HISTORIC NORTH CAROLINA CANDLE STAND
PROJECT #1912
Skill Level: Intermediate
Time: 2 Days
Cost: $250
I have a thing for candle stands. These small tables are quick to make, don’t require a lot of material to build, and are useful furniture to own. They make for excellent bedside tables, end tables and work well as a standalone piece, too.
I ran across a photo of this candle stand while searching for something else—isn’t that when you find the good stuff?—on the online database of Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Most candle stands have a turned post. Other historic forms I’ve seen that weren’t turned weren’t very attractive and tend to be on the crude side. This one, with its tapered hexagonal post and shapely legs had a unique appearance and I was taken with the table immediately. Best of all, no lathe is necessary to make one.
The original table listed in the MESDA catalog was privately owned. After contacting MESDA, they kindly helped me get in touch with the owner who let me measure and document the original table. The table, described below, is an exact copy of the original.
Tapered Hexagon Post
The original table was made from walnut, that’s what I’m using here, but any relatively hard species will work just fine.
The hexagonal post for this table gives the impression of a difficult piece of furniture to make, but it’s quite simple
