Woodturning is said to be the safest form of woodworking, that said it can still be dangerous and care should be taken at all times

The methods and procedures I show here are what I do at the moment and feel safe doing, I am not suggesting that you should do things the same way, that is up to you, if you don’t feel safe doing it one way find another way of doing it.

Above all take care and remember if this is your hobby it is supposed to be fun so enjoy it.

Now comes the only tricky bit which is making the hole for the tealight holder.   I use A pair of equal legged calipers and hold these against the top of the holder and adjust them so they are about 1mm smaller than the holder.   It is always best to make the hole slightly smaller to start with in case of accidents.

Now with the tool rest raised to just below center height and the lathe running, gently put the left hand leg of the calipers against the wood   Do not allow the right hand leg to touch the wood at any time or it will drag them out of your hand and send them flying around the workshop and it hurts.

You should always start off at what you think is smaller than the actual size then move the calipers out till the circle it makes lines up with the right leg, I hope this makes sense.   When you are at the correct size push a bit harder on the left leg to make a distinct mark.

Now you have to hollow it out to do this I use a longish grind 3/8” bowl gouge to take most of it out then finish off with a square scrapper.   It is best to stop regularly to check for fit, I like it to be slightly loose to allow for the movement of the wood and the depth to allow for about 2mm of the holder to be above the wood.

Now turn the rest of it to the shape you want and sand and finish it.   Before removing it from the lathe check one last time to make sure the holder fits properly.

You now have a completed Tealight

Now you have made one there is nothing stopping you from making more, just remember to choose a safe design.

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