To build it, you’ll need a piece of 1/4″-thick stock that’s at least 20″ long. Choose something from your scrap bin with an attractive and bold grain pattern for best effect — the holder’s accordion- folded miter joints will accentuate the continuous grain. Rip the stock to 3-1/2″-wide, and nip 5/8″ off the corners of one end at 45° to form a starting point for routing. Sand the workpiece smooth.

Making the Routing Jig

Notice in the Drawings and photos that the routing jig mounts to your router table’s miter gauge, for feeding the taco holder workpiece through each routing pass. Cut the jig’s base, fence and miter gauge attachment to size from scrap material; 1/2″ MDF makes an excellent choice for the base. Mark one long edge of the base 2-1/2″ from its end: this reference mark serves as an alignment aid to center the tip of a 90°V-groove bit (item 90880 at rockler.com) you’ll need for routing the joints.

To assemble the jig, install the V-groove bit in your router table and raise it until the tip is flush to the table’s surface. Butt the unmarked long edge of the base against your miter gauge and adjust the base so the reference mark aligns with the bit’s tip. Now carefully set and lock your router table fence squarely against the end of the jig base. Fasten the jig’s miter gauge attachment to your miter gauge’s fence with screws, and glue its bottom edge to the top face of the jig base. Then glue the jig’s fence to the base, flush against the miter gauge attachment.

When the glue dries, make a reference mark on the end of the jig fence (adjacent to the router table fence), 3/4″ back from its front edge. Draw a vertical mark on the router table fence as well to indicate where the bit’s tip is during the routing process.

The last step to prep the jig for use is to rout a slot across the jig’s base and into its fence (see Drawings). Stop cutting when the two fence marks line up. Make this slot in several passes, raising the bit a little on each pass until the bit’s tip is precisely 1/4″ above the base.

Routing the Miters

It takes seven routing passes to form the six “V” segments and two ends of this holder. The cuts must also alternate from top face to bottom face in order to create the accordion folds.

You’ll need to insert a 1″-wide spacer to offset the endmost cuts for the 1-1/2″-wide dogeared pieces, but the intermediate five miter cuts don’t require the spacer — they form the 2-1/2″-wide “V” segments. Test your setup on scrap first, to be sure the jig and bit are dialed in accurately.

Once you’ve routed the holder segments, trim the corners off the second end, and glue the pieces together. Then topcoat the project with satin poly for a durable, food-safe finish. It’s taco time!

Click Here to Download the Drawings and Materials List.

The post PROJECT: Continuous Grain Taco Holder appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

This barrel stave candle holder is a simple-to-build and fun-to-use project that also makes a wonderful gift. The staves are available from Rockler. There are just a few things to consider first before getting this project underway, so keep the following suggestions in mind.

Spacing the Candles

While the arc of the barrel stave is locked in, what you can choose is where you locate the candles. Our version spaces multiple candles evenly along the arc of the stave. Another option would be to start with a candle at the center of the stave, then expand the distance between subsequent candles. Or you could position pairs of candles across the stave — those options can be the key to customizing this project however it looks best to you.

Details for Boring

One important thing to keep in mind is that the bore for the candles must be oriented to the horizon, not the curve of the stave. Otherwise, the candles will tilt. As you can see in the photo sequence, securing the stave to a board and then using a drill press to drill the candle holes is a super way to get this done.

If you don’t have a drill press, don’t despair. You can still make the project, but you will need to account for that arc as you drill. Again, put the stave on a board, but then set a combo square behind the stave with the ruler pointing up. You can visually align your handheld drill to that orientation and get a pretty good result. Also, make certain that your drill bit is of the correct diameter to accept the candles. A Forstner bit is the best option here because it cuts clean, flat-bottomed holes. A slightly oversized diameter will make the candles easier to insert and remove.

Speaking of which, we used battery-powered votives in the above photo, and that is our strong recommendation. You can buy a bag of 24 at Amazon or craft stores for under $10. But, if you are going to use actual candles rather than artificial ones, make sure that they have a glass or metal casing around them. Better safe than sorry when it comes to open flame.

Any clear finish will work on these staves, but shellac might be the best choice. It is quick to dry, adheres to just about anything and it does not have an offensive odor.

This lovely gift will be used year after year. Give it a try for the holidays.

WARNING: Use appropriate candle holders or battery-operated candles to keep flame and heat away from flammable wood and decorations. Do not leave lit candles unattended.

The post PROJECT: Whiskey Barrel Stave Candle Holder appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.