Shaker candle stand with Christian Beckvoort

By Christian Becksvoort Sep 24, 2020

He’s built dozens of round Shaker stands over four decades, so there is no one more qualified than Christian Becksvoort to demonstrate making this classic.

In this seven-part video series, you’ll learn how to:

Turn the wine-bottle post
Shape the legs, softening the edges with a lathe-mounted sanding drum
Hand-cut dovetails to attach the legs to the post
Add a beautiful hand-rubbed finish with oil and varnish
And lot’s more!

Shot and edited by Jeff Roos and Ben Strano

Build a Shaker Round Stand

Classic lines blend a simple turning and straightforward joinery

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Videos in the Series

Shaker candle stand overview

September 24, 2020

Watch contributing editor Christian Becksvoort build a Shaker candle stand, start to finish in this 4-minute edit.
Ep 1: How to turn a table post

September 24, 2020

The Shaker candle stand project starts at the lathe, where Chris turns it familiar wine-bottle shape out of cherry.
Ep 2: Shaping the legs

October 1, 2020

Chris cuts the legs to shape on the bandsaw, then uses the disk sander and one of his favorite tools, the lathe-mounted drum sander to shape them. Finally, he cuts the dovetails on the router table.
Ep 3: Hand-cut dovetail sockets

October 8, 2020

Chris Becksvoort uses a simple trick to lay out the joinery on the base, then creates the dovetail sockets using a dovetail saw and chisel.
Ep 4: Gluing up the legs

October 15, 2020

Chris spends more time at the lathe-mounted drum sander, adding a profile to the legs before he glues up the base of the Shaker candle stand.
Ep 5: Making the round top

October 26, 2020

Chris makes the round tabletop at the bandsaw, then refines the shape at the disc sander. Then he takes us through the complete sanding regimen he's used for decades as a professional.
Ep 6: Final Assembly

October 29, 2020

In this episode, Chris assembles the table in a way that keeps the tabletop flat, and assures that wood movement won't be an issue in the future.
Ep 7: An oil and varnish finish

November 5, 2020

In the conclusion of this series, Chris finishes the candle stand with his favorite finish for cherry, an oil and varnish mix.

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