chappy6107

Keep them coming.  You are inspiring me to want to make soap too.

Thanks everyone! 

Moonshine -auto ship for paper towels. lol  that cracks me up.  Do you at least get a good deal on them?

Chuck - I bet those baby wipes smell alot better than alcohol!

Franu - great idea for the firestarter

Jcandleattic - are your molds metal?

Thanks Trappeur, Chuck, & Candybee! 

The fo is very sexy for her from lonestar. 

I was thinking the melt pool may be to deep.  the last 2 burns since then have been ~1/2 the depth of the pics.  Thanks for the advice on the skewer/thermometer needle to make a hole in the candle.  I would not have thought to pluck the wicks out of their tabs and done this. 

So far the candle has 31 hours burn time. All sessions being either 3, 4, & a 5 hour session.

Thanks to everyone that has given advice.  I appreciate every bit of it and am trying to soak it all in.

here are some pics.  wick is mushrooming & putting off lots of smoke/soot when blown out.

very nice!  Keep posting your progress, I am enjoying following this thread!

As far as remelting/repouring the wax like I did to get a bigger wick installed, is that something I can do without damaging the natural burn & frangrance throw of the candle?  Or is this practice frowned upon as it changes attributes of the original candle?

after letting it sit for a few days I have burned it for the 3rd time.  1st & 2nd burns = weak HT, and decent but not full WP.  3rd burn had better HT but not strong & full MP ~1/2" deep.  Is that MP ~1/2" ok or is it too deep?

Those look great!  I like the color

I like those you found simply fragrant! 

I have also seen the ones on alibaba, but those minimums are out of my price range.  Maybe if a co-op is possible I'd be in for some.

Amanda- what is matter modpodge?

anyone know who might have black jars, preferably a matte finish?

I want some black candle jars...but why do these look like they might be cardboard?

Thanks Trappeur, I will order a sample pack of the HTP wicks and give them a try.  I almost ordered the 464 wax instead of the C3 wax.  What do you like better about the 464?

there are alot of products on that page, do you use all of them?

UPDATE:

I found the uncut fragrances on this page

http://www.aromawarehouse.com/wholesale-oils.htm

Not sure if that means it is strong or weak, but at least you know what % they are.

"Oil is already diluted seventy percent fragrance and thirty percent cutting solvent."

This is on their site http://www.aromawarehouse.com/oils.htm

Thanks OG,  I was afraid that would be the answer.  On a good note after wicking up to the eco 14 the candle burned for the full 3 hour burn with a decent WP.  The flame grew to normal size after about 30 minutes.  

I will let it sit for a few days before I continue the test

So after curing for a week I lit it up and within 5 minutes the flame went out.  seemed to be a very small WP and very weak flame. 

I melted the wax down and repoured into another jar with the next size up wick (eco 14)  I let it harden and ~5 hours later am burning it with a weak flame still but it has been burning for ~1 hour so far.  WP is ~3/4" on one side of the wick and ~1 on the side the wick curls towards.  Jar is 3" across, so after a 3 hour burn I will put flame out and burn it again tomorrow.

Since I remelted and repoured should I have cured the candle again for another week or has the curing already taken place from the 1st pour?

I have alcohol on hand, works great for killing the previous scent.  when I run out, I will try the mineral oil and see what works best.  thanks for everyones help!

thank you for the pics.  Is the heating element inside the pot and in direct contact with the wax?

justajesuschick can you post a link to what you are talking about.  I can only seem to find the outdoor/oil less/ rectangle versions

To put it in perspective, anything you do/make/own that can cause damage to someone or someone else's property is ultimately your liability.

an example is someone comes over to your home.  They slip/trip on carpet, rugs, stairs, door entry way, etc.  They can sue you (and win) because it happened on your property.  same goes for anything you gift away whether or not you made it or bought it.  It is a scary world. 

That being said, anything I gave away I would let the person know how you burn the candles and results you get.  Let them know that longer burn times may generate different results and could be hazardous and either way it needs to be supervised.

You are really good at this for first times.  I like your labels, what are you using for them?

great info. Thank you!

What are the best methods to cleaning up your equipment after making a batch of candles?

Both of your soap creations look great!  What a great start

BTW should I be curing my candle with the lid on or off?