Walnut and Maple Ring Holder

I finished this project about 2-weeks ago, but just returned from vacation yesterday. This project was made for a family member that put a lot of time and effort into planning this family vacation, so I wanted to do something for her as a thank you and this is what I made.

I chose to make this because it was small enough to travel well, plus I was hoping it was something that would be useful on the trip and hopefully something she would use frequently upon returning home.

The base of the ring holder was made from 4/4 walnut, while the dowel is a piece of 3/8” maple. The base is about 2.5” square and the dowel rises about 2” above the base. I cut the walnut so that the dowel would fall on the sapwood line.

I ripped and crosscut the base on the TS and used a 32TPI flushcut saw to cut the dowel. I do not yet have a drillpress, so I had to step the bits up to reach the desired hole diameter, one bit at a time, starting at 1/8”. Of course, on the last drill bit change, I got a bit of tearout… go figure.

I hand-sanded the base surfaces and edges/corners from 80-100-150-220-320. I then used mineral spirits to clean it off. I glued in the dowel using Titebond III and clamped it for about 2-hours.

For the finish, I put on 4-coats of spray on semi-gloss lacquer. I chose this finish for its relative durability, and also because I needed something that would dry quickly. I did have a little bit of an issue with adhesion on the one side of the base. I offered to take it back home with me and fix it, but she said not to worry about it and that it was fine. Not sure if it was because it was the end grain, or what the problem was?

She was surprised when I gave it to her at dinner the first night of the trip. I think she put it on the nightstand and used it every night of the trip. She has an assortment of jewelry, so I think this is something she can get a lot of good use out of and hopefully it’ll be a nice reminder of the wonderfully enjoyable family trip that we all spent together.

Thank you to those of you that offered solutions to my finishing questions for this project!

I took these photos while sitting on the airplane with my phone, so the quality isn’t the best.

-- Jonathan, Denver, CO "Constructive criticism is welcome and valued as it gives me new perspectives and helps me to advance as a woodworker."