fredron

I've had occasion to feel around under my Surf & Turk unit, and I don't believe it gets hot enough to damage a table surface. I spilled some wax which sloshed under the fryer, and couldn't reach under far enough to wipe it all. After the session I checked, and it wasn't melted, so the temp didn't reach 125 degrees. That should not be enough to damage a table top, but prolonged use might dry out a local spot enough to warp a wood table. If it's a good table, be safe & put something under it, even if it's only another piece of wood. Fredron

I'm not in the mold business, but if someone REALLY REALLY wanted one, and contacted me directly, we might work something out. Fredron

There is another thread asking the question What are/is Dotz. I answered the question there. If you still have questions, send me a private message & I'll give you the lowdown. Fredron

Dotz are small peces of scented wax shaped like a ball cut in half. Mine are 3/4" in diameter, but the ones I saw in the candle shop in Niagara falls were much smaller and looked like M&M's. I use them to use up leftover tart & Pillar wax, and my customers really like them because they melt quickly & they can mix & match easily, creating a whole new group of fragrances. I made my own molds out of copper plate, because I work in a copper mill and it's available. I get good money for them and never waste wax now. Also my customers think there is some exotic process to making them. (don't know where they get that idea) They are a bit of a pain to pour, but cool fast & simply slide out of the mold. I also use them as incentives to buying my container candles. (Buy any two container candles & pick a bag of Dotz free) Fredron

Try Glass Plus More in Wisconsin. They have a nice supply of glass products, and I'm sure Mark will ship anywhere. Fredron

You can add more red and get a real red, or add some blue & get a purple, or some black and some blue to get a kind of burgundy. The only problem is that you will never be able to duplicate the color in the future. What I would do is save them for chunk candles, or make dotz. I sell the dotz by the hundreds and never waste any wax. Fredron

I guess I have to sound the discordant note. In my humble opinion, (usually wrong, as my dear wife will attest) The color makes the candle. We have over 200 fragrances in our list, and I use a different shade for each. I then tie the hang tag on the jar with a complimentary color ribbon. I use a hang tag because our jars taper in two directions, and labels wrinkle when applied. Your labels look great, but to the color is it!!! Fredron

One of my best sellers is Cinnamon stick/vanilla. We do a ton of that fragrance. Don't know whose FO you bought, but I use Cinnamon Stick and French Vanilla from NG, and mix 50-50. I use 1 drop of brown dye/lb. (don't know how you'll get brown from the colors you have.) Fredron

How soon after your candles set up are you attempting to smell them? With most waxes you will need to "age" them a few days before the cold throw is maximized. After setting up, I trim the wick, put the lid on, and forget mine for at least 3 days before trying to smell them. Some fragrances, such as black cherry, will give off a cold throw immediately, but most require the aging. Fredron

Believe it or not, you will become good at judging how much wax is in the pour pot by sight. If the scale is close by, the process of getting the right weight goes surprisingly fast. Good luck Fredron

Forgot to mention one thing about the insulation board boxes. They have very little strength, so they must sit flat on a table. You can't let part of the box overhang the edge, or try to span an opening. But they really work!! Fredron

I'm not sure whose jars you're using, but we've been refilling jars for customers for years to save them the cost of the jar. I would not reuse a jar to sell it to another customer, but my customers love saving that $2.00/candle. I do not clean them out & wash them though. I tell my customers in order to save the money they clean them out. If I have to do it, they pay full price. Our jars are heavy duty jars-we call them bulletproof. They are not your run of the mill mason jars. Fredron

Take the basket out. Only wax gets to the coils-nothing to protect from. Fredron

You may want to keep that lid handy. On my Surf & Turk unit, when the wax melts through to the surface, it "spits" wax up & out. It isn't much, but it's hot & makes a mess. Leave the lid on until you have a melted hole in the wax. Fredron

The problem with the 6006 sink holes is in the cooling, I've found. I finally built a "cooling box" out of styrofoam inculation board used for insulating houses. You can buy a 4' x 8' piece of 1/2" thick for $8.50 at Home Depot. Get some liquid nails glue & some duct tape also. Cut the board with a razor knife & glue & tape a box to your needs. I ended up with two out of one sheet. When you pour, set your candles in the box & put the lid on. When you pour more than one jar, let them touch each other as they cool. My boxes slow cool the candles for about 12 hours, and the sink holes do not appear. I never really had the wet spots, so I don't know if this will solve that problem. I also eliminated some problems with Joy Wax using my boxes and really like the Joy wax better. Fredron

Sorry, I forgot about the layered candles. Basically, let the first layer set up, but before it is completely cool & pulls away from the side of the jar, pour your next layer. I want a sharp defining line between layers, so I wait about an hour. If you are looking for a blending of the layers, wait less time. No matter how much you read, though, you'll get more information in your first pour, than we can help you with. By the way, I have used J-50 and more recently, Joy wax. Not much difference in the way they behave in layering though. Fredron

I use Astorlite 6228 for pillars, votives, tarts, dotz, and tealights. Don't know what others think, but my customers and I like it. As far as the tealight wicks, sorry, but I don't know the number designation. (I really feel dumb.) I buy wicks from Early American Candle Supply and one day asked for tealight wicks to test. They worked well, and now all I do is ask for tealight wicks. They are a zinc core with tabs. If you e-mail them, I'm sure they can help. Fredron

In my experience, there is no "best place" to buy fragrance oil. Every one of the compamies I use have a few that are really good, but none has the best of everything. I use Natures garden, Candles and supplies, Just Scent, Taylored Products, and Save on Scents for mine, and have had excellent success with the ones I've chosen. From each of those companies except Taylored Products, I've eliminated a fragrance or two, and added that one to one of the other sites. Experiment & keep track of which company makes the best of what you decide to use. Not much help right? Fredron

Natures Garden tells new people the same thing. There has been a tremendous amount of discussion pro and con in this forum for the various sticking methods. I personnaly like the glue dots, but some folks don't. You'll have to test & decide for yourself. Fredron

Not to confuse you any more than you are, but I've been using 6228 for years for all my pillars & votives, and have made hundreds of chunk pillars with it. It gives bright colors for the chunks, and the over pour is pure white. I can't imagine anything that would be better. Fredron

That might be good in Jamaica, where one of their dollars is worth 6 cents US. Fredron

I've used J-50 for years, and had this problem for a while (never with vanilla though). The problem went away when I started adding the FO at 175-180 degrees. I still pour at 155 degrees, and slow cool. Keep stirring occasionally until you pour. Fredron

Could be you need to poke relief holes, but you could be cooling too fast also. I built a cooling box out of styrofoam insulation board, with a lid, that lets the candles cool slowly. You can test the process by placing your candle in the oven to let it slow cool. If that works, the box cost less than $15.00 to make. Fredron

Not much pouring this weekend, I getting ready for a show next weekend, and have some stuff to do on the display, but I do need to make some Malibu, Yankee Doodle, Black cherry Almond, and Men. (All of these are our blends) Fredron

They make gas powered turkey fryers in the surf & turk model. Wal mart also sells a smaller turkey fryer in both electric and gas versions. I like the electric surf & turk because of the thermostat, but if you watch the temperature closely, gas might be all right. I tend to stay away from any flame around my melted wax, but if you set up rigid safety practices and don't vary from them you should be all right. Fredron