dick

Good luck with it. I've tried several batches and the TD doesn't mix in well for me. The stuff I bought is supposed to be oil and water soluble, but in oil it didn't mix at all so I put it in the lye water just before adding it. I stir crap out of it and it still leaves powdery little spots in the soap. At 1 tsp to 4lbs of soap it turns the soap a yellowish brown cream color (almost white) and only a few powdery or chalky spots. At 1 tsp per 1 lb of soap the bars are white powder speckled and chalky. Not good at all. The TD I have looks about like cheap baking flour to start with. Maybe some TD is finer??? I really don't know as this is the only batch I have tried. I mix the crap out of it before adding to the oils, but I notice that if I stop whipping it for a min or 2 there is always a slurry of td in the bottom of the bowl. I'll be watching this thread to see what luck you have. I sure would like to get it to work. I've been trying to make white soap for a long time now.

When I used to hunt, I always used skunk scent. That would make some interesting soap, I think. It's very strong. I'd suggest adding the scent and storing the soap outside though (grin).

If you think Candles are addictive try making soap!

I just scribble them on whatever paper is laying around. Scince I can never find them, I don't get bored with my candles. Each one I pour is a new adventure!

For a long time I used a small glass baby bottle that had oz marks on it. It worked well enough. When I finally got a scale I tested several different scents by using the baby bottle and then weighing to check it and there wasn't really any noticeable difference in an oz. When using 3-4 oz's there was a visible difference in liquid measure vs weight. In my tests of 4 oz weighed samples of several diff scents I couldn't see ANY difference in the liquid amounts. But I only tested the 6 scents that I had on hand at the time. If the candles smell good and don't bleed you're all set :-)

I have read about using Titanium Dioxide to produce white soap, but tried it last night and the stuf didn't mix well. How, and when do you add it and how much? OH! guess I should add that I'm doing CP soap. I also have a question about MP soap. I bought a block a few days ago from a regular supplier. The ad just said "Premium Melt and Pour Base- Clear". No real breakdown of ingredients that I saw. I was planning on making some "kids soap" with creepy crawly plastic bug inserts so I thought most any clear base would work. I cut 5lb block in half and plopped it in my melt pot (double boiler) and melted it up and there was a 1/4" thick "scum" on top of the liquid. I tried stirring it in but it wouldn't mix. I tried raising the temp and no help. I let it cool and just as it hardened I lifted of the scum layer and tossed it out. the next day I melted the remaining block (now clear again) and again the thick scum formed on top. I had this happen once before back when I first started messing with soap, but back then I didn't know it wasn't supposed to be like that so I just used it anyway. The bars were messed up though, and I had to scrape away the layer of hardened scum. That was with White MP base. What is the cause? should I just toss out the rest of this block or can I "fix" it? Thanks; Dick

Ummm.. Scince I have a batch "curing" I tried this. It did have a "tingle" to it, but it tastes so horrible That I will NEVER test it again this way!!!!! UGGGG!!!!! ACH! NASTY NASTY STUFF!!!!!! PTUIIII!!!!! :lipsrseal :lipsrseal

Any time you store cheap metal items like that you should give them a light spray of PAM or WD-40 first. Tin is especially prone to rust. Many/most suppliers "mist" them with a light oil after manufacturing so they won't rust in shipment. If you look for it you can tell if they seem a bit "oily". Most candle molds don't rust because of the mold release you use and the fact that wax is petroleum based and acts just like oil to prevent rust. If you wash or clean your molds before storing they WILL rust. Also; a little "tip". If you ever store paint, or anything else that tends to "dry out" or harden over time, you can spray the lids where they seal and it will slow or stop the drying out. Pam is one of the most usefull things you can have around the house. Squeaky wheel? PAM it! Squeaky drawer? PAM. sticky lock? PAM. Hands dry? Pam. It even works well to clean things. Extension cord that you have to "wiggle" when You plug it in? spray a little PAM on the plug. Flashlight with corrosion on the battery post? Car battery corrosion? Pam is great for stoping corrosion too. Got a little rust spot on your car? Pam it and wipe off the excess. It won't repair the rust spot but it will stop it from spreading. The list goes on and on.. Later Dick

Reminds me of the "pet rock" craze several years ago. Both seem pretty silly to me.

I have one presto with spigot and one without. Both are quite easy to use. The spigot is nice to have for some projects. If you only want a lb or so in your pot, the spigot works well. If you want 2-3 lbs it's faster to pick up the presto and pour direct into the pot. Electric spigot would be a waste of time/money I think. Manual works fine. Spigot doesn't work well for GEL. It's way too slow and it plugs up. Most importantly I think, The only problems I've had with the presto have been due to the spigot. When you empty out the presto to change wax or clean, you (or at least I) tend to leave the spigot open. That results in a very unhappy session the next time you turn it on and throw in some wax. After the 3rd or 4th time you'd think it would be easy to remember to close the damn spigot! All in all, if I bought another presto I would not bother to put in the spigot. If you want a worthwhile project, design a pouring pot that doesn't dribble when you pour! Now THAT would be a real hit! Later; Dick

I've done a few of them and LX10 seemed to work the best for me. They DO soot up a bit though. Partly due to not being able to trim the wick very well. Most people who burn these tall jars dont trim them at all. just light em and let burn till they go out. My son in laws mom burns them all the time. She liked the ones I made with the LX10's. Dick

I'm having trouble with wax embeds. I'm using med density gel and glass containers like the "glade" candles you see in the grocery stores. clear glass and they hold about 7oz of wax. I have "fruit" like embeds I bought online from a regular candle supply store. I wicked the jars and filled them about 1/3 to 1/2 with the embeds (orange slices). didn't heat the jars. poured the gel at 190-195 and the embeds melted way too much junk into the gel. Next try I poured at 180-182 and the gel was too thick. It left a lot of air pockets and bubbles. Tried again at 185-187 and got melted embeds AND air pockets/bubbles... Tried pouring first and adding embeds but they just layed on the top, and still melted a little. I know this can be done. I've seen nice candles with good clean embeds. What am I doing wrong? Wrong wax? wrong temp? bad embeds? Help! Dick

Hi all; I've been lurking about here for a few weeks now and finally got up the courage to try making a batch of CP soap. Please check this recipe and see if there's anything wrong with it. I was going to just do it, but the oils and stuff are pretty spendy so I decided to ask for help FIRST rather than waiting till I ruined my first batch. Any comments will be appreciated.... Here goes; 3 oz beeswax 17 oz Canola Oil 17 oz Olive Oil 17 oz Lard 18 oz Palm Kernel Oil 3 oz Fragrance Oil 9.5 oz Lye (Draino) 23 oz Tap Water (Hard Water) I'm looking to fill a loaf mold that's 4.5 in wide and 11 in long to about 4.5 in deep. Am I close???? Thanks; Dick

I don't make tarts, but I have played with bees wax as an additive. You can harden up the "gooie" waxes with it, but it's a bit expensive and unless you get white bees wax it discolors it. It also affects the burn a LOT if you add much of it. Bees wax will also increase "wet spots". I've had much better luck adding straight parafin to the "gooie" stuff when I want it harder. 1 part parafin to 2 parts goo works well and doesn't have much affect on burn or scent throw. Any more than that and you lose the "one-pour" affect of the goo.

Must have been a slow day at the newspaper. Candles cause less deaths and injuries than bathtubs. Maybe we should give up candles and baths eh? And lets not forget cars! They are the real KILLERS!