Holiday Presents: wine bottle balancers, candle holders, menorah

This being my first holiday season as a somewhat established woodworker, its fitting that i mass produced a set of gifts for friends and family. The wine bottle balancers (14) and candle holders (23) are based on popular designs i saw in others’ projects. The menorah (just 1 for my folks) is just an extension of the candle holders, of course. A set of heart-shaped ornaments (12) made of the same 5-ply stock will follow, with pics i hope.

Details: wood is cherry, oak (either a light red or dark white), and mahogany (reclaimed!). I used the quarter-sawn faces of the oak and mahogany for the wine balancers and menorah. Much of the cherry is also the quarter-sawn face, although that wasnt intentional. Finish is 3 coats Minwax Antique oil (wiping oil-varnish blend), followed by rubbing in paste wax with 0000 steel wool. I rushed the wax coating on after only 2 days of drying the last finish coat, which made some of the finish look odd in spots – hardly noticable, but nothing to be proud of.

This was my first time using each of these woods. Notes: I like the look and feel of the cherry more than i expected to. It’s almost buttery – almost like walnut, but with less fragrance. The oak is much nicer than the red oak i used previously, especially quarter sawn, and especially on the end-grain parts. I like how its reminiscent of bamboo. I did NOT like working the mahogany. Even that sparkly quarter sawn face to me felt very lifeless. Also, it didnt machine well – it was slightly furry feeling even at its best.

In terms of tools, this project required the purchase of a set of forstner bits (the Grizzly H6334) which worked out quite nicely, and drill press (those 2” bits have a lot of throw!). That worked out well for me, wouldnt you say? ;-)