simplybeelightful

I LOVE that! I also love tins but never know what to do with them. How cute would a bunch of those be lining your sidewalk?

A fire what?

Check similar melters on www.candlewic.com. You won't ever regret getting a melter. Nothing even compares with the safety and reliability of a water jacketed system. I leave mine on 24/7. One thing though, I would fill it with vegetable oil. That way you never have to worry about evaporation or steam. My large melter took over 5 gallons of oil but was well worth the expense. (got my oil through a wholesale supplier)

She said, twice, that the name had special meaning to her. Possibly a nickname from a beloved family member or something like that. Regardless of whethter or not she uses beeswax (and she very well may) the name is special to her.

Sorry, didn't mean to ruffle any feathers! Just asked what the name meant to her.

That is absolutely stunning. Going to have to try making those myself.

As far as the wicking. I use 60 ply flat braided wicks for my 3" beeswax pillars and they work beautifully.

I filled my water jacketed melter with vegetable oil and check the level once a year just to make sure it's okay (which it always is) and I have no issues with steam coming off the melter like I did with water.

By the way, my melter runs 24/7.

So why are you sticking with the little bee if you're not making products with beeswax? That seems a little more misleading than the organic part.

That's where I got mine from but can't remember what I bought them for, it's been a while. Do they work well in soy candles?

I don't know, I only make beeswax candles

My first business name was D Bar Farms Soaps and Sundries. Everyone wondered what sundries was. ha

wanted something simple, thought my candles were delightful and everything I make is based around beeswax and honey so... Simply BeeLightful!

I get my beeswax coated wicks from Candlewic

i use these from mann lake in 8", 10" and 12" love them!! http://www.mannlakeltd.com/productdetail.asp?idproduct=1356&idcategory=

you really need one of these wicking needles also. http://www.betterbee.com/products.asp?dept=851

i spray the mold good with a silicone mold release cause even my beeswax can get stuck occasionally.

amen!!

Wow, Simplybeelightful! Do you have any pictures of the wax table to share?? I would love to see it!

I don't think I do. Sorry. I will try to get one to post.

Buy wick pins!!!

I would recommend beeswax, of course, but you are probably going to make container candles so, there goes that.

I started out with a roaster, went to two roasters so I could have yellow beeswax in one and white in the other. Always colored and scented my wax in the pouring pot.

Then I went to a home made wax melter for the yellow wax (it held about 50 lbs of wax). Now I have a wax table and I love it. It is stainless steel, water jacketed, and holds a large vat for white wax, a large vat for yellow wax, and six smaller vats for colors.

Also have a seven vat dipping tank but haven't had time try it yet.

Be sure to put up a peg board behind your table to hang tools on. This is also where I hang my spools of wick and then I can just roll and cut off what I need.

I cover my worktable (a countertop mounted on legs) with cardboard for easy cleanup.

The cheapy plastic drawer sets make great storage for unused molds.

I have several "stations" set up in my workshop, i.e. pouring table, wicking table, packaging, etc.

My wicking table has several recycled fireball candy containers that hold votive wicks, tealight wicks and tealight cups.

Don't do anything too permanent until you figure out what works best, you will always re-arrange.

Just to clarify, you think that the 2/0 square braided would be too small for tapers and I should get the #2 square braided? I'd like to order some wicks by Monday so I can start pouring and testing. Where would I send the wax to have it bleached?

My only test burn was with my first "strained" block and the wick self-extinguished. I started researching right away and discovered what I had to do on Sunday. I finally finished rendering all of the wax today and may just need to remelt some awkward size slabs for storage. I can finally begin the clean up. I found that some of my slabs stuck to the inside of the pot and others pulled away nicely (shrinking from the sides). I'm wondering if I'll have to make furniture polish with the waxes that didn't clean up as well. I kept the different colors in separate batches for processing--so some of them seem to have different qualities. Would I be able to use darker beeswax for body products like soap, massage bars, lip balm and lotion? I'm hoping that the darker beeswax isn't a skin irritant.

I've since figured out with the help of some online beekeeping info that this wax came from old combs. I saw a comparison photo of frames from years 1-4, and the stuff I got looked like 4 years old. From what the beekeeper said about not being able to give the hives the attention they deserve, it makes sense. My husband thinks he didn't "screw" me with this sale intentionally. The man didn't even know what kind of bees he has (we asked because we had them for one season) and he's had bees for about 60yrs. Initially, he didn't remember why I was there to meet him or what time! He got irritated when I asked about lighter/yellow blocks of wax and that I didn't want any of honey or the black stuff (slumgum, I know now)...I said it would clog the wick and he acted like I was from outer space..."Wax is wax...you just need to strain it. We can go in the house and wash off the honey." So...I made a bad call from inexperience with raw beeswax. I've bought the good stuff and had to pay $10+/l from a more local keeper...that is beautiful stuff but it's really high priced. The money I thought I was saving by buying this uncleaned stuff was blown away by the labor, time, and wax soiling my pots, utensils, and tile floor, along with the wasted cheese cloth and pantyhose. Who knows about the electricity. Sorry, I'm ranting...

