Candle making

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dpearce4

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Is there a good beginners book for making candles. I want to give it a go but have no clue on where to start.
 
hi doug
im going to start making candle next year I hope,
have read some where that the candle are best stored for a year to fully harden off
good luck might pick your brain next year
 
Have a look at youtube
Candles are very easy to make just make sure you clean your wax well
you can buy cheap wick from mann lake or wynne c jones
stick to small moulds smaller candles they sell the best hand dipped taper candles also sell well. i would not bother with a book you will not pick up enough out of it. As after a week playing and watching youtube you will be able to write a book with the same info
 
what size wicks do you use for the hand rolled sheet candles and the tea light ones?
 
hi doug
im going to start making candle next year I hope,
have read some where that the candle are best stored for a year to fully harden off
good luck might pick your brain next year

I hope not terry not sure I could wait that long to sell them.
 
As a quick rule, pure beeswax candles need a wick twice as thick as a paraffin wax candle. You need to experiment. I tried it for several years but I either managed to flood the wick or it burnt with heavy smoke. ANY dirt in the wax will not allow the wick to burn cleanly. I gave up in the end because it was more trouble than it was worth, but that was in the days of glass moulds and not modern flexiplastic ones.
Good luck with that!
E
 
4candles do sample packs of wicks so that you can experiment.
If you are thinking of selling then tea lights in polycarbonate holders go really well. You need a beeswax pre-tabbed wick size 26 for those. You can tab your own but life's too short :)
Rolled wax candles do well too. Look out for cheap wax in Thorne's winter sale.
 
Is there a good beginners book for making candles. I want to give it a go but have no clue on where to start.

Dont know if you are intending to visit the national honey show as they have a couple of candle making workshops over the four days.
 
yep going but have booked for other things
 
I am just starting with my first candles as well and was wondering how you guys calculate a price for them. Do you look at the weight of the candle and the price of wax/g or how do you do it? I have different moulds and don't want to overcharge but also not give it away for too little.

Seems to be difficult. Any ideas welcome...
 
managed to borrow 2 books from the bka.

Beeswax by Ron Brown. Fantastic book. Very detailed.

and

Beeswax Crafts published by Standard Press. lots of good ideas in it not just candles.
 
what size wicks do you use for the hand rolled sheet candles and the tea light ones?
If you look at the Thornes catalogue in the candle making section it will tell you what size wick to buy for your mould, It's very easy to make candles but just remember to dip the wick tip in wax after you have made them otherwise they are hard to light
 
LOL
some quick answers.

wax must be clean as any impurity's in it will clog the wick as it burns,
this can cause the wick to let off a little smoke, for me I do not mind this as bees wax is a natural product and the slight differences in it reflects in the flame

TIP ! if you want a cleaner burning bees wax candle mix some good quality paraffin way in the mix, you can add up to about 25% before it starts effecting the natural colour of the wax

There is no such thing as one wick size for one candle size, finding the right size wick is done by test burns. there are many factors that effect how a wick burns, the hardest part of candle making is wicking

Molds, plastic molds are easy to use and metal ones last longer, TIP ! if you have a candle stuck in a mold place it in the fridge for 10 minuits and it should pop out no problem

You can also make candles by dipping ( good fun ) and hand pour larger ones

the easiest way to price candles is by weight.

you should leave a candle at least 24 hours before using it, you do not need to leave it a year there is no advantage.

some of my older candles are well over 70 years old, yes sad I know I have candles from cathedrals, monastery's Etc

there is nothing nicer than a bees wax candle

https://scontent-cdg2-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...1_10206033234464296_1495349813495076963_o.jpg
 

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