Jazme

Caveat: my experience is 40 years old. HF can make NaOH seem like child's play. I wouldn't want to play with it at home without a fume hood and all my old solid teflon labware. Please try TallTayl's suggestion of whatever is available in the craft stores. I've etched lots of things with HF but not plate glass. Let us know how it goes. Jacquie

I would like to thank everyone for their welcome. Trappeur, I've noted your wide experience with 464 and as that is the soy wax I ordered you can probably expect a question or two going your way. Where will you be settling in Maine. I'm originally from Cape Elizabeth and we will be there for a month this summer. I'd love to move back but my husband does not want to live anywhere that involves owning a snow shovel or snow blower. We tried Colorado when he thought we should be near one of our girls. The first snow which hit early October that year really did him in. Incendia, I have read most of the old threads going back at least 2 or 3 years. Guess I've been reading as well as lurking. That's how I've discovered how much things have changed. I'm also pretty good with the search button. Hope my research will have me starting not too far off the mark when I start my testing, hopefully this weekend. Candybee, I'm glad you were able to find some joy in your soap and candlemaking endeavors. I too started my "retirement" on disability though I suspect you're a good deal younger than I am. I'm looking forward to picking both your candle making and soap making brains as I get a bit further on. Jacquie

Dolphin, I didn't order parasoy and I can't say I did a complete survey of suppliers but... I'm in the Tucson area and I was looking to buy some paraffin and soy waxes. I found Lone Star Candle Supply in Texas to be the best shipping of the half dozen or so I checked out. Also their customer service was great. Through no fault of theirs, I emptied my shopping cart and left one tiny item out when I rebuilt it. I immediately realized my mistake and emailed them (after checking and finding that the shipping would be 3 or 4 times the price of my $3+ item.) This was around midnight. By morning I had both a phone call and an email from them that they would add my item to my order, no problem. It was no problem, my order shipped and arrived in a timely fashion. Where are you in Arizona? Good luck with your new wax. Jacquie

.Hi! I've been lurking for a while but since I broke the ice with a tiny little post I thought I should introduce myself. I've just reread my post and ,boy!, did I get windy. Feel free to stop reading at my name is Jacquie! My name is Jacquie R. I've just turned 71 but my brain refuses to feel that old. The body, however... I currently live in the Sonoran Desert near Tucson, Arizona, but I'm originally from the coast of Maine. I started making candles in 1970 when we lived in upstate New York. The 70's were the only time I did any selling. In the 80's I made them primarily for ourselves and as gifts. After that... (but I kept moving my candle making equipment all over the country.) I "caught the bug" with my first, unplanned, stop at The Candle Mill in East Arlington, Vermont, when we visited a friend who had just moved to the area. The next visit made me a convert. My first little candle making book was written by Tom Weakley, the candle maker and owner of The Candle Mill. I've been married for over 47 years and have two grown daughters and a few "grand"dogs as well as a "new to us" 6 year old Standard Poodle. I am currently retired after two interesting and rewarding careers. First as an inorganic chemist, then as a programmer and webmaster. When I found this forum, after deciding I really wanted to make my own candles again, I couldn't believe how things had changed. In 1970, I'm not sure I had even heard of soybeans let alone soy wax. Wick testing pretty much meant finding the right size of lead core wick for my various container candles and following Tom's recommendation for my tapers (from reproduction colonial molds) and waxes had to be blended yourself. Now I'm waiting for an order from Lonestar with some soy wax, a blended paraffin and a few wick samplers. I've never even bought a soy candle so not sure why I'm going to be experimenting with the soy but thought it deserved a look. Guess I've been a paraffin bigot. Finding this forum has had another effect on me. This inorganic chemist who hasn't made soap since O Chem lab in the 60’s has gotten the bug to make soap. Acids and bases were my thing, just not with organic compounds involved. I've been reading soap books, checking out pretty soap pictures on Pinterest and Instagram, watching technique videos on YouTube, visiting Dollar Tree, ordering from Amazon and even Brambleberry. I still need to get Kevin Dunn's Scientific Soapmaking, but after tomorrow's trip to Costco for oils, I'll be making my first itty, bitty,1 lb loaf of cold process soap. I've already got four of my own recipe ideas written down in my notes and tons more in my head for after the first couple of easy, test batches. I'm really drawn to much of the artistry I've been seeing in these soaps as well as to the good for the skin aspects. You folks do beautiful, inspirational work. Watch out for all my coming questions! Jacquie

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