draadjes

the threads I collected along the way

Copper candle holder

  • This project first appeared at @ma3ke@hachyderm.io on .
  • This article was created on .

I made a beautiful candle holder for a friend's birthday.

A small copper candle holder with a burning candle in it. It consists of a small tub for the candle and around it I soldered a flower-shaped crown made of copper wire.
A small copper candle holder with a burning candle in it.

It is constructed entirely out of soldered copper. It consists of a small tub for the candle and around it I soldered a flower-shaped crown made of copper wire. I started by sawing a disc with the diameter of a standard tea light candle.

Me sawing out a piece of copper but you can't see that because it's behind my hand. I'm wearing a green-white striped top, black headphones, my hair is put up with an ugly beige clip.
I'm sawing out a piece of copper but you can't see that because it's behind my hand.
A copper disc in a mess of tools and next to a small candle that has the same radius.

Next, I cut a strip of copper sheet to match the height and circumference of the candle. I carefully shaped it into a circle, matching the outer perimeter of the disc. I soldered the seam between the two ends of the strip. I completed the tub by soldering the bottom disc into the rim.

A ring of copper in a bench vise, ready to solder the seam.
A ring of copper in a bench vise, ready to solder the seam.
The soldered rim placed fitted around the copper disc that form the bottom, ready for soldering.
The soldered rim placed fitted around the copper disc that form the bottom, ready for soldering.

With the foundation of this piece done, I moved on to shaping a piece of copper wire into the decorative flower crown.

Shaping the flower petals on the round section of a soft plastic mallet held in the vise. There are five petals.
Shaping the five flower petals on the round section of a soft plastic mallet held in the vise.
The soldered tub with an earlier shape of the petal crown placed around it.
An intermediate phase of shaping the crown.

Soldering the crown onto the rim was a bit tricky, because it requires a good fit at all five points. In order to create a strong interface with the tub, I bent the points downward, to sit parallel with the walls. The petals were bent up, a bit.

The petal crown soldered onto the rim of the tub, held in the bench vise.
The petal crown soldered onto the rim of the tub, held in the bench vise.

I really like how it turned out.

The candle holder sits on top of the vise, empty. It's covered in solder flux gunk. Beautiful dust specs fly in the air as they are hit by the sunlight illuminating the scene.

After cleaning the flux residue and sanding the joints a bit, the piece looks absolutely stunning.

A new candle in the holder. I cleaned it up a little here.
A new candle in the holder.
And the candle burning. It looks very pretty.
And the candle burning.
A faint flame can be seen in this shot of the holder up against the light.
The candle holder casts a beautiful shadow in the low sunlight.
The candle holder casts a beautiful shadow in the low sunlight.

My friend was very, very happy with the gift. It now has a beautiful place in her living room next to her record player.