Creating a Ring Holder By Dr.
John Dekle
These are the steps I used to create a Ring Holder from a single
piece of wood 3½-4" wide and 4-5" long. Give a little thought to the
shape you want to create and select the wood. Another option,
making it from two pieces, the spike being separate from the bowl
follows.
Step 1
Mark the center of your wood
both sides so you can round it
between centers (I used a ¾”
roughing gouge) and cut a tenon
on one end to fit a 4 jaw chuck (I
used a skew).
Step 2
Chuck it and be sure it is round and mark
your dimensions for the bottom and top
of bowl. With a parting tool I established
the bottom and with a bowl gouge I began
to shape the bottom of the bowl giving it a little ogee shape.
Step 3
I textured the side of the bowl and outlined it with a point tool
then used a burn wire to frame the texturing. This is purely
optional, you could also decorate in some other way or not at all.
Step 4
Most of the wood around the spike was hogged out. Use a tool of
your choice. I did a peeling cut with a skew to get rid of most of
the wood.
Step 5
This would be one of the more challenging steps to create the
bowl for the holder. I found the small round Easy Wood Tool
handy but any other round cutter would work. You could use a
scraper or bowl gouge,
just be careful a wing
does not catch. Once the
bowl was finished I
focused on shaping the
spike with a detail gouge.
I left a wider spot near
the bottom of the spike
and put 3 decorative
burn rings on it.
Step 6
With a parting tool I began the cut off so some of that could be sanded while on the lathe. The
whole project was sanded to 2000 grit (but you can sand as you see fit). This will hold jewelry so
I wanted a good smooth finish on it. This holder was finished with
OB Shine Juice (from Capt. Eddie Castel, each Denatured Alcohol,
Boiled Linseed Oil and Clear Shellac).
Step 7
The project was parted nearly off the lathe then cut with a saw.
Step 8
The bottom was finished by sanding with
a disk sander on the drill press although
the same could be done on the lathe.
Finish was applied to the bottom then the
whole ring holder was buffed. Finally the
bottom was signed, numbered and
inscribed with the type of wood.
Project finished
(Made from spalted Ash)
2 piece Ring Holder (By Dr. John Dekle)
Base is Monkey Pod 3¾” wide & ” high
Spike is resin 1" at base & 1¾” high
Step 1
Select wood, draw pattern
to cut out the base on a
Band Saw. Then drill a hold
on the bottom side with a
Forstner bit (2¼” used
here) for holding in the
expansion mode with a 4
jaw chuck. Turn round (I
used a roughing gouge).
Step 2
After turning round the side can be decorated to enhance it. On
this base 3 burn lines were added. Slightly round the edges so
there are no sharp edges. This portion was sanded to 2000 grit.
Step 3
Using a large Forstner bit the bowl
portion was drilled out about ¼” deep. A
skew was used to enlarge the hole
making the rim of the bowl a bit smaller
and refining the inside bottom. Keep the
sides straight (90 ). Remove chuck from lathe, not the base from the
chuck. The mortise can be cut now or at step 5.
Step 4
Turn the spike with a tenon to fit into a hole to be drilled in the
inside bottom of the base. Using that tenon (around ¾”) chuck the
spike and turn it to a finished shape. If you do not have a small
enough 4 jaw chuck you could make a jam chuck it would snugly
into. The tail stock could support the spike until the final point is
turned. Sand and finish the spike.
Step 5
Replace the chuck and the base to the lathe.
Cut a mortise to fit the spike tenon. I cut the
tenon first making it the size of a Forstner bit.
Step 6
Sand the inside of the bowl and apply
finish to the entire project.
Step 7
Remove from the chuck. Make a jam
chuck to fit top of the bowl into and
finish the bottom. Apply decorations as
desired and buff the bowl inside & out.
Sign the base.
Step 8
Glue the
spike into
the bowl and
the holder is
finished.
