Oh-MYo

As the candle addict that I am, (sorry, dont mean to hijack anyone's screen name) I'm okay with mushrooms. To me, it's a good indication that it is time to trim the wick. Even a wick that hasnt mushroomed by that time should be trimmed. If you see a wick that is glowing on the end, it's clear that it is not supporting ignition like the rest of the wick that is. (gawd, hope that made sense) As a "power burner" I trim wicks while they are burning. If you try this and trim a burning mushroom you will notice how much cleaner and brighter the flame gets. Likely even hotter but I dont have equipment to test that. Or even if you are just trimming a glowing wick end. If it was "self trimming" you would end up with those little bits of wick either falling into the wax or on your walls and furniture as soot. A candle is a fire in any case and you must have soot somewhere. At least if it's in the mushroom, it is in a place where you can catch it and dispose of it how you wish. I have noticed that candles that mushroom dont soot the glass of container candles nearly as much. Maybe other's experience is different. I just think of a mushroom as a way of localizing much of the soot in a place that is easy to get at. They also sorta look like the stamens on a flower, all in black of course.

Yaknow, I had almost forgotten about that soot dust. But I do know what youre talking about. I wouldnt worry though, if your stove was exhausting improperly you would be noticing more smoke than soot in your house. I found that even carrying the wood into your home, especially if it is properly dried will create extra dust. It's just the way of things. Even cleaning the chimney will create soot in your house--no way around it. And depending on atmospheric conditions and wind direction some days that smoke from outside will wind around and work it's way into any little crack in your house. Back in the day, it was important to not have an airtight house because the wood stove does need oxygen to burn and so do the people in the house. Even the surrounding area outside of your house can effect your burn, such as very tall trees. Nothing so important as draft with a wood stove. And the airtight stoves can be very nice but they can have draft issues themselves. If/when you do buy an airtight, do lots of research. They can be like candles, some people make them and sell them without doing the extensive testing that good chandlers do with their candles. And with that dry heat, we had a kettle on the woodstove all winter long. We always thought, why buy a humdifier if the stove will run the "humidifier" for free. And think of the opportunities for throwing a little potpourri in it. Or a wax melt in a little bowl on the lid. God I miss it! You can tell I am a hopeless pyro(where's the pyro smiley anyway?).....lol Enjoy. You are so lucky.

I saw that too and was thinking exactly the opposite. That it would restrict air flow. I think it would be cool to test that. I know candles are like cars, they all burn nice when you first take'em off the shelf. I just wonder, at what point do they actually improve the burn? And are there some containers which work better than others?

Lol...careful now Vio, if you dont watch it, you will have boxes and boxes of firestarters in all sorts of configurations and more than you can possibly use in a lifetime and still steepling fingers together, thinking...."hmmm..what shall I try next?" I'm jealous though; wish I had a wood burning stove again.

Funny how the fire starter thing keeps coming up. One thing I discovered in my experiments was that the firestarters themselves do need something that will burn hot enough to get the wax burning. Of course once that has started you have no problems with ignition. I found pouring in dixie cups to be the least messy. Years ago in my paper weaving phase I had bought a paper shredder. So shredded paper was basically the fuel of choice in my firestarters. With enough in the wax as well as lots of ends sticking out to enhance the intitial burn. My firestarters look like little pink porcupines jammed into dixie cups. Have fun.

I agree. There is no need or even a good reason for a tab in a pillar. And even when you wick right to the bottom as those of us who prewick must, the candle will self extinguish when it gets to the bottom because there is nothing to hold the wick from flopping over into the melt pool. A liquid melt pool and the softened wax below it wont support a wick. It is the firm wax beneath it that supports the wick. If you did happen to have a tab in a pillar and planned to burn it to the very bottom you would also want to ensure that you were burning it in a receptacle that would hold as much wax as as may leak out the bottom when the melt pool gets to the "floor" of the candle. Having said that, I have seen many pillars that did have a tab. I dont think tabs are really about safety, more about burning as much of the wax as possible.

Underwicked would be my guess. I have remelted and blended many candle ends and remains, even container and pillar wax together. Never had a problem, although I have experienced the tunnelling occasionally but only because my candle was underwicked. The thing is that with a blend such as this you have no way of knowing what the correct wicking will be. Because it will be different every time. Still is fun to do, hope you didnt end up with a grey candle, which I have done as well. Not all colors blend well...hehe

:undecided In my experience burned sugar cookies dont smell that wonderful. In addition to the great answers so far, aromatic oils diffuse from the melt pool to create those deliscious scents. However actuall cookie dough would do nothing for scent. JMO but I think someone got distorted info.

Looking at some of the satin ribbon ones, on Zoom, it almost looks like a big square has been poured in many layers on an angle and then sliced: https://www.bullfrogcandles.com/shop/display_product.phtml?cust_id=&user_num=&cust_status=guest&cat_id=133&sub_id=60&prod_id=531 in order to roll it on.

I am thinking the outside may be a seperate layer of wax that has been rolled on like a pie crust or jelly roll. You could make your own layer of which ever color you like and put drops or smears of clear or white wax wherever you want them. A silicone baking try in a cookie sheet--maybe even on a breakfast grill to keep it the right temp as you are making your layer. Then roll it on to the finished inner white pillar when it has cooled to the right consistency. Great website with some awesome ideas!

Hello Morgenstern. I have had some luck enlarging already created wick holes in votives that I had bought at the dollar store. I didnt feel that I liked the wick cuz it was too tiny. However, my husband had a metal drill bit sitting close by and a little light bulb went on in my head. The bit was just slightly larger than the already existing hole. I just turned the drill bit by hand and had to draw it out several times just so it wouldnt get clogged I guess. It was only a little messy and the candle looked fine when I was finished. And the drill bit was none the worse for wear, if anything, perhaps a little better rust proofed. I dont know how many you plan to do but if I were to repeat the experiment on a larger scale I would be thinking drill press. Clearly this is not so much about wick pins as inventiveness. Good luck and have fun :-)) Oh and the other thing about twisting the double wick together as you describe, I have tried that as well and find that they separate as they burn anyway and one of the wicks ends up creating a crooked burn on the candle or drowning itself because it is not level with the other one. I even tried lashing them together with light cotton thread. Maybe I gave up too soon. If you have better luck I would be delighted to hear about it.

Absolutely. And there is no reason why you cant apply some silicone to the bottom of the tab to secure it to the container so it doesnt move around. In that case you would want to give it an hour or so to set uo before pouring. Now if youre pouring at a high temp you would want to check whether or not a plastic straw will hold up to that temp.

I use a home made version of the Wickstick myself, basically a straw which fits over the wick. Positioned and stabalized at the top with 2 for a buck dollar store craft scissors. The only thing to be really careful about is to turn it several times as the wax is hardening so that it can slip free when youre ready to take it out. Otherwise you will be popping out wick, tab and a straw full of hardened wax.

Something about this just doesnt gel---or cure as the case may be. Pourette made "cheesy" plastic molds which may or may not be copyrited. They have since gone out of business, meaning that their product is no longer available to the public. If a copyright's intent is to safeguard a specific company's profits, just when, morally is it ok to forget about copyrights which may or may not be attributed to these molds? More specifically, if a company owns a copyright and then goes out of business....what happens to said copyright? Another possibility, I suppose is if you have an ebay account you could add pourette plastic molds to your want list. Or google for some plastic candle molds.

I am always glad to see when people are questioning and testing the old maxims. Personally I dont cure but then I dont sell either. I have often wondered if the "curing" time has more to do with how our own scent receptors have begun filtering out that particular scent while we have been melting and pouring. Yes, candle nose. I have worked in several places where the smell of curing foam or plastic is overpowering when I first started. After awhile none of us notice it. It's not until we have been on vacation for a week or two and go back in the plant and then we can smell it again. Scent and our sense of smell is still somewhat of a mystery. Perhaps our sense of smell somewhat minimizes scents which we are exposed to, so long as they do not signify a threat to our survival and the time to regain that particular smell is different in all of us. Perhaps it's the nose that needs curing and not the candles....lol

Hi Jade. I'm no expert. I just do what works...for me. I don't sell candles. I just make my own. I quit using tabs at all quite some time ago. Basically, I just ran out of tabs. And realized that a container without a tab eliminates a number of the safety issues. The wick just collapses into the melt pool once it has burned down to close to the bottom. Long before it can catch fire to wick trimmings etc. I center a short copper rod in the container after I pour and twirl it several times as the wax is cooling so that wax doesnt harden to my---wick pin. Then extract wick pin, insert primed wick and repour. I suppose that wouldnt be so effective with tea lites or votives. But it's what works for me.

That's great! Thanks for sharing that. I have been experimenting with my own EO blends for my catalytic lamp. Some end up smelling like floor cleaner or like the gingerbread factory exploded. But this makes a lot more sense. Experimentation is such fun. I will continue now with this information you shared. Thanks again.

Hi Jane. Be vewy vewy caweful when you enter here. You may not want to leave:cheesy2: Many years ago I tried the canning wax idea. Heck it was cheap and readily available and I just didnt know anything. It was a big dissapointment. Since I didnt know anything about poking relief holes or wicking, I had a huge crater in the center of my candle, wick was off center and it smoked like a burning oil tanker. I even colored it with crayon bits....lol. Please note that I am definitely NOT suggesting you try to use crayons.... I didnt use any scent and quite honestly I would say that essential oils are more likely to disperse most of their scent as you are heating the wax. I dont mean to frighten you or to put you off. I just wouldnt want your first candle making experience to be so horrid that you want to stay away from candle making as long as I did because of such dissapointing results. On the other hand you may discover something wonderful. Best of luck.

Yes, I have noticed that. I do trim my wicks and think that it happens more often when the wick has self trimmed on last burning so there isnt enough to trim before lighting. Also I have started using a hurricane/torch type lighter to light my candles now and notice the crackling sound more with that method. Its the only time they crackle, when the candle is being lit---honestly I never gave it much thought till you mentioned it.

Just my opinion here. I love Essential oils. But not in candles. First, I love EOs for the fact that they are, well, the real thing. FOs are synthetic and recreate a small number of the actual oderant particles of any particular scent. They may give off a pleasing scent that reminds you in some ways of the scent they are trying to duplicate. But seem, to me rather flat and one dimensional. Whereas EOs do naturally contain the entire range of oderant particles of the scent because they are the original and true scent. EOs contain hundreds if not thousands of different oderants. Its like the difference between a trained chicken pecking on a 6 key toy piano and a 60 piece orchestra playing a symphony. But then I am one of those who doesnt buy candles for the scent but for the flame. Now EOs being as volatile as they are are likely to evaporate a lot as you are heating your wax to pouring temp. If you are using soy at a lower temp you wont lose as much. Also as far as getting quality EOs that are not cut with carrier oils you are going to be paying a dear price which will naturally increase the cost of your candle. A price, I think that few people will be willing to pay unless they really know what they are getting. I pay 12 to 20 dollars for a half ounce, depending on the oil itself and I buy locally in Canada. I think it too is cut with carrier oils but that makes the scent no less wonderful. The actual process for extracting carrier oils, steam or cold pressed is second to the fact that it takes a lot of flowers/bark/leaves etc to get even small amounts of EOs. EOs are more subtle but, I think, more noticeable because they are the real thing. The nose knows. As for how well they bind with the wax, I cant comment on that. The candle flame itself will do things to the EOs which you may or may not like. And a wickless candle just wouldnt last as long due to the high volatility of EOs. As far as a scent line, perhaps EOs would be better suited to B & B. Just be sure that you are using skin safe EOs, which depend not on the manufacturer but on the specific EO itself. There is a whole other world of learning in EOs. As far as finding a good supplier, I would be looking for web sites that display openly their passion and respect for the oils themselves. And their understanding of what they are providing.

Just what I was thinking. One of those Why-didnt-I-think-of-that ideas. Label plus candle friendly freebie gift all in one.

lol...Yep a LOT of people use candles JUST for decorating, even JUST for the cold scent throw and might light it once for a hour or so. Then once the wick is black or they choose to redecorate the candle goes in the bin---or my local Sally Ann store. We have all seen fire hazard candles with bits of flowers or seed heads right in the wax. Some people dont understand that youre supposed to take the raffia off before burning, much less the plastic wrap. Its a weird world aint it!

Forgive me if I seem dense but I dont quite understand how a Presto Pot or a turkey fryer for that matter are different or safer than a stove top. I do understand that the Presto has the thermostat, I just think that watching the wax thermometer yourself is more accurate and effective. Wax doesnt boil so it just continues to get hotter so long as heat is applied so I very clearly understand the need to closely watch your melting wax. Clearly if you plan on pouring at a specific temperature I dont see where this should be a problem. Wax's flash point is way above any recommended pour temps and varies with the blend. Wax vapor doesnt ignite until you light the wick which burns at a starting temp of about 500F. Having said all of that I have been melting wax on my gas stove top(on low) for years if not decades without a single incedent. I think it more important to watch it closely. If I am wrong, please feel free to correct.

I use 2 or 4 kraft sticks and clamp them together with little paper clamps on either end with the wick sticking up between them. Kinda like the rubber band idea but, for me at least, less bothersome than messing with rubber bands. So that the kraft sticks are sitting on top of the container/mold on edge rather than flat.

Yah Prairieannie I'd like to sign up for your fan club too. Welcome Shirley. There are people at every level of expertise on this board and you will find some of the warmest, funniest and generous people here. I can see someone deciding, after reading the board for an hour or so that it would all be so much easier to just go buy their candles. However there are other needs that must be fuflilled; that need to create something of your own, that need to create more of what you love. Enjoy yourself. And please note that people do care a great deal about selling a safe candle. They have done months, if not years of testing and refining to get their products just right. They have great advice to share.