Hello again everyone! Today I'm gonna show you how to build some of these cool tea light candle holders made from dead tree branches. The idea first came to me when I was working in my kitchen and heard a loud thump in my backyard. When I went to go check it out I saw that a large tree branch had fallen off my tree. At first I was thinking "Woohoo more free firewood!" But then I thought to myself "You know, maybe there's something I can do with this other than burning it..." So I took it into my garage/workshop and after a little brainstorming I thought of a cool way to turn it into a set of candle holders! They came out great and below are the steps I used to make them. Hope you enjoy!
Supplies you'll need are as follows...
Supplies/Tools Needed
Drill Press
Reciprocating Blade Saw - Equipped with a wood cutting blade of your choice.
Band Saw (optional but recommended)
Band Saw Fence (optional but recommended) <--- Available online at Woodcraft.com
Rubber Mallet
Spray Shellac
Scissors
Felt
Pen
Gorilla Glue
Candle
Forstner Bit (1-1/2) <--- Also available online at Woodcraft.com
Dead Tree Branch (must be large enough to be able to fit tea light inside of without cracking).
READ ALL DIRECTIONS BEFORE STARTING EACH STEP
Step One
Gather all your materials!.. Although not all materials needed are shown in this picture you can reference the above list for a complete layout of what you'll need.
Step Two
Cut your dead tree branch into manageable sized pieces! Now there's two ways you can do this. You can use your reciprocating blade saw to cut 3 inch segments for your candle(s), which can be difficult to get an even piece if your branch isn't straight like the one depicted here. OR you can cut the branch into a smaller more manageable piece and use your band saw to cut 3 inch segments which in my opinion is more efficient and easier to get a candle that isn't crooked.
Step Three (only applies if you choose to use the band saw for your candle segments)
Set your band saw fence about 3 inches back from blade and set one end of your dead tree branch flat against your band saw fence. Turn your band saw on and SLOWLY slide your dead tree branch through the blade making sure to keep the end firmly and evenly against your band saw fence the whole way through and DO NOT rotate the tree branch. <--- I can't stress this last sentence enough! If you turn the branch or you move it around too much you run the risk of bending your blade and, if your band saw is like mine, it'll catch the top band saw wheel door, come off track mid cut, blow up your branch, start sparking, and scare the crap out of you... As well as completely ruin your blade, and possibly your underwear too. So once again, PAY ATTENTION and do not move or rotate your branch as you slide it through your blade.
Step Four
If you're reading this that means you survived step three (or you just went with the reciprocating blade saw instead of the bands saw). Anyways this step is easy. All you have to do is secure your 1-1/2 inch forstner bit into the chuck of your drill press!
Step Five
Secure your tree branch segment to a stable base! Now as you can see I made my own base here. I just took some plywood and a piece of MDF I had laying around and hammered three nails through it (to hold the candle steady) then I screwed and glued it to another piece of MDF. That way the nails won't just come out the back end when I hammer the tree branch segment down on them in the next step.
Step Six
Take your rubber mallet and pound down on your tree branch segment until it's completely flat on your base and the nails are buried into your tree branch segment enough for it to be snug and secure. That way it won't move around when your drilling it out.
Note: This is simply one way I came up with to keep my tree branch from moving around as I drill it out. There's definitely other ways out there so you're free to use whichever way you prefer. I just wouldn't recommend trying to hold it by hand while you drill it out because it's a safety risk and forstner bits are very sharp. I would highly advise you to either make or find some sort of apparatus to seat and hold your tree branch segment while you drill. And if you have any cool ideas please feel free to share them with the rest of us via the comment tab below or on social media :)!
Step Seven
Start drilling! Drill down until the top of the round part on your forstner bit is just barely visible. This is "approximately" the height of a standard tea light candle. Once you've drilled enough clean up and throw away all the messy crap and shavings left behind because it's a fire hazard. Safety first!
Note: If your tree branch segment blows up don't worry, it just happens sometimes. Doesn't necessarily mean you did anything wrong, some branches are just more brittle than others. One thing that can somewhat help to avoid this is to go slower on your drilling passes. Take your time, you can't rush quality!
Step Eight
Now that you have your candle segment drilled out and cleaned up let's spray two coats of shellac! BUT FIRST make sure you don all the proper safety attire. Shellac as well as most other finishing chemicals isn't good for your skin, your eyes, or your lungs so make sure you wear gloves (rubber or latex), eye protection, and some sort of mask/respirator before you begin spraying. It also wouldn't hurt to work in a well ventilated area either... Completely coat your candle and let sit for at least two hours between coats.
Step Nine
As you can see I spared no expense keeping my face, eyes, and lungs safe. But you definitely don't need to go to Home Depot and drop $150 on an OSHA approved respirator like I did, some simple goggles and a face-mask should do just fine.
Step Ten
Your candle is now prepped for the final steps! In addition to helping preserve the candle, Shellac also helps bring out it's colors more. You'll definitely notice a difference from before and after.
Take your candle and a pen and trace out the bottom of your candle onto some felt (you can buy felt in pretty much whatever color you want online at Michaels. Once you've done that, cut out the pattern but don't be afraid to cut out a little bit inside the outline you made. Otherwise your felt will be bigger than the base of the candle and it'll stick out the bottom.
Step Twelve
Apply glue generously to the bottom of your candle and then place your cutout felt over it and apply pressure, this will cover up the nail holes and keep your candle from scratching your surfaces. I used Gorilla Glue just because that's all I had lying around however you can use whatever glue you prefer. I'd just make sure to use something that'll actually last. In other words no glue-sticks...
Step Thirteen
Now that you've got your felt glued to the bottom of your candles all that's left to do is to sit back, open a beer (if you drink), and enjoy the fruits of your labor!
SAFETY NOTE: Take all precautions to reduce fire hazards!
- Make sure you don't skip Step 8. Apply those two coats of shellac!
- Only use candles with the small aluminum casting to prevent the wax to wood contact!
- Never leave the area unattended while the candle is lit!
- Always keep other flammables away from candles while lit!
Hope you enjoyed my "How To" on tree branch tea light candle holders! Feel free to share this link with any of your other friends you think may be interested! Also don't forget to like, share, and follow me on social media! And don't be afraid to share what you made either! I like to see what kind of cool stuff other people come up with! And if you have any questions, concerns, or remarks you're more than welcome to leave a comment in the comment tab or my email if you want to do so more personally!
Follow me on Facebook to stay up to date with all my latest news and projects @
And don't forget to check out my Pinterest page too @
Plenty more cool stuff to come so stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment