Honey locust (thorn) and sassafras candle sticks

The stick on the left was a piece of honey locust (thorn) firewood about ten inches in diameter. Max diameter now is about four and one half inches. Most of what was pared off was pretty well rotted and quite soft. When I started working on this one, I was not too confident that I would find anything inside worthwhile. I got a really pleasant surprise. The colors and spalting really don’t show well in the pics. It is also just full of small to medium worm holes and does have a few cracks. This turned out to be one of my favorite pieces. It is about seven inches tall. It is drilled in the top to use a taper candle or it can be used with a pillar.

The right one is sassafras, I think. I am 99% sure from the smell and checking some wood identification sites. It was given to me as hedge or osage orange. I knew it did not feel quite heavy enough but… As soon I started I knew it could not be hedge. The color was not bright enough and the smell was the real give away. The grain is really pretty even though it is not wild. It cuts very good and takes finish good. It is nine inches tall and can be used with a pillar or taper candle.

I turned these as spindles on my HF lathe. I sanded them to 220, steel wool, and burnished with shavings. I then used a forstner bit in the drill press to remove the nubs on the end and drilled the top so it can be used with a taper candle. They were sprayed with minwax lacquer. Bottoms are felted.

-- Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose, Refurbish.... Yeah, I run one of the local No Kill Wood Shelters. Thanks, Jim Root, Bolivar MO