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Anything that keeps contaminants out but remember that you have to melt the whole bucket each time and stir. Once you have the palm stirred you can pour it into manageable sized containers. You probably have plenty of old containers that are sturdy and have a tight lid.

It would be nice to see a beginner's and advanced section for all the different applications.

I use Dawn detergent to break up oil in a hot soapy solution, wash the dishes kind of thing. I place the 7lb bottle (take off the metal seal) with the lid on and nuke it the microwave until melted and then shake, shake shake. It stays liquid the whole soaping session and is easy to pour and store. The fault must have been on Columbus or otherwise UPS would have replaced the entire pail (IMHO). The palm doesn't require stainless steel unless it has lye solution in it, so any container would be ok. Just dump the whole affair into a large pot and melt on a stove. Stir to make sure the steric is not on the bottom and pour into whatever container you want. I nuke my palm and coconut in their 7lb bottles just fine. The heavy plastic bottles don't melt or warp and no pressure builds up and explodes the bottle (so far) and its real fast and easy.

I keep my pour pot on an electric burner with a thermometer in it and place the prepared jar on my tared out scale. Any leftovers are equally distributed to the other jars. I've tried eyeballing and I'm not good at guessing. Some fos are heavier than others but generally things work out the same. Temps are kept constant and cooling is kept slow for best adhesion to jar wall.

The worst for me is when someone gives a great review and I buy a sample and wonder why it doesn't give me the same thrill. The best test is to use trusted individuals from the customer viewpoint. Make them up and send them out for testing with a check list of things they judge about the candle. Because of candle nose, I'm afraid we are not always the best of judges. So, you can make up quite a few and send them out and make more. KWIM?

I can't imagine the cost of total avocado. The only form of soybean oil has been in a formula using Crisco but otherwise that oil is foreign to me in how it affects soap quality. I don't like canola or lard in my soaps, there's just something about the quality that doesn't feel right. Don't get me wrong, I know there are soapers who really like those oils and if they are like me, that can change for different reasons. Thanks for the response. S

Oooh thanks for the info TT.

Soapers Choice, (type in Soapers Choice) click on base oils. Soap Associations are getting ready to meet and taking orders for a co-op. A member volunteers to take everyone's order and pay for the shipment. The goodies get divvied up at the meeting. Wholesale bulk is the best way to save money. It's pretty rare someone offers better bargains. I don't like their m&p bases and buy my lye from Essential Depot. HTH Steve

I'm curious about why some of us prefer to mix our olive with soybean, rice bran or canola. I love rbo but never liked canola in any amounts. My go to formulas no longer include castor and I'm the happier for it but when looking at other soapers list of ingredients, I notice soybean or canola is in almost all of their different types offered. Trying to get down to business and have my list of permanent offerings. I realized that this same thing has basically happened with my soap making. One prevalent base recipe with different additives for different purposes. My veggie formula and animal fat formula only vary between palm and beef tallow but not much else. Still, these oils aren't capable of going toe to toe with olive; is there such a thing as an oil that could be mixed on a 50-50 basis as part of the soft oil base? I'm also in a quandary about oils with high non=saponifiable qualities like pomace and avocado. They really speed up my trace and I'm not convinced they make a huge diff in my soap, other than cost. Steve

Thanks! I also use Soapers Choice. Currently its the evoo but I have used their pomace. Pomace makes my soap trace faster (or so it seems) so I switched back to evoo. They seem to be a reliable company with the best overall prices plus shipping. Wish I had growers in my backyard. Steve

Did anyone see the 6o Minutes piece on Italian olive oil and the Mafia? The claim was that 80% of olive oil sold in the States is not pure. How can we tell if our oil is what its supposed to be?

I bought the 9 bar with the silicone liner from BB and it is very well made but the bar sizes are unacceptable. I have a Kelsie that has been used until falling apart but the dividers are a pain. I'm pouring without the dividers and cutting in half with my new cutter. The silicone tray is worth the investment but that's about it. You can go to Hobby Lobby and buy silicone to make your own slab molds or other molds. YouTube has some good tutorials on that subject. I like a slab for inserting m&p hearts or other similar details but swirling is good too.

I remember that thread. I leave the lid on my turkey fryer and never thought about condensation. There are candle AND soap fairies that can make weird things happen in a session.

Just pour the wax up to the curve and leave off. They might be a tad shorter but I doubt anyone would know the dif.

I like Scientific Soap Making by Kevin Dunn, available on Amazon. YouTube has Soapmaking 101, Brambleberry's Soap Queen and if you type in swirling; you get a lot of wild and crazy things that people are doing with soap of all kinds. Some things are hit and miss but that's how you learn. I use an oven thermometer that has a long silver cord or tether with a metal probe on the end. It has a timer but mostly it is easy to slip the probe into wax or soap with the read out where you need it. Temp is so important with wax and soap. My basement lab is full to overflowing with thousands of dollars worth of supplies, packaging and tools. My number one rule? NEVER EVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY! EVER! I can't begin to tell you how often something sits around for a long time and then suddenly it becomes part of a plan or idea. Rule 2: Wear gloves, a good respirator for both candle or soap making, wear protective glasses and never have pets or children around you when making candles or soap. Hot wax hurts but not like hot lye water or fresh soap batter. Never leave anything down within reach of pets or children. Wow, I'm on a random roll! Bottom line is this takes years of work and experimentation to create a good product. One of the best web sites is Ginger's Garden. Her soaps are beautiful and the presentation is superb.

Awesome!

I use a slotted high temp silicone spoon for $1.00 from Dollar Tree.

The proof is in the burning. Who hasn't bought or made a candle that wasn't so strong in the beginning but got stronger deeper into the burn? The wax melts and releases the oil, which when warmed disperses the molecules into the air through the draft of the flame. The fo becomes more concentrated in the melt pool and thus you have an increased amount of molecules heated and dispersed into the air. I'm not sure of the process that fragrance oil goes through while sitting on the shelf. Some of my older fragrances are more complex and the color has gotten darker but I wonder if the fragrance is simply breaking down. Fragrances with more essential oils added seem to be somewhat fragile. I'm just not convinced that candles "cure" but rather the fragrance builds up a concentration of available molecules for the nose to pick up. I guess that qualifies as a cure but that only applies to soy or veggie waxes. I have noticed that the majority of the name brand candles are paraffin.

I love making cold process soap. It's fascinating to watch the oils come together and begin the saponification process. Melt and Pour was and is a difficult medium for me, in that real artistry takes a thorough knowledge of the medium. Low sweat or low moisture, organic, butter base, and on and on is a headache in itself. Understand that mp or glycerin soap base can take additives, be painted, and I love to add it into cold process soap to make a jeweled soap. The options are endless and expensive. I have several books that are so helpful in understanding the science of soap making and ideas about coloration, additives and molds. I buy my lye from Essential Depot and love how easy it is to store and use. You can start off learning from oils found in your grocery store (lard, coconut, olive) and anything lined with wax paper can become a mold. Silicone molds are the easiest and pretty available at wally world. Coloration (not food coloring) can be found in the store as well. The point being that you can become immersed in all these hand made crafts without breaking the bank (wally world even has some essential fragrance oils) or becoming frustrated. I have only lost one batch of soap and probably could have saved that one but was too lazy. Read these valuable posts and try Miller soap as a beginner site, most of her basic formulas are ok and the information is sound. Your best investment is a good scale and I don't mean a kitchen scale. You have to be accurate in soaping, lye is serious stuff. Not pushing Essential Depot but their silicone soap molds are awesome. HTH Steve

I always find this to be a fascinating discussion (geek). Fragrance oil and wax do not infuse or mix (in my opinion) but rather the relationship is a suspension. You can clearly see the two oils as they are being stirred, especially if the fragrance oil has a tint. I stir the suspension from the time it is first added until it is poured into the jar. Others disagree and only stir for a short period of time, with no fear that the fragrance oil will settle to the bottom or fall out of suspension. I poured a heavy and darkly tinted fragrance oil (Tuscan Muscadine or something like that) and it settled to the bottom while cooling. Even mixing with a hand mixer did not keep some of the fragrance oil from settling to the bottom; so I decided the formulation had some filler that was much heavier than the wax and chunked it in the garbage. Quality oils are easily suspended in the wax and shouldn't require constant agitation, but I err on the side of caution and stir throughout the process. Sorry for the long response. Steve

Do I have it right that its 2 pounds for just under $30.00? What does it smell like? By the way, the link is bad on this board.

I tare out my pour pot (tempered glass coffee carafe) and measure out how many ounces by scale. Usually, there is little to no waste if measured correctly (I use 15 ounces wax and 1 ounce fo for two 8 ounce candles). I've tried marking the outside of the pour pot with tape and pouring to the mark but its easier to just weigh it. Most of the time my eyeballing is pretty close. Be careful how you place the tub back into the shell with the elements. The first time I cleaned mine out and put it back together it wouldn't work and I freaked out. Proper alignment fixed the problem. HTH Steve

Zincs were the wick of choice for paraffin, because they are a cool burning wick and a stiff wick that was easy to center in the jar. Back in the day, you wanted the candle to last as long as possible and zincs helped to accomplish that goal but I never liked the mushrooming and some people confused zinc and lead. The cd wicks are hotter and self-trimming (although they tend to lean)and they absorb the wax efficiently in most applications. I imagine that there will be some chandlers who prefer zincs and depending on the type of waxes being blended; that might be better advice. I tested all sorts of percentages and waxes during my quest for a better blend. Nothing could match my present wax qualities or price per case. Good luck.

Looks like a redneck law suit. I would at least add instructions for safe use but you would still assume risk IMHO. People are too careless with fire.

Try a 18 cd or cdn wick and go down.