Christmas is a mixed bag for a woodworker, it’s a great time to be in the workshop making gifts, but what do you make for people?
My friend loves incense, so an incense holder seemed the ideal thing to make, but I wanted something a bit more special than normal, so I set off to the wood store to find some inspiration. I came across an offcut of Scottish oak with a waney edge that was perfect:
Being rough sawn it needed to be hand planed on all faces (except the waney edge) to clean it up. This took a bit longer than expected due to the amount of material that needed removing to allow it to sit flat. I then cut the ends to length with a handsaw and ended up with this:
Next I actually needed to turn it from a piece of timber into an incense holder. To do this I used my eggbeater drill to drill a hole at a steep angle. This was to allow an incense stick to be held securely and stand almost flat without touching the surface. I used an adjustable auger bit in my brace to drill three shallow 40mm holes at the other end of the piece to allow three tealights to sit securely:
After tidying up the holes it was time to finish the piece. I had to be careful with my choice of finish because there would potentially be heat buildup on the piece. I chose to use Osmo Polyx oil as it resists heat (I’m not sponsored by them or anyone else, just a fan of a good product). They also sell a finish specifically designed to enhance the colour of oak, which was perfect for this job:
And here is the finished piece:
I really liked working on this and was very happy with the way it turned out. I’m not sure the postman was quite so happy to be delivering a large and heavy chunk of timber though!
If you want any decorations, display pieces or accoutrements then please get in touch and I’d love to help.
