EricofAZ

I don't think the direction has much to do with it bending. The directional nature is supposed to wick the wax better in one direction or the other. So I guess if we can't figure it out, we need to do a lot of test burns and try to determine which way the wick performs better.

I use one of these: http://www.irisusainc.com/p-759-kp-xlpho.aspx Comes with 12 removable boxes. I labeled one for my tools like pliers, scissors, stickums, tabs, etc. The rest are labeled by series and each size is in a snack sized bag. So I just pull the box I want and grab the wicks I want and that's about it.

I use cotton core in my pillars and I don't twist them. Pillars do better I think with a concentric round pool.

Stella, it is not that easy. The wick weave points up at one location and when you roll the wick in your fingers it comes around to a place where it points down. Typical of how a weave works. However, it is not round. It is semi-circle on a cross section. The flat or indented has a V to it and the round side does as well (which is opposite). So, does this mean the V points upward on the flat or indented side or upward on the round side?

Let us know what you find out. I have the same problem and there is nothing on this forum that has the answer.

be afraid, be real afraid...

Part of the "broke" issue is not real dollars but pro-forma dollars. When USPS hires someone, they need to set aside and budget the medical and retirement. So that is what makes them broke on paper. It is probably a good idea to project out a future, but based on current dollars and current budget is probably not such a good idea.

You know what though? It is a fun pain. I very much enjoy learning new things. Cut and curl and hurricanes are the latest rage with me. One of these days I want to weld up some wrought iron and make a real chandelier. Gel is on the list too. So I'm not done spending yet. No ma'am, I am not and you can't do anything about it!

I found one of those paper cutters that has replaceable wheels (one with a perforation on it) and I run it across the shrinkwrap. Makes it easier to get the shrinkwrap off.

4625 is good for pillars. I like it. As for the containers, I read somewhere about a 1/4 inch melt pool but decided that is too much. Maybe at the wick but not that deep at the rim. The shape and depth of the jar is important because further down, more heat gets held in. If you have a 1/2 inch at the top at the rim (and presumably an inch in the center), expect the bottom to be way to hot when it burns down that far. You may find it necessary to wick for the final burn and then let the chips fall where they may with the initial burn. As long as any hang on the side catches up, you shouldn't have any complaints about it.

I think every craft or trade comes with different levels. I'm not sure it is necessary to be "master" level before selling, but a good journeyman level should be appropriate when on your own and maybe an advanced apprentice under the in person guidance and supervision of another. Just about every trade works that way. With rare exception, everyone on this board takes pride and diligence in the craft and I'm sure that is what I am reading above. Testing is more than just one candle. For example, I've been working on a dripless carved taper. I pretty much have it now. Took a couple dozen carvings and burns to get there and its still not quite ready, but pretty close. I want the burn to terminate half way down the taper. Thought I had it worked out and on the 5th test, I had very serious problem with the wick. I'm so glad I didn't stop at one or two or three. I also learned that gloss coating is not a good idea as it can interact with the wick droppings in a bad way. So I can appreciate that a simple candle from a kit may work kinda OK and that a more complex one takes a while to get it right. I also recall that one situation where CPSC made a candle company recall 7 million tealights because ONE got hot and warped the plastic case. That's a tough standard to live up to.

Good job. Maybe a really small wick to slow down the burn rate?

If I read the tuts right, spray paint on one side and let it dry, then load the FO on the other side. Haven't tried it yet, but I plan on doing it soon.

EO works in candles, but needs high percentages and the right wax mix. Be careful about the freezer, the wax can crack with that technique. In the future, spray the mould with mould release (or Pam) or use a release additive.

I bought lotion tubes out of Texas and they arrived just fine. .... Tubes n Stuff. I double checked now that I am not looking for FO's and it matched. Ok, thanks so much and I feel silly for not having a better way of checking what I buy. I'll fix that right away.

The wick in the video doesn't look like a FB to me. It looks round and has droppings so I think it might be a P or cotton core. Not a zinc. Maybe a small RRD. I wrote to a patent attorney friend because I have "issues" with folks patenting things that artists should be free to make. He wrote back that sometimes the simplest of ideas get patents just because nobody else applied. He suggested that I make as many as I can before the patent is approved.

"P.S. This is not going to be an inexpensive hobby, plus it can become addictive; you've been given the heads up, LOL" Ravens, where were you when I thought it might be a fun hobby to make candles? I shudder to say what I've spent in the last year and a half.

Just a few thoughts here: The 10x10 is probably a canopy, not a tent. They are nice to have. You can pay from $25 at the "outlet" stores for these or $300 elsewhere. There is a quality difference between the ones with thin supports and plastic joints (which break easily) or the ones with heavy metal all the way around. If you don't plan on using it much, I'd suggest paying for the rental for several reasons. First off, you don't have to lug the thing around. Second, and most importantly, if the wind comes up and your canopy blows down and hurts someone, you have a finger that you can point towards the show for renting the tent. I am aware of a lady that went to a show last year locally and the tent was not staked. The wind came up and it blew down and badly injured a pregnant woman. In that situation, the show promoter was, get this, a city. Yup, the city wanted to offer a craft show and they held it in a location that had rules that stakes were not allowed. Oh, the egg on everyone's face, but more importantly, the sad story about the injured person. If you bring your own, make sure it is solid metal, no plastic joints, and well staked, and heavily insured. That will cost way more than $85.

Yup, that's what it is and why it should be off the market.

I have a charge on my account from Azure Aromatique. It looks familiar but for the life of me, I can't match the dollar number with any supplier that I bought from recently. And I don't have any FO's that have arrived from this company. I know that some companies bill under different names than their websites, etc... Does anyone know this company or who markets for them? I hate to cancel the card and report fraud if it was legit, but I just can't find any printouts of orders or supplies received that match.

Paraffin is still very much useable for candles and it handles FO's much easier than soy.

Right now soy is cheaper to buy than paraffin, but harder to get the fragrance right. Sounds like a great father / daughter thing. Because the wicks and the flame can be very trying to get right, and dangerous if not right, I'd like to suggest a different place to start. There are a lot of folks who like electric candle warmers. You can buy a warmer at WalMart for $15 that is quite nice. Lots of folks do that. So making the scented wax that goes into it is just as involved about using the right wax and the right scent but takes out the issues of selecting the right container and the right wick (which is a huge dollar issue as well). If this sounds interesting, take a look at our wickless board here. You can get clamshell containers cheaply enough ($122 for 875 or even less if you go in on a co-op with others). The wax can be either paraffin or soy. There are a half dozen or more soy waxes on the market and a dozen or more paraffin. The wickless forum will help you weed out the ones that don't work for clamshells.

Wow, I was just looking at the metal moulds. Some that we don't see at the regular haunts in the US.

Ah, thanks. I guess some scents are fine when strong. I was using leather and that needs to be regulated.

Oh, yeah, well, 50 candles at a time is a different animal. The tubing system has got to be a dream and I can appreciate that. I guess I don't pour enough candles!