Interactive holiday fun from your shop
There’s a lot to be done in the weeks leading up to Christmas: decorating the tree, making sure the chimney is ready for Santa’s visit, and of course, counting down the days till his arrival. This mantelpiece or tabletop decoration lets you handle all those festive tasks at once. Pull a dowel pin every day to hasten Santa on his journey down the chimney. Slip each pulled pin through the holes in the chimney-side Christmas tree, and its colorful ball end helps decorate the tree.
Order of Work
- Make chimney sides and back
- Cut out Santa and tree
- Create dowel pins
- Finish and assemble
Santa slides down a dovetailed drop
The three-sided chimney is held together with the help of the chimney cap and mantel. A dovetail slot routed down its back forms a track for Santa, who descends day-by-day on a loose-fitting matching dovetail segment attached to his back. The tree and chimney are attached to the base with dowel segments, making for easy breakdown and storage after the holiday. I chose sapele for its brick red color, then added a mantel and chimney cap in figured maple for some contrast. The light-colored wood also provides an ideal base for Santa’s paint job and the tree’s green dye.
Make the chimney sides
Mill the chimney side blanks to size. At the drill press, set up a fence to center the holes on the width of the chimney sides. Drill 9⁄32"-dia. through holes 7⁄8" from the top of the left side and 11⁄4" from the top of the right side. After boring the topmost holes on each side, drill a 1⁄4"-dia. hole into an auxiliary table and insert a dowel pin. Slide the auxiliary table 3⁄4" down the fence and clamp it in place. Then use the pin to help evenly distribute the remaining holes as shown. After drilling the sides, notch them for the mantel and rabbet for the back panel at the table saw.
Slip and drill. After drilling the topmost hole in each side panel, slip it over an offset pin, and drill the next hole. Repeat the process for the remaining holes in each side.
Notch for the mantel. Stack the sides together with their front edges against the bed. Use a miter gauge and stop block to mill a 3⁄8" deep, 1⁄2" wide notch to receive the mantel.
Make the chimney back
Cut the back panel to size. Install a 1⁄4"-dia. straight bit in your router table, raising it to 1⁄4". Set up a fence to center a slot on the width of the back panel, and rout the slot. Then, switch to a dovetail bit, running both edges against the fence to center the slot. Keep the same bit and height, but adjust the fence to make a dovetail slightly smaller than the slot in the chimney back. Then run overlong stock on edge, face against the fence, past the bit. Crosscut a length to attach to Santa’s back. Glue up the chimney back, sides, and mantel. Make and miter the chimney cap pieces, then glue them together. Install the cap as shown.
Rout the dovetail slot. After removing the bulk of the slot with the straight bit, swap in a dovetail bit to form the sliding dovetail down the back.
Get Santa’s back. Saw a 3⁄4" length of the dovetail wedge to attach to Santa’s back later.
Cap the chimney. After gluing up the chimney cap, install it using glue and brads. A squared scrap block keeps the cap opening flush with the back so Santa can slide through.
Cap the chimney. After gluing up the chimney cap, install it using glue and brads. A squared scrap block keeps the cap opening flush with the back so Santa can slide through.
Accessorize
Mill a 1⁄2 × 4 × 4" blank for Santa. For the tree blank, I laminated two pieces of 3⁄4" thick curly maple, 61⁄2 ×101⁄2". Download and print the full-size patterns (see OnlineEXTRAS) and apply to the blanks using spray adhesive. Trim them to shape at the bandsaw, then drill 9⁄32" diameter holes through the tree where indicated. Clean up the edges with files and a sanding block. Drill (24) 1⁄2" spheres (see Buyers Guide, p. 63), then cut 1⁄4"-dia. dowels into (24) 2" long segments, and glue one end into each sphere. Color the spheres with paint or paint markers. Paint Santa’s likeness on the piece, or let the kids color the glued-on paper template. Then dye the tree and add garland.
I saw Santa. After spray-adhering the full-size pattern to the blank, trim Santa to shape at the bandsaw.
Drill the spheres. Use a shallow 3⁄8"-dia. hole in an auxiliary table to locate the sphere, and hold it with a small handscrew clamp. Bore a 1⁄4" hole halfway through the spheres as shown.
Drill the spheres. Use a shallow 3⁄8"-dia. hole in an auxiliary table to locate the sphere, and hold it with a small handscrew clamp. Bore a 1⁄4" hole halfway through the spheres as shown.
Add some garland. After dying the shaped tree, use paint markers—available from a hobby store—to add decorations like garland and tinsel. Jar lids make great templates.
Assemble and finish up
Attach the dovetail wedge you made earlier, as shown. Make and profile the base. Then arrange the chimney and tree and trace their locations on the base. Drill 1⁄4"-dia. holes, 1⁄2" deep into the base for the dowel joinery. Transfer the hole locations as shown, then drill the bottom of the tree and chimney. Finish all pieces, making sure your finish of choice plays nice with the tree’s dye and Santa’s paint job. I used satin spray lacquer. Slip Santa up the chimney and insert the dowels through the chimney sides. Then attach the tree and chimney to the base, and let the countdown to Christmas begin!
Attach the dovetail. Screw the dovetail wedge to Santa’s backside, aligning its bottom end with the bottom of Santa’s “feet,” countersinking the screws.
Dowel for disassembly. Use dowel centers in the base to transfer the hole locations to the bottom of the tree and chimney. After drilling, install dowel segments without glue to allow for flat storage after the holidays.
