Live Edge Maple Burl Tea Light Candle Holder

My local hardwood dealer sells maple burl off-cuts by the pound. They often take burl pieces and make them into turning blanks (for use on a wood lathe), which is why you will see in the picture that most of them have circular pattern cut into them. I often browse their selection and try to think of interesting ways of using the wood, and this is where I came up with the idea for this candle holder.

For those that don't know a burl is a growth/deformation on a tree. The grain grows in different directions than normal and makes the grain really interesting to look at. I have included a picture of a burl on a live tree so you can see what it looks like.

Supplies

Here is a list of the supplies and tools I used. It is either a link to the exact tool/supply or something very similar.

- Maple Burl (or any piece of wood that you think would make a good base for your candle holder)

- Bandsaw (or some other way of cutting the wood into the shape you want)

- Some way of making the wood smooth. Below are a few options

- Thickness Planer

- Sandpaper

- Random Orbit Sander

- Sanding Discs

- hand plane

- Center Punch

- Drill (preferably a drill press, but a hand drill can be used)

- Forstner drill bits

- Wood finish (I used Watco Teak Oil, but there are many great wood finishes available)

- Rubber feet

- Tea Light candles

Note: The links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Step 1: Preparing the Piece

As I noted earlier, often times the burl pieces have a circular pattern cut in them. I didn't think the circular pattern worked with my design, so I choose to cut the extra bits off.

First I marked a line with a straight edge. Then cut along the line with my bandsaw. You could use a jigsaw, a hand saw or something else to make this cut, but I find the bandsaw to be the easiest.

Step 2: Flattening and Smoothing the Flat Sides

Most often the burl pieces are very rough when you purchase them. You will want to flatten and smooth this out. There are a few different methods:

You can use a thickness planer (provided the wood is large enough, check your planer's instructions for the correct length for you) This is a very quick method and will get very nice results.

You can use a hand plane. It is a bit more manual effort, but with a sharp hand plane you can get very nice results as well.

If you don't have either of those, you can sand the roughness away. I use a random orbital sander, but you could just as easily use a belt sander or even just sandpaper.

Any way you choose, you will likely still need to sand the other edges of the piece. I like to start with 80 grit and move up the grits to 120, 180 and 220. Before finish sanding, I usually spray the piece down with water to raise the grain. I then let it dry and sand again with 220 grit for a perfectly smooth finish.

Step 3: Marking the Spots for the Candles

As each piece will be different, it is important to pick the right amount of candles. In this example I choose to have three so that it doesn't feel overcrowded.

I wanted them to be evenly spaced out, so I measured the total length of the piece (9 1/4") and divided it by 4 (the number of candles, plus 1). This gave me a measurement of 2 5/16". I then placed three marks on the piece 2 5/16" apart.

I used a center punch to mark the holes so that it will be easier to line up the drill bit in the next step.

Step 4: Drill the Holes

I first set the depth stop on my drill press to ensure that I did not drill too much material out, and to make a consistent depth for all the candles. I put the wood on the drill press and held up a candle beside the piece to determine the correct depth to drill.

I then drilled all three holes using a 1 1/2" forstner drill bit.

Step 5: Add Finish

My favourite part of every project is adding finish! In this case I used Watco Teak Oil as I find it really brings out the grain and it is a simple wipe on finish. There are many different types of finishes, so find one that works best for you and use it.

For the finish I used, you just wipe on the finish, wait 10-15 minutes and then wipe off any excess. I use a blue shop towel, but an old t-shirt works just as well.

Then wait a few hours (or overnight if you wish) and repeat.

Step 6: Add Feet

I added rubber feet to the bottom of the candle holder. I felt like this really made the piece looked finished, but it isn't a necessary step. Often these feet are sold as "cutting board feet" on amazon.

Pre-drill the holes using a 1/8" drill bit and screw in the feet.

Quick tip: By adding a strip of masking tape on the drill bit at the same height as the screws, you can make sure that you don't drill deeper than needed.