LIGHT THE NIGHT

Make a metalwork tea light candle holder.

What you will need

Materials for the candleholders:

• 1/4-inch Aluminium rod - For this project we used about 3m

• Piece of timber for the base,

• Tealights, long burning

Materials for the candlemaker bending jig:

• Piece of wood about 300mm long

• Piece of wood 75mm x 25mm for the discs.

• Four 3/8-inch bolts 75mm long

• One 1/4-inch bolt 75mm long

Tools required for making the jig:

Hand saw or mitre saw

• 3-inch hole saw

• 1-inch hole saw

• 3/8" drill bit

• 1/4" drill

• 1-inch spade bit

• Multi grips or pliers

Most people use tea lights in various ways, mainly they are placed inside glass cups or another small decorative vase. This project was designed to use tea lights in a way similar to larger candle holders.

The main idea was to create a candle holder that was simple to shape and could be made out of one piece of material with no welding, soldering or gluing required. While at the same time being highly functional and looking athletically pleasing and artistic.

So, I set about designing a jig that will enable anyone to create all manner of tealight candle holders by simply using lengths of quarter-inch aluminium rod.

These tea light candle holders are simple to make once you have made the bending jig. The design can be any combination or pattern you choose as the bending tool allows any type of bend to be made, just let your creative juices run riot.

Step-by-step guide

Step 1: Making the candle holder bending jig