Back in February 2020 I was looking for a small fast project to make with my son. Some of my projects are kind of big and he loses interest, so I was looking for something small. I came up with the idea for a candle holder made from three pieces of wood laminated together.
I wanted the middle layer to be dark and show through a heart cutout on each of the outer layers. I also wanted the middle layer to protrude from the ends by maybe a 1/4″ to add some visual interest at the edges.
I had two pieces of cypress and a scrap of something that I think came off a pallet. It was much harder and more dense than the cypress but was not anything I could identify. First we cut them all to length. My son’s first time at the bandsaw using a miter guide.
For the color we used a bernzomatic propane torch to make it dark and brushed off the loose stuff. We repeated this a few times until the texture of the wood started to emerge.
I made a heart template by folding a piece of paper in half and cutting it, the same way you’d make a valentines card. Then traced the template onto the cypress pieces and cut the shape on the bandsaw.
The cypress was hand planed (offcuts from a previous project) so no sanding needed.
We glued the three pieces together and put it in a couple of clamps. When the glue set up, I used a forstner bit to drill three spots for some tea lights. Then we sprayed it with a few coats spray shellac. Normally I’d use pure Tung oil, but I did not want the oil near the candles.
Simple and pretty quick to build, but I enjoy the look of it.