Celtic Knot Wig Stand

August 22, 2025 

Eight of the WIT group members met at the Allens’ shop to construct Celtic knots on spindles that will be used to make wig stands. Ken Allen was the mentor for this project. He had prepared squared and sanded 12-inch-long spindle blanks and precut and sanded purpleheart inserts for the knots. He collaborated with Heidi and made a sled for the table saw at a 20° angle for the cuts that would be needed for the workshop. On the day of the workshop, he demonstrated the steps for making the cuts on the table saw and addressed the safety points that would need to be followed when using the sled. Since trimming pieces on the bandsaw would have greater safety concerns, he planned to complete that part of the process while demonstrating it for each person and talking through safety concerns. During the three-hour workshop, everyone completed the four cuts using the sled on the table saw, glued the inserts into the slots, waited 20 minutes for each insert to dry, observed the trimming process on the bandsaw and sanded off the extra wood to make sure each surface was flat. While glue dried, members did some planning, enjoyed some Show and Tell items, and learned from each other. The thrill of turning it to see the Celtic knot would have to occur at home since the construction process filled the workshop time.