Thank you both, for your help! I hope to be able to use this wax for candles. I've been trying to work through this all week...I don't want to give up and feel like I lost $150 and all that time with nothing to show for it.

I have always #2 for everything except pillars and had no problems with it. That is what I would suggest.

I personally know of one beekeeper in Sacramento, CA that does refine white beeswax. Don't know if he would be interested in doing yours or not.

Have you talked to the beekeeper you bought the wax from and informed him of the problems? That would be my first step. Tell the guy he sold you some crappy wax and see if he makes the price right. If not, go from there.

Like I said before, I'm sorry you ran into this problem buying from a beekeeper, and I'm not sure what to do in your position.

Is there anyone on this board who works in beeswax primarily? Perhaps a beekeeper? One week ago I bought a 50lb lot of beeswax from an old-time beekeeper. I had to render it myself (we're not talking just straining through a cheese cloth here.) The colors of the bricks varied from dark olive to brick red. There were only about four bricks of mustard yellow wax. According to the seller the colors varied because of what he put in the solar extractor. We saw his honey and it looked like the darkest molasses I've ever seen. He has 80 hives and is starting to wrap them up for retirement. Now I know I didn't get pure cappings wax...it was brood wax for the most part with the bits of larvae and slumgum to prove it. A lot of it had honey oozing from it. I weighed all of the blocks before melting and I had 51lbs...it looks like I'm going to have 45lbs of finished wax.

My questions relating to the background info is this: will this wax burn effectively? Will people want to buy candles made in these colors or will I have to dye it? Should I do a blend of this wax with another...like paraffin? Due to a week's worth of work for this, I already feel like I overpaid for this wax...so please be gentle with your comments.

Much of it looks like bayberry wax, so I'm thinking I could buy bayberry fragrance to add to it. It doesn't have a strong honey smell so that shouldn't be a problem.

It sounds like you definitely did not get cappings wax and, unfortunately, I don't know how sellable the dark wax will be. People look for nice light yellow wax that has the honey smell. And, I'm not sure how well the candles will burn. I would go with 60 ply flat braided cotton wicks for the pillars and #2 square braided cotton wicks for everything else. Make sure you test the candles well to make sure they are going to burn.

My only other suggestion would be to have someone "bleach" the dark wax. You probably won't end up with white wax but it may at least end up a lighter yellow. (I know, this will only cost you more money but may be the only way to sell the candles)

Sorry you had this experience. Beekeepers like that give the rest of us a bad name.

Beeswax is about the best for tapers! I tired dipping tapers when I first started years ago and hated it.......took too long, too messy, inconsistent looking tapers. I switched to a metal taper mold and actually didn't like that either......harder to wick and it seemed every other taper would stick even after spraying with a silicone mold release.

I use silicone taper molds now and love them. I use the 8" and 12" molds from Mann Lake http://www.mannlakeltd.com/ProductDetail.asp?idproduct=1356&idCategory= .

I spray my molds with a silicone mold release like this http://www.mannlakeltd.com/ProductDetail.asp?idproduct=1356&idCategory=

This wicking needle is a must: http://www.betterbee.com/products.asp?dept=851

I also use 2/0 square braid for my taper wicksand get great dripless tapers.

If you have someone in your area that has bees, you may be able to get wax from them. Candlewic has decent prices on their white and yellow beeswax also. Good luck and have fun!

DITTO on all points. You will never regret making beeswax candles.

I waited until Candlewic had a good sale on votive molds and got them very cheap. Also try EBay.

I wouldn't make votives without using wick pins. It is so much easier to get the wicks centered and, I always had problems keeping the wicks standing up while the votive cooled, not any more. Just make sure to spray your molds, with the wick pins in, often to keep them from sticking

I'm surprised no one suggested making beeswax candles. What about trying beeswax without added FOs? (You noted you're a vegetarian but you didn't say vegan--so I don't know if you'd find beeswax acceptable.)

Well, of course, you should know that I would suggest beeswax! :smiley2: I would try unscented beeswax and, as I do, you can still color the candles without scenting them.

I think you would have plenty customers but, here's an idea. Donate a part of your proceeds to a cause benefiting our troups, advertise that HEAVILY and you will do well.

That's exactly why I never did a show that allowed anything but all handmade items. You usually have to pay more for "juried" shows but it's well worth it!

I never put damaged products out to sell at shows. I think you always want to have your best stuff out there. Give the damaged stuff to your friends and explain the damage to them. If they like the candles, they'll tell their friends and maybe you'll get some business out of it!

Just a couple of notes I should have added to my last post.

I use the 76 coconut oil that I also use for soaping, just up the beeswax a little bit to make it harder.

My recipe makes 50 lip balms at at time and, if I don't want that many of one flavor, I just add the flavor to part of the big batch and therefore can make several flavors with one batch. Wintergreen is my personal favorite. It will give you that "tingle". I also add Vitamin E, Aloe and Tee Trea oil to my balms. Tee Trea oil is suspose to be good in preventing cold sores and, it does.

Does anyone know how to add "sunscreen" to their lip balms?