Candlesticks

This pair of candlesticks is made from 4/4 quartersawn red oak and was made to match an altar and other associated pieces for a new building at my church.  It is a copy of a design that was no longer being manufactured.  I had one photo and the height dimension of five inches to work from, and I decided upon my own dimensions and techniques for construction based upon the image and five inch height requirement.

I started with 4/4 stock and made two sets of tops and bases, which are simple squares with rounded edges produced by a router with a roundover bit.  Next, I cut two long strips of the oak to the width I had decided upon for the columns.  I then used the jointer to produce 45 degree edges on the two sides.  A dado setup cut the groove down the middle of each strip.  Once the strips had the groove and mitered edges, I cut them to length using a crosscut sled on the tablesaw.  I then joined four pieces along the mitered edges for each of the two columns using yellow glue. I drilled standard 7/8ths inch holes into the tops before joining them and the bases to the newly-formed columns.  A decorative brass ring insert went into the top of each candlestick. 

Finishing consisted of a blend of two oil-based stains so that they would match the work done by another woodworker on other pieces constructed for the new building.  Two coats of gloss poly and a final coat of satin provided the top coat.

Tools used on this project:

Drill press with 7/8" forstner bit

Benchtop planer

Jointer

Belt/disc sander station

Router with roundover bit

Random Orbital Sander

Tablesaw

Dado blade set