sawdustcottage

I have always used the 44-32-18z's in my pint mason jars without a hitch. I ran out of them and attempted to use an LX22. Talk about FRUSTRATING, folks! I have a brand new bag of the LX22's and only used them once (for a pillar) and I think I am doing something wrong here. The first wick I put in and attached with my little piece of skewer to hold in place, melted. I took the jar out of the oven that was set on LOW and as soon as I moved the wick to straighten out the skewer, it pulled right out of the tab. Ok, so I tried again, this time sticking the wick and wick stickum in the jar after the jar came out of the oven. Same thing. Should I not use these puppies at all for containers? Yikes. I have ordered my 'ol 44z's

UPDATE: I got the candles back from my friend and saw how they looked: Pretty Bad! Instead of a huggin "inward", there was major "outward" lip?? Candle man gave me some advice on wicks so I pulled out all the old wicks from the pillars and put in 62z. Burned wonderfully, straight, no leaking over the sides, not splatters, great melt pool. I then tried 51z wicks and they also work well for the 3" diameter pillars.

I must be doing something incorrectly because my wax never is "pourable", it becomes a blob, after the initial 5 seconds that IT IS the consistency of "watery oatmeal". :undecided I guess I can give it another whirl. The candles burn fine, but would prefer it to be less clumpy when making them. I also had read addiing mineral oil to get mottling? Anyone tried this? And how much would you use? (I read it under the description for the 1343 wax -if I remember right- on the Peak Wax page.

I have made several marble candles and have followed the instructions from the "Techiniques & Ideas" listed at the left. Starting at #4 it reads: 4. Take a spoon or fork and scrap the sides of the pan and continue to mix your wax until it reaches a watery oatmeal consistency. 5. Add 3 drops of liquid dye to this mixture, mix slightly. 6. Pour the mixture into your mold. My question : Can you actually POUR the mixture into your mold? For me, it starts out a watery oatmeal consistency (only for a few seconds) but then becomes close to mashed potatoe consistency. I cant pour anything, I end up spooning the wax into the mold. Is this normal? Should I be pressing the wax down compact? I have made relief holes (and had issues with my wick I had been using- flat braid 1/0) but since I tried the 62z' they are burning better. I just wondered if the wax is supposed to be nearly solid when putting it in the mold. Would love to hear what others have experienced. Thank You everyone.

As usual I made a typo. It is the 62z wick. (I haven't heard of a 65z). I have been doing my 2nd round of burning on 3 pillars with this wick and they are perfect. Centered melt pool, no wild flames, no smoking.I am ordering the wicks today at the length I need from candlewic. I think I have the right formula now, thanks to Candle Man's information.

I hope Candle Man sees this as I took his suggestion. I took two of my 3" pillars (one chunck, one marble) and took out the wicking I had in them (1/0). (These are 4625 wax). I inserted the 65-52-18z into each one several hours ago and they are doing great!!! No leaning, no smoking, no "splattering" or dripping. The melt pool is very good. Now, these are 4" round candles and I want to make them in my 6.5" tall ones but the wicks I have are not tall enought (6"). Is there anyplace that sells the 65z primed already in spool form or tabbed? I have been priming the spool of 1/0 I have now, no big deal, but anything to save me time would be great. I took pictures and will put them on here in a few min.

Good input, everyone! I will try the 65-52-18z wick with the 1643 wax (per candle man). Are there any other wicks that would do well in the 4625, using the 23 oz. round aluminum pillars?? (I have SO much of this wax right now that I want to use up - and I like it, it gives off an excellent scent throw). And the temperature at my pouring may have been too hot (I didn't think so but at this point, who knows)! I'm thinking the chunk pillars are going to give me issues- Uh!

Ok, I saw for myself the candles that my friend said were "splattering and dripping" all over. (These are 23 oz. round pillars seamless aluminum molds , 4625 wax, 1/0 wick and the same size chunk candles 4625 wax chunks and 1343 overpour.) I noticed immediately that the 3 chunk candles were on these tall candle holders (2ft.- 3 ft. height) and the candles were the exact size as the diameter for the candle holder base (no room at all for wax to collect). Instead of the "hugging" going inwards on a pillar, they each had a huge lip (?) hanging/curling over on one side and the wicks were all tall and leaning over. The dripping poured all down her candle holders and were messy. The 2 marble pillars didnt have the outer lip but I noticed the wicks were leaning again and looked tall (like she doesnt trim them as I have instructed to do) and she said they were smoking! You could defintely see where they all burned to one side. She said she has been burning candles "forever" and has never had to extinguish one after 3 or 4 hours. And has never had to trim one either every few hours. I burned my pillars (from the same wax, wicks, etc) and have not had any dripping, splattering, etc...... I trim my wick during the 3 hours they burn and I have not had smoking at all. I do have to center the wick at times because I notice it will start to shift a little. IS the wick I am using (flat braid 1/0) too hot? I don't know what else to try. Is it normal for wicks to move (bend over a little bit- not curling)during the burn? And smoking? Mine that I burn have never smoked, but I am thinking she must have had the two going for hours at a time to get smoke. (And there was dripping also, but her candle holders have no pan..... the pillars look like they were attached to the holders, completely vertical.) Help!!:undecided

No, never put in a freezer.

Oh and one other thing i heard about the candle and the splattering: it was near an open window! (Duh............. not to bright there. She didn't read the burn instructions I gave her and told her about "keep away from drafts...)

I goofed with the type of wax...it's 4625 (Lord only knows where I got 4630 numer!! It's been a LONG weekend).

I'll have to check with her about the fan/air conditioning vent. I really don't have any explanation to give her as to why the pillar splattered and dripped. (The way it was described to me sounded like the candle MUST have had some kind of wind-force blown onto it, to have that much splattering on everything)!

I have a friend who I gave some of my marble candles to. She say's that she lit one and "it was dripping all over and then splattered all over the place". I asked what "splattering" meant ('cause I know what I think splatter means) and she said it (the wax) shot all over the place and dripped all over her wood candle holders. I had made several candles from the same batch of wax and I immediately lit 3 of mine to see what she was talking about. Nothing happened for me, they all burned well. She places the pillars on a very high candle stand /pedestal and thought that might have something to do with it (I am sure it doesn't). She said the flame was very tall (yet she didnt blow it out or trim it right away) and she burned it for a very long time. (I told her to burn it for 3-4 hrs. then extinguish it & if she HAD to have it burning again, re-light again after she trimmed the wick). The wax was 4630 and the wick was 1/0 (16 oz round seamless pillar). This is also the same gal who said another one of mine tunneled and was "dripping". (I have yet to have my pillars drip- or splatter). Any input? Thanks!

I have been using drinking straws to make the relief holes. I guess air must have been in the candle still, even after poking those holes, to have made the tunneling. I'll see how the ones turn out that I made yesterday, hoping all is well with them. (And WOW!! I poured one with Peak's "Wild Mountain Honey" ( a sample with my last order) and it is SUPER strong and gives off such a SCENT! I would never have thought to buy that fragrance but I am going to now.

Hi All, I have made a few pillars (chunk and marble) and came they have come out nice. I am about to make another marble one right now and was re-reading the instructions I had printed off from the column to the left of this message board. At the end of the instructions it say's to poke the relief holes (which I have been doing) but it say's nothing about repouring. I have been repouring because the relief holes ARE VERY NOTICEABLE and I assume they need to be filled in. Also I noticed that my 16 oz round pillars (seamless aluminum) burn wonderfully but one of my taller ones (round 23 oz) had a tunnel. The wick seemed to burn fine but it tunneled. (I am using IGI 4625 and the wick is #1/0 Flat Braid - suggested wick on the "molds" page at Peak). Thanks for any input

I burned the candle again today for a second 3 hour burn and the wick is doing beautifully (no smoking, massive flames, etc...) . I just looked at the top of the candle after I put out the flame and you're right......it doesn't look centered. I used a wick pin and it "seemed" straight (guess not). So now I know to REALLY center the pin (this was my first one and the aluminum seam molds are kind of wobbly to me). I'm going to practice, practice, practice with these wick pins!

I made my 1st pillar candles last week (I have been making container candles and tarts for years so Pillars are NEW to me) and am test burning one right now. Excellent scent throw cold and while burning. But I am not sure HOW the melt pool is supposed to look. Here are a couple pictures after 2 1/2 hours this morning.............. does this pool look right? (I used a 1/0 flat braid wick and 4625 wax). I was petrified to try making these (I don't know why). There are so many great styles out there and I am trying them all. Thanks All!

After making container candles for a LONG time and not having probelms with them, I am about to begin my "pillar" making adventure (and wondered about making tapers also). I have read and re-read things on tapers on so many different boards lately that I can almost scream! Some posters say they just buy regular 'ol tapers from the store and then dip them in their own wax (for grubbies)? HUH? I've read that the tapers stick in most molds (except silicone) and honestly, they are sounding a little scary! (How does one wick a taper). Any advice out there would be greatly appreciated-as to molds, wick, and basic help!! (the pillars seem like they will be a breeze compared to tapers).

I use these jars (and have for years) and never have had any problems with the wick I use. (I use J223...die hard fan of it)! I use 44-32-18z and everything burns, melts, etc.... just right! (And now I want to attempt pillars and tapers???? I must be nutso

Thank You candle man! I needed to know this and I got my answer. Lori

Can you pour fragrance oil (which has been mixed with an enhancer oil for spraymist/ room freshener) in a plastic PET or HDPE bottle. I don't know which is the preferred one (that won't kill the scent). Thanks all.

Thank you for the info. I have to look for information on the wick pin/seamless aluminum pillar issue (An issue for me - LOL. I didn't see anything on it when I read the "Pillar "Instructions, but then again, I more likely missed it. Now I am scared about the aluminum being knocked over. (Maybe I should stick with my container candles...... I know what I am doing there).

I have been making container candles for years (using J223) and have had requests for pillar candles lately. I have never attempted to make these before (only little votives). I will be using seamless aluminum molds (round). I have read and re-read the instructions provided here for pillars and have a couple questions- The relief holes say this: "The relief holes should be positioned around the wick as shown and should be poked to a depth of about 1 inch less than the depth of the candle". Does this mean you poke 1" down? Or stick the wax far into the pillar 1" from nearly the bottom of the mold? Are the seamless aluminum good? I had heard they were easy to work with. And wick pins? Is there a reason for them (it appears you use the wick while making the candle). I can see why I use them with my votives but not sure if I needed to get these. Any info would be greatly appreciated Thanks, Lori

Thank You Robin. That makes sense. I'll measure from now on (jars that I dont normally use) at the bottom.

Ok, edge to edge. But which edge (I sound like a doofus). I use the regular size mason jars and the top is narrower than the actual jar part. Its wider (jar and bottom) than the neck/top. How do I determine it?