Blueroc85

Grama, I did the same thing, only with a compass. I measured the bottom of my jar and set the compass to half that (as the point of your compass is the center of the circle) and drew the circle on paper. Then I measured the diameter of my wick tab, and set the compass to half of that. Using the same hole for the compass point I drew another circle in he middle of the first. I line up the jar with the larger circle and use the smaller for a "target" for my wick tab. I like Grama's idea of the sponge to help keep the jar in the same position every time. I will have to try that! Happy Wicking!

I wick first and then heat. I found it was harder to do it the other way around. I use wick tabs and the heat does not seem to effect their stickiness. The wax on the wick does melt and run a little, but I just pick off the clump with my puncture tool before pouring my wax. It has not effected the wick's performance in any way.

I never thought of making a potato candle! I love the idea of novelty candles. The burlap is a great idea. I looked at the potoato on your site.....very realistic looking. Awesome work!

Thank you all for sharing your heat gun disaster stories and for the helpful suggestions too! I know my family won't care what they look like.....they will be eager to light the wicks! I am the one who cares what they look like! Thanks for the encouragement, Donita! I thin on my next trip to Harbor freight I will pick up two just in case! Unfortunatley, I have never used palm wax, so I do not have any lying around. I can always shave some the leftover wax on top of them if I get too desparate!

Not a darn thing! I used ALL of my wax yesterday. I need to order some more comfort blend! I am going to IL to visit my folks this weekend! Have a good one All!

I am a friend of Ball Mason Canning jars. I use the 8 oz jelly jars. Sorry I do not have any pics currently......I definitly do not want to take pics of my messy top candles since the heat gun blew! I don't sell candles, as it is current just a hobby.

Hubby came home and took it apart to see if he could fix it. A bunch of metal pices fell out if it. Apparently the motor blew. So I chucked that sucker in the trash! It would probably cost more to get another motor then to just buy a new one as I think I only paid $12 for it from Harbor freight. Thank god these candles are just freebies for family members and they will understand the tops being unfinished. I am not going to have a chance to get another one before we leave on Friday. They will probably light them immediatley and won't even notice the tops. I can only imagine the panic of tryingto get an order ready for a paying customer and having it break! YIKES! I feel bad for you on that one Vicki. I figured a cheap heat gun would last longer than 3 or 4 times used, but I am obviously wrong as the same thing happened to Karen's $60 number. I guess you just never know about how things are made these days, and it is hit and miss wether it be brand name or generic. Thanks for cheering me up y'all!

AHHHHHHHHH! Right in the middle of finishing the tops of my candles this afternoon, my heat gun burned up. Everything was going fine......then the gun switched into high by itself (blowing wax everywhere in the process).....smoke came out of the vents and it had a burnt smell. I immediatley turned it off and unplugged it. I checked to see if I had accidentally turned it on high, but the switch was still in the low position. DANG! I haven' even had that silly thing a year, and have only used it three or four times ( I do not get to make candles as often as I would like). I only finished one candle top before it blew. I am taking them up to my mom this weekend and they look just hideous without the tops done!!!! I guess I will have to go out and try to locate another. I tried a mini haidryer that I had laying around, but it doesn't get hot enough on low and the high setting blows wax everywhere! Admittidley, the heat gun wasn't a very expensive one, but I would expect it to last longer than three or four times! Thanks for listening to me vent!

Same Here....I store my comfort blend in its original packaging. I cut down the plactic as I use out of the bag. When finished, I put a wal mart bag over the top to keep the wax from getting dust and dirt in it. Then, I stuff it back in its box and close the lid. I haven't found an easier way than that to store it as of yet!

In addition to Heat and Paper towels I also use Goo Gone to help clean up wax from spills and after I have used my equipment, molds, etc.... It works wonders to get rid of the wax! The pyrex measuring cups are my friends too....glass is easier to clean than the metal pouring pots. I am not too much help on pillars as I mostly stick to container candles. I do know from the few pillars I have poured that poouring sloooooowly and pouring down the wick helps to reduce air bubbling. I hope this Helps a little!

I have wet spot issues with comfort bled as well, no matter how slowly I cool the jars. I love the stuff otherwise! Great hot and cold throw at 6%. I am going to try different types of wicks with mone as the zinc work well, but have terrible mushrooming! Good Luck!

LOL....diving off a cliff..... LOL! That is exactly how I feel when pouring votives. I do not sell my creations, I just make candles as a hobby, so I mostly just stick to containers. I do have several votive candle holders, so I make them for that purpose. All goes well until the repour......I can never get the metal mold filled just right and I ALWAYS end up making a mess. They burn well but the tops either have the lip from the mold or they just look messy! I enjoy pouring them, I just wish I could make them look more professional!

I have two presto pots and neither have spigots. I just pour the wax from the pot into the pour pitcher. I, too, would like to know where you all get the ladles. That 8 oz ladle sounds pretty handy since I use 8 oz jars!

Maybe I'm being dense, but I was wondering........ How do you all heat the wax to the right temperature to pour once you've mixed it with color and dye in the pour pot? Do you use something to heat the pour pot? I do not have a spigot on my kitchen kettle, I just tip the kettle to pour the wax into my pour pot. I add the color and scent in the kettle. I would like to melt a big bunch of wax and do several smaller batches from that by mixing the dye and scent in the pour pot, but am worried it would be too cool to pour after mixing it. I hope this makes sense!

I currently use zinc, but they are not low smoke. The only time I have trouble with my wicks smoking is when the wax is nearly gone. I have been thinking of switching wick types because of the marathon burners (like my mother) as the wicks tend to smoke if not trimmed properly and when the wax is nearly gone (because it is hard to trim the wick in this low in the jar). I am afraid I wont be able to get as good of burn with different wicks as I do with the zincs. I am going to have to experiment! I have no problems with the zinc when the wicks are kept trimmed to 1/4 inch.