Our old toilet paper holder was falling apart so I decided to make a new one

Step 1: I Used

So for this I used some scrap 1x6 and 1" dowel, scroll saw, drill press and a couple of forstner bits.

Step 2: Cutting and Sanding

I cut 2 pieces of the 1x6 about 5 1/2" long and used 2 way tape to hold them together. The TP roll I was using is about 4 1/2" diameter so I set my hole centre about 3 1/4" from the back side to allow for those jumbo costco rolls we get sometimes. The hole will be 1 1/8" so i traced a 2" dowel to mark the holder end and traced a roll of tape to give the body a bit of a curve. I cut out the body and gave it a quick sanding on my belt sander to smooth it out. I used a 1 1/8" forstner bit to drill the hole then I pulled the 2 sides apart and used a drum sander to bevel the bottom side of the hole just a little so the dowel will sit better. A quick hand sanding just to ease the edges and it's done.

Step 3: Making The.. Um.. Spindle

Not sure what to call it, but I used a 1" dowel for it. I cut the dowel 6 1/2" long and measured 2 1/4" out from the centre to accept a TP roll that is 4" long and allow a little room. I used a 3/4" forstner bit to hog out most of the slot that sits on the side holes and a chisel to square the edges. I then used my drum sander to round over the sides of the slot a little so the spindle would sit better. Using the holes in the side pieces, I kept sanding the spindle until it sat the way I wanted it. The last pic shows the holder screwed to a piece of scrap to test before I finished it with summer oak stain and a spray coat of polyurethane. LOL, got the thumbs up from the women in the house.