This is a very simple project. First prepare your block of wood. It should be large enough to allow the magnet to be completely encased. Center the magnet in the wood and mark the outline. Next, using a forstner bit (any large size will do) in a drill press to remove the material necessary to recess the magnet in the wood. If possible, set the depth of the drill press so the recess will have a flat bottom. If you have a very large forstner bit, you may be able to make one pass to create the recess - we used a 1" (25mm) diameter bit and made many repeated drills to remove the necessary amount of wood. The blind hole you are drilling should leave the top of the magnet just below the surface of the wood.

Once the hole is created, you can sand and finish the wood as shown in the image on the right. Next, set the magnet into the hold. We used a small woodscrew to affix the magnet into the recess; make sure that the screw doesn't penetrate through the bottom of the base. Alternatively, you can glue the magnet into place.