jfear Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) Hello everyone!Could someone please explain to me why flat or square braid is recommended for pillars?I have made quite a few 2 x 3.5 pillars lately; all with varied wicks. I use an 80/20-4625/4786 blend. I made a few with 18ply flat braid; and the inconsistency is killing me! Some burn beautifully centered and others well, just suck. The curl of the braid is off-putting to me.I adore zincs for their consistent flames but the mushrooming drives me mad; I've settled with Peaks Cotton Cores which I find far more consistent than flat braids. No curling and a consistent flame!So, I would love to know scientifically why the flat is recommended; incidentally, are there any tips perhaps I am missing out on to gain more consistency with spooled wick? Moreover, since I am so pleased with my cotton core, are there any specific reasons why some choose spooled over pre-tabbed?Thanks in advance for your much valued feedback! Edited April 10, 2015 by jfear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixFyre Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I'd be interested to know, too. I recently made a couple of pillars (straight pillar paraffin with a little stearic, UV, dye, and FO), one with a flat braid and one with an HTP. I had read the same thing about the flat braided wicks being recommended for pillars, which is why I bought some to test with. The pillar with the HTP wick so far in testing has burned much better than the flat braid. Since I'm still learning, this could totally be due to my error. I still would like to know the details of why the braided wick may be better so I can have the info for my next test run. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I think it comes down to personal preference, really. I use different wicks, depending on the wax. For beeswax, square braid works best for my wax and my pillar sizes. For Palm, I prefer CDN or CSN series wicks.CD works well for me also. Generally speaking, I always twist my wicks to keep them burning evenly around the candle. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) Could someone please explain to me why flat or square braid is recommended for pillars? Hiya! My answer can't take into account that blend of 2 pre-blends or anything that people might do. It would apply to the more traditional stuff I do. My scented pillars are made with a straight paraffin blend, plus some stearic acid. I also make unscented pillars sometimes for fun and aesthetics, using again straight paraffin and whatever additives I need. I use spooled plaited wicking for all of the above. One simple answer as to why is that that’s what it’s for. Just about everything else is container candle wicking that was designed for special purposes that don’t apply to the candles I described. Sometimes pillars but not paraffin ones. Of course I tried many wicks in paraffin in hopes of a revelation, but I came back around to the basics of using flat braid and designing candles that it burns well in. Most of the time, all you have to do to burn one of my candles is light it. The curling is a feature that helps control the wick length and decrease mushrooming. You can use to your advantage the fact that the wick curls in a 100% predictable direction. Look at the pattern on both sides. The hole in the mold is big enough that if you put the wick through and tape it down to seal the hole, it will be a touch off center. Make sure it’s off-center in the right direction to help compensate for the curl. Some people do stuff like twisting the wick all to hell to make it spin as the candle burns. I hate solutions like that. As for spooled wicking, molding a hole in a pillar and sticking a tabbed wick through it says to me “factory” and it says “cheap.” Some people get up in arms about that statement, but sorry molding a pillar around a wick is the way the craft is done and always has been. The other way is a shortcut, and even commercial candles aren't tabbed except for the lowest end stuff. Anyone who does that would make me happy by not putting “Made in USA” on their product. There are practical considerations too. Wick pins can be crooked or slanted. A taught piece of string is perfectly straight. ‘Nuff said about that. Some people think that if the melt pool gets loaded with mushroom debris, having a wick tip over into it can set it on fire. Well, it is a fire hazard one way or another. Try not to design candles that mushroom like mad. Having the wick tip over into the wax is normally the best way to have it automatically extinguish. A pillar wick with a tab will stand and burn to the bitter end, because tabs are for container candles and that’s what's supposed to happen. I have seen tabbed pillars burn until there’s nothing but a wax film left under the wick. People hate some of this stuff I say, but one thing I have on my side is that it’s simple and old school. I seldom see people come up with solutions that truly advance the art or are a better way of doing things. Edited April 10, 2015 by topofmurrayhill 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 When I first started making pillars I was taught to use spooled wicking and not tabbed wicks. The reason, the pillar can burn down to the end of the neck of the wick tab and that could present a possible fire hazard. With a free standing wick or spooled wick the wick will 'fall' over somewhere towards the bottom of the pillar and self extinquish the candle that way. To this day I make my pillars using spooled wick. I do test using tabbed wicks. I just find it easier to pull out a wick and retest with another. Once I know which wick I want I buy the spooled wicking and thats what I use for my pillars. One thing not mentioned is wick wax treatment. If you are buying pretabbed wicks for your pillars they are generally pretreated with wax for burning with container candles. So you may want to find out what wax its treated with and take that into consideration when buying your wicking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfear Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 As for spooled wicking, molding a hole in a pillar and sticking a tabbed wick through it says to me “factory” and it says “cheap.” Some people get up in arms about that statement, but sorry molding a pillar around a wick is the way the craft is done and always has been. The other way is a shortcut, and even commercial candles aren't tabbed except for the lowest end stuff. Anyone who does that would make me happy by not putting “Made in USA” on their product. I love what you state here, to which I concur. Although I ADORE the burn and consistency of pre-tabbed, I hold much disdain for a "cheap" looking candle! Spooled wick is so esthetically pleasing; a pure handmade home-poured look.I wick-pinned one today