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The first set of centers positions the wood at a significant angle on the lathe. It is actually quite balanced, but as the turning progresses, it becomes less balanced, sometimes requiring the lathe speed to be adjusted. Before changing centers, I sand the work (6, 7).
When positioned on the second set of centers (8, 9), the piece starts out of balance at an even slower speed. As the candlestick approaches completion on the second set of centers, the work becomes more and more balanced, allowing for a much faster speed, which in turn allows cleaner cuts for the final surface before sanding.
I leave a 3/8"-long stem at the bottom, and then undercut the bottom by shear scraping from the center point out to the outer edge, so that the finished work sits flat on the outer edge (10). Later, I carefully saw and pare off the stem in order to leave no evidence of the way the piece was held onto the lathe (11).
EVALUATION OR CRITIQUE
It’s important to have your work evaluated by someone whose opinion you respect. That perspective is invaluable in helping you improve what you make, and can help direct your future work. My best critic is my wife. She is more than willing to give me her honest opinion when I ask for it. Sometimes I don’t like her opinions, but I get over it. In this case, after I had worked out the form to a point where I was pleased with it, I asked her what she thought. She said that she liked it, but then said, “I can’t wait to see how this concept influences your furniture.” I was quite annoyed. I saw this as a successful end point, but within a year, I started thinking about how I could use the concept in the design of a table leg, and went on to make numerous designs that led to my “Walking Tables,” among other things. So I really do have to give her full credit for making that assessment, however irritating it was at the time.
ADDENDUM
The design of this piece is a combination of visual considerations and engineering decisions based on the geometry of the axes. I think that the proportions and contrast of the elements are aesthetically pleasing. There is an intended precariousness to it, but it is still quite functional. On the other hand, I never considered this object with a candle in it. I don’t like the way it looks with a candle in it. It changes everything.
In 1992, a candlestick of this design could not be sold in Canada. I was surprised by that, but found out that the reason is that it did not have a “bobeche,” a piece of nonflammable material like glass or metal separating the burning candle from the flammable wood. If the candle burns down without a bobeche, the wooden candlestick becomes the wick and could devastate the candlestick and maybe the building that it’s in. Please heed my words and always use a bobeche!
Since these candlesticks are supposed to be functional, I needed bobeches. I was disappointed by the appearance of commercially available bobeches, so I hired a jeweler to fabricate my own design out of copper. The candle and the bobeche are incorporated from the beginning into the overall design of subsequent versions of the candlestick, with a much more satisfying result
Mark Sfirri is a woodworker and the coordinator of the woodworking program at Bucks County Community College.
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