Tea Light Candle Letter Holders

I made these for my girlfriend as a little table decoration for her birthday.  They have proven to be a big hit and I instantly received orders from each of hers and my family members!

They are made from 150 x 50mm floor joists and hold a regular tea light.

First I used Microsoft Publisher to print out 150mm tall letters.  The font I chose was Rockwell as most letters have a chunky top to contain the tealight.  Some letters (like J) had to be modified slightly to stand up on their own, but most were good as they were.  I then cut them out and traced round them with a pencil onto the wooden joist.

Next I cut the letters out using a jigsaw.  I tried using a scroll saw, but the one I had wasn't powerful enough to cut through 50mm.  The one problem with the jigsaw though was that the blade tended to wander, but if I was careful I could compensate for it.

Once I'd cut as much as possible using the jigsaw, I used a selection of files and wood rasps to smooth the rough edges out that couldn't be reached with a sander.  Once that was done, I used a belt sander https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cs4-6d-belt-and-disc-sander to smooth the remaining edges and the front and back of the letters.

Next I used a hole saw https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wolfcraft-Holesaw-Blades-Pilot-Drill/dp/B0001P195Y to cut out the holes for the tealights.  I used a chisel to remove the centres of the holes and then a sanding drum http://www.screwfix.com/p/rubber-drum-sanding-kit-25pcs/19906? to increase the size slightly (there wasn't a perfectly sized hole saw).

Here are some more during and after production shots:

Hope I've given some inspiration.  Thanks for reading!