Forrest

A 51 zinc core is a good starting point, then a CD10 if you need to wick up or a CD8 if you need to wick down depending on your FO. I'll have better information in a couple of weeks once I do my burn test on wicks in 6006.

Somehow I don't think you'll be getting either of those this year, but at least you'll have something to ask for next year.

We did this on a photography site and my wish list would have cost around $5,000. So much for those wishes. Clearly the thing we all wish for the most is for Trapp to get better, but what candle making equipment do you want this year. Here is my list. A Presto Pot A heat gun A new thermometer A set of Borosilicate Glass beakers with handles So, what’s on your list this year?

Like Scrubzz said it's from Community Candle, and you are right, Trapp has great taste.

You said Vanilla Champagne, and you said Orange Peel and Cinnamon. After those two I decided that going with what you say is far better than the shooting in the dark method I normally use to pick FOs.

I poured 2 pans Wednesday, so I can start burn testing in two weeks. I did not test ECOs, but I have them. I'm planing on one more pan based on the results from the first two so I might test them then

I'll see what that cost, but usually the shipping on a single item is very high. Either way it is coming from them.

Bergamot Tobacco by Archipelago is my all-time favorite candle. Early on in my candle making quest I bought some FO from a questionable source and it didn’t work out, probably because I didn’t know what I was doing. Now I see that Fragrancebuddy has a Bergamot Tobacco dupe for sale on Amazon, 4oz for $10, free shipping. Should I try it, or am I just setting myself up for disappointment.

I didn’t get too much because I’ll need to order from Nature’s Garden and Aztec soon. Just two bottles and seven samples. Bergamot-for my lavender blend Lemon Verbena-because I’ve run out For my samples I got Bayberry & Silver Oak-because you said so and you’ve never steered me wrong Chocolate Amber-because a lot of people said good things about it Mulled Cider-to see if it was better than he one I have Falling Leaves-hoping it is good so I can make next fall’s candles 25:43- for unknown reasons Nutmeg & Spice-because my daughter ask for it Black Ginger and Bamboo-I tried this one before and want to see if aging it will get the HT up.

I use bonsai scissors. Honestly I don't know how people live without a pair of these. One of the many things they are good for is trimming wicks. Sometimes I even use them on my bonsai tree.

I placed an order with Flaming yesterday, so this is the where y'all normally start posting list of all the must have Flaming FOs that I didn't order. So go ahead, I can take it and there is no reason to break with tradition.

I poured two pans with six wicks each yesterday, three each of four types of wicks. Now I just have to wait two weeks to do my test burns. My question is, how do I ensure uniformed wick lengths? My other question is should I trim the wicks to a uniform length before the next day’s burn?

I’m starting to understand why I’ve never had problems with tins or short. Fat glass containers, but the jars are giving me fits. I cool my candles in a granite countertop and usually move them after a few minutes. This is enough to make the wax cool from the bottom in some containers, but not in taller glass containers. My answer may be as simple as to move the jars to a cool spot on the countertop every few minutes. I was putting them together in a box so they would cool slower, but I think my box shouldn’t have a bottom.

These days the cans are coated with a thin film of plastic, or a similar material, so that the beer doesn't pick up the aluminum taste. I suspect it will create some unhealthy gasses if it geets too hot.

I wanted to point out how Milos managed to use an interesting background while still keeping the product as the main focus. That’s the tricky part. It makes your picture interesting while drawing your attention to the product. This picture also gives you context so that you have an idea how large the product is. This makes the customers comfortable that they know what they are getting. If you read MilosCandles’ post above you can see how these things helped improve sales, so it is well worth the effort.

Your experience matches what Etsy said in one of the articles, clearly presentation is the key to online sales. BTW, nice pictures.

A light box would help with that, and they are easy to build.

In another thread TT suggested I should write an article about photographing our products, and while I have some basic knowledge in this area, unless you’re selling grandchildren or sunsets my experience is limited. So to build on my knowledge base I did a little research, and I found this excellent article on Etsy’s site. Not being one to reinvent the wheel I thought I would post this here. Also this is just one part of ETSY’s Seller Handbook which contains information on many other subjects that would be helpful to anyone wanting to sell on-line. https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/the-ultimate-guide-to-product/143986679284

Most of the knowledgeable people around here wait two weeks. HT will improve with age, but the rate of improvement decreases over time. That doesn't matter to people who are making candles to sell because they don't want to store candles for months before putting them on the market. The next time you make a candle with poor HT put it away for six months and try it again.

I just don't know what went wrong, she was raised in a good, wick trimming family. We did the best we could, but that one always had a mind of her own. Fortunately I think this one taught her a lesson and she'll be trimming her wicks in the future. Besides not trimming, the zinc core wicks tend to mushroom and I suspect there was a bit too much FO in that wax. On the plus side it is a lesson learned that I hope she won't soon forget.

You want to see mushrooming? I'll show you mushrooming. I made this candle last year and my daughter burned it this year. She said the HT was amazing, but it smoked a lot when they blew it out. I bought both my girls wick trimmers and hopefully taught them how to use then. This picture really doesn't do it justice. This was a world class mushroom

I went from 464 to 6006 for the exact same reason and I have been happy with 6006, but I haven't tried any of the other soy blends. I do know that you can get very good HT out of 464 if you give it enough cure time. I recently burned a candle I made with 464 that was over a year old and it had amazing HT. I'm told that 6006 is hard to wick, I don't have enough experience with other waxes to say one way or the other, but I trust the source of that information.

I'm going with six to twelve months as my new cure time for candles, but I'll be making melts to get me over the through until I can get some candles cured. I'll still use two weeks for testing purposes.

That is the hardest part. I always get bummed out when I think it's been two weeks and I look at the date and it has only been one.

Exactly! With candles wicks and FO are always variables so we need to eliminate all other variables.