This is the second one of these candle holders I’ve made, and since it’s been a couple years since I made the first one, I had a hard time remembering how I did it. This time I took a lot of pictures and took notes, so I’ll have some help when I do the next one. I didn’t show every step here, but I think I show enough to give the general idea of the process. The most difficult and tedious part for this piece is the soldering, especially soldering together the three main pieces, which are a real challenge to hold together in the right position, and keep the seems from opening up when heat is applied.
The first picture shows the five pieces of flat brass ready to be worked on. The next two show the first steps of forming the drip catcher, which had to be done in three stages, annealed between each, to avoid tearing the metal.
The next two pictures show the candle receptacle being made. this actually took several steps, starting with a large ball and a large hole in the wood piece, and gradually going smaller and smaller.
The next three pictures show the forming of the tube part, first by punching the brass down into a long groove to get it started, then by hammering on a flat stake, going over it several times until the tube shape is completely closed. Then, soldering the seam.
The next steps are shaping the extremities on a special wood block, this is done to both ends to get them ready to join together. First two parts are soldered together, just enough to hold them. This is done on both ends. Then the third piece is added and soldered in place, just enough to hold it all together firmly. The third picture shows the setup for doing the twist.
Next, the final shaping of the two ends, which must be done before final soldering. The fourth picture is a view that I thought was so beautiful I had to share it. It’s a shame that it gets completely covered up, so I’ve already started a new project that features this same element, only it will be visible. Stay tuned. The fifth picture shows the clamping setup for soldering the top assembly to the base assembly.
Now, the finished piece. It’s 13″ tall.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Helen Hill 06.19.09 at 5:36 am
That’s a beautiful candle holder!
Hans Meevis 06.20.09 at 12:27 pm
Agreed with Helen. Totally beautiful!
jason 06.20.09 at 3:06 pm
Awesome as always.
I can’t see the solder in your seams, are you using a brass solder or silver solder?
shelbyvision 06.20.09 at 3:46 pm
Thank you, Helen, Hans, Jason.
You’re not supposed to see any solder. I use yellow colored silver solder, but it looks silver against the brass. If any shows, I remove it, usually with a high-speed rotary rubber polishing wheel.
jasondeck 06.22.09 at 11:40 pm
Hey, yellow silver solder! Brilliant, You learn something new every day, thanks!