How to Make an Egg Cup and Holder

A cracking project, this turned egg cup and holder is sure to eggcite any woodturner! This small project is great for using offcuts and for practising simple turning skills.

Watch Colwin in our Woodworking Wisdom demo, or follow our step by step guides below.

Egg cup

Prepare your blank

Mount your blank between centres and rough down to a cylinder before sizing the tenon to fit your chuck. Then, hold in the chuck and rough down to size.

Rough down to a cylinder

Size the tenon to fit your chuck

Hold in the chuck and rough down to size

Hollow the egg cup

Start hollowing out the inside of the cup. Finish the hollowing out, checking the size as you go with an actual egg.

Start hollowing out the inside of the cup

Check the size as you go

Use a depth gauge to check the depth and to mark. Then make a cut with a parting tool to the stem side of your egg cup.

Take the top of the egg cup down to size giving you a 4-5mm wall thickness.

Mark the depth of the stem

Cutting with a parting tool

Aim for a 4-5mm wall thickness

Shape the stem

Remove waste timber from the stem the turn and refine the shape of the cup.

Remove waste timber from the stem

Refine the shape of the cup

Shape and blend in the base and make a cut with a parting tool to define the length.

Blend in the base

Define the length

Finish

Sand to a good finish and add an oil. Once sanded you can part off from the waste wood.

Sand to a good finish

Finish with a food safe oil

Parting off

Egg cup holder

To compliment your egg cup project why not make an additional egg cup holder. This attractive stand was a popular feature of traditional Victorian kitchens and keeps your egg cups in one handy place.

Cut the recess

Using a screw chuck, screw the blank onto the chuck and face it off then mark the diameter of the recess ready for cutting.

Mark the diameter of the recess

Cut the recess in with a parting tool and remove the waste with a bowl gouge.

Cut the recess with a parting tool

Remove waste with a bowl gouge

Decorate and shape

Decorate the recess then gently scrape the base with a skew to flatten it.

Decorate the recess

Gently scrape the base with a skew

Once again using a bowl gouge, gently shape the outer edge of the base to give it some lift then tidy the outer edge with a bowl gouge.

Gently shape the outer edge of the base

Tidy the outer edge with a bowl gouge

Sand to a good finish then apply a food safe oil to finish the base.

Sand to a good finish

Apply a food safe oil

Turn the base

Unscrew from the screw chuck and reverse onto the C Jaws. Using a drill chuck in the tailstock, drill a mortice ready for the handle.

Reverse onto the C Jaws

Drill a mortice ready for the handle

Remove the waste material with a bowl gouge. Once most waste has been removed, form the neck around the mortice.

Remove the waste material

Form the neck around the mortice

Flatten the top surface for the egg cups to sit on then flatten with a skew on its side as a scraper.

Flatten the top surface

Flatten the top surface with a skew on its side

Sand and oil before beginning the handle.

Sand to a good finish

Oil before beginning the handle

Turn handle

To make the handle, hold your blank between centres and rough down then clean to a good finish with a skew.

Rough down the handle blank

Clean to a good finish with a skew

Use a set of callipers to size the tenon to suit your base mortice. Next, start shaping the handle with your chosen design then sand and oil.

Size the tenon to suit your base mortice

Shape the handle with your chosen design

Shape the handle with your chosen design

Sand the handle

Oil the handle

Tidy up any areas that may still have hold points in from the centres.

Here's your finished egg cup holder.

Made it? Share it!

Have you made our egg cup and egg cup holder projects? If so, we want to see them. Share you project pictures with us on social media. Search and tag @axminstertools on Facebook and Instagram. Or upload to our online gallery.