Six-Candle Centerpiece

You can build this candle stand in just a few hours using pieces from the scrap bin and a few simple table saw techniques.

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Making a candle stand is a great way to use small, prized pieces of figured or exotic wood. The one shown in the photo above is a good example. It gave me the opportunity to combine a nice piece of maple I’d been saving with some shorter cutoffs of cocobolo. And small projects like this also offer a great chance to showcase your joinery and finishing skills. It will get a lot of scrutiny because it invites close inspection, so it requires a lot of attention to detail.

Don’t get me wrong, making this centerpiece doesn’t involve complicated joinery or construction techniques. But it’s the kind of project where even the smallest details – like sanding the end grain of the feet until it’s almost polished – are very noticeable. And spending a little extra time sanding the finish between coats to get a perfectly smooth surface will also make a big difference. The result will be a welcome addition to any home.

MAKING THE FEET

One of the notable things about this project is its simplicity. It’s just a base drilled to accept six glass candle holders with four contrasting hardwood feet.

As you can see in the drawings at right, the feet have a 1 1 ⁄ 2 -inch wide dado, so you’ll need to cut it in two passes at the table saw (details C and D). Later, you can plane the blank for the base to fit the dadoes.

CUT THE DADOES.

To make the dado cuts in the feet, I started with a couple of long blanks. This way, you’ll have plenty to hold on to when using the miter gauge to guide the workpiece.