# Cocobolo candle holder



## thekctermite (Dec 23, 2007)

I turned this tonight for a friend's wedding gift. It is about 6" diameter and holds a 2" candle. I sanded it to 1200 grit and used friction polish to make it shine. 

As a newbie woodturner I must say that using the bowl gouge is humbling. Had a lot of catches/gouges when doing this one...Still working on my technique. If I were smart I wouldn't try to learn on $34 blocks of cocobolo, but it worked out. I roughed out the shape with the bowl gouge and used my skew chisel like a scraper to get the final shape. Harsh language was used to cope with the gouges. :laughing:

Critiques welcome! (I think it would look better with shorter candles)


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## slatron25 (Dec 18, 2007)

Looking good. If you're like me you always seem to get a catch when the piece is just about where you want it to be. As far as the candle you might look at tealight candles, they even have LED one's that flicker.


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## thekctermite (Dec 23, 2007)

A quick pass through the scrollsaw and the candle got shorter and looks a lot better. It is now just above flush with the top.

I was initially going to use tealight candles but the store didn't have them. Time was of the essence, so I got a larger type of candles. 

My wife saw it after she got home from work tonight and doesn't want to give it away! Looks like I'll be making one of these for her soon.


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## thekctermite (Dec 23, 2007)

This looks better, to me at least.


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## JMIC (Oct 31, 2006)

Nice. Hopefully the wood will not start to burn once the flame gets lower than the top. :blink:


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Termite,
It's hard to go wrong with cocobolo. One of my favorite woods to turn. What were you doing that you were getting catches with your bowl gouge? If you are presenting it at the proper angles to the wood, it should be a fun tool to use. Also, you shouldn't need the felt on the bottom, wood doesn't scratch. When you turn the bottom, make it slightly concave almost out to the outer edge. Doesn't have to be much. This way the piece will sit on the outer edge only and not rock.
Mike Hawkins


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I have turned a few pieces out of cocobolo and it is fantastic wood to turn. I love the colour of the wood and the grain contrasts. Fantastic job on the candle holder, your friends will *love* it.
p.s. I hope you wore a dust mask while sanding. Cocobolo is nasty stuff on the lungs. Shall we say........toxic.
Ken


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## thekctermite (Dec 23, 2007)

firehawkmph said:


> What were you doing that you were getting catches with your bowl gouge? If you are presenting it at the proper angles to the wood, it should be a fun tool to use.


Mike, I haven't got any idea what I'm doing wrong with the bowl gouge, but I assure you I'm certainly not having fun with it. When using it I get the same look on my face that my dog gets after he gets in the trash can...He knows something bad is coming he's just not sure when! That makes using it less than rewarding. Unfortunately the learning curve is pretty flat for me on this and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Going to keep watching videos but I think what I need is to spend some time with an experienced, talented turner....Finding somebody is the next challenge. I'm going to try going to a local turning club's meeting to maybe pick up some fundamentals. I'd take a class but money's tight right now!

I know the felt wasn't necessary but honestly I thought it added a nice base. The bottom was nice and smooth and flat and would've worked fine without it like you said.


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## thekctermite (Dec 23, 2007)

Oh, and to add to my frustrations...

I noticed today that the candle holder's cocobolo blank apparently had a higher-than-ideal moisture content to it, and has started to crack. Nothing huge, but enough to hack me off.


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## slatron25 (Dec 18, 2007)

What grind is on that bowl gouge?


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## kalebhjones (Jan 13, 2009)

I really love the candle holders.. Would the wood start burning though if ran down?

Kaleb


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## RetiredLE (Jan 20, 2011)

I use tee lites in my turnings. The metal container helps to minimize the chance of scorching the wood.


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