Rustic Wood Branch Candlsticks

I have a few more projects to share made from the fallen tree branch in our yard. I had one part of the branch that had a nice straight section, and I cut it into pieces to make Rustic Wood Branch Candlesticks. I shared the full table setting you see in the picture in this post, plus how to make a fun kraft paper table runner!

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We don’t have a chainsaw, so I ended up sawing the branch into pieces by hand. I was a little sore afterwards, so I would recommend borrowing a chainsaw of some kind if you don’t already own one, unless you want a really awesome arm workout, and huge biceps on only one side of your body. It is important to make sure the ends are level so the candle stick sets properly and doesn’t risk tipping over.

I started by cutting my branch into three different sizes, One at 5 inches, one at  6 inches, and the last one 7 inches. This will give a nice height variation.

The only other supplies I used that you can find on Amazon (affiliate links) were a 1 inch paddle bit, a marker,clamps. and brass candle cups, and of course safety goggles. I used a marker to make a spot in the center where my brass cup would go. This kind has a hole in the bottom so it was easy to center my drilling spot.

After cutting I drilled a hole in the top with the 1 inch paddle bit. You’ll want to drill whatever size your candle cups are. The challenge I had was finding a way to drill the hole safely. I ended up using clamps to clamp the wood to our workbench so it didn’t spin while I drilled it. Depending on how old your wood is, and what kind it is, it could take a while. My branches were newly fallen Maple,so it was pretty soft. If you are really having trouble, you can always try a pilot hole first with a regular drill bit, then use the paddle bit after.

I made the hole slightly deeper than the brass cup, and then used a strong, non-flammable,multi-surface adhesive to glue them into place, keeping the adhesive inside of the hole. Once the adhesive was set, they were ready to use! Battery operated tapers would be great in these, you could use them all night without worry! And some now look so realistic, and have a timer. How awesome is that?

I left the moss and lichen on my bark, because I liked the way it looked (and my rustic wood branch candlesticks were going to stay outside.). If you are going to bring them indoors, I would think about giving them a good cleaning, or sealing the outside with something to keep anything from flaking off.

I love how these rustic wood branch candlesticks look in a fall table setting, and I have a few projects coming up where I’ve been able to use them over and over in display, they are so much fun!

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