thehometownhive

All of this advice is so wonderful & disappointing! LOL I was really married to the container idea because they're so easy & convenient to burn, wax is contained & you can throw a lid over them to prevent all of the smoke entering the room once you blow the candle out. HOWEVER! As you've all mentioned... it's not really working! I was really hoping to get it to work, but I think I should just bag it & get some molds, which leads me to another question... How do you guys package your pillars? I looked around briefly for packaging to keep them safe & clean before they're sold, but I'm not having too much luck? Thanks again, for all of the advice!

Hey everyone, First, please allow me to give thanks to the admin for allowing me to join! Second, let's get down to the nitty-gritty! I'm new to candle making but I have been attempting to do all of my research & I've run a few test batches. There are things I'm feeling pretty confident with & things I'm not... (Backstory - My family has been in the commercial beekeeping business since 1978!! We've been dedicated all of the time to caring for our bees so that they can help us harvest the sweetest raw honey around & the purest beeswax you can find! However, until a few months ago we've always packaged up & shipped everything off in mass quantities - honey in 55gallon drums & beeswax capping byproducts from the extraction process have been melted down, coarse filtered & poured into 30lb blocks. Well, enough was enough for me, since becoming a mother I've been more & more interested in living a healthy, ALL NATURAL lifestyle as much as I can & if I can't do it from the bare roots at home with our own company... then... where? I'm sick of seeing our product shipped off & being ruined by being treated with excessive heat (honey) & mixed with toxins (wax). SO - blah, blah, blah - long & short of it, my goal is to make an ALL NATURAL 100% BEESWAX CANDLE!) So, I'm having the most difficulty with any glass containers that are larger than 4 oz. Specifically I'm attempting to use the 8oz Tureen Jar (honey pot) & the 8oz Square Mason Jars from Peak Candle. Here's my process: First, I get my double boiler going with my beeswax. Then as it's beginning to melt I get to work on my containers. I make sure they're clean & dry, then I glue my wicks in (C-85) & I pop them in the oven on the lowest setting so they that can be preheated. Once my wax hits 170 & is melted through I pull it off of the double boiler. I pull the containers out of the oven & I begin to pour (temp. starts at 170 & will end up about 160 by the time I'm through). While pouring I try to make sure I'm doing a slow, even pour, to prevent air bubbles. After I'm finished pouring I set the containers 3-4" apart on baking racks & I let them begin to cool. My first pour fills the container approximately 75-80% of my desired fill line. After about 10 minutes I begin to poke relief holes around the wick. After another 10 minutes I start my wax again for my second pour. By 30-45 minutes after my first pour I pour my second at 185 to help the pours adhere & prevent pour lines between 1 & 2. After this I let the candles cool the rest of the way, room temp between 70-74, I do not move them, I do not do anything & within a few minutes (around the hour mark from the first pour) CRACKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UUUUGH!! STOOOOOOOOPPP IT!! Please, help me, help me, help MEEEE before I go complete nut house over these darn things! Thanks so much & please, remember that I really want to stick with all natural, so, if possible, any & all advice should be in accordance with natural remedies. =D