1, and one from option 3
1) Firewood from your woodpile. Make sure it isn't rotten, nor does it have woodworm or other defects unless you think they may look good.
2) Go to a lumber yard or equivalent and tell them what your trying to make, they can probably give you a scrap for very little or free.
3) I met a tree surgeon who was working on a street near my house. I asked him for a fresh log, that was in the back of his truck. I had to call him a number of times as he was an old guy who seemed to be hard of hearing- don't give up! He gave me a maple log for 2 bucks.
- This is where the bike comes in, I was riding home when I met him, so I carried the log home bungee corded to my bike. Be careful, as its impossible to steer, and you become a very nice projectile.
It can be any shape or size you like, as long as it is wide and deep enough to fit a tea light with a little extra on either side, as for length, it could be long enough for 1 to 100 candles.. but I think odd numbers of candles looks best.
I made two, one from option 1, and one from option 3
1) Firewood from your woodpile. Make sure it isn't rotten, nor does it have woodworm or other defects unless you think they may look good.
2) Go to a lumber yard or equivalent and tell them what your trying to make, they can probably give you a scrap for very little or free.
3) I met a tree surgeon who was working on a street near my house. I asked him for a fresh log, that was in the back of his truck. I had to call him a number of times as he was an old guy who seemed to be hard of hearing- don't give up! He gave me a maple log for 2 bucks.
- This is where the bike comes in, I was riding home when I met him, so I carried the log home bungee corded to my bike. Be careful, as its impossible to steer, and you become a very nice projectile.
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Awesome instructabe man.
ROCK ON!
Any enquiries should be welcome.
Our office website:http://www.neo2000.co.kr
I had a brass-rimmed, wooden candleholder that I used as a nightlight at a historical event onceuponatime. A friend of mine was crashed for the night, and I went out to the campfire outside, and forgot about the candle.
Came back hours later to discover the candleholder was now completely turned to charcoal. Had it been sitting on something flammable (like a wooden table), who knows? I *never* thought that the candle, retained by the metal insert, would catch a fire like that. Could have killed my friend with my stupidity... < shudder >
So, ever since, I've scrupulously avoided candle holders made of wood. The fact that the tealights are retained by thin metal obviously doesn't matter to me.
Preaching over with. Please be careful.
I never would have believed it would have happened, but it did.
NO WOODEN CANDLEHOLDERS FOR ME. No exceptions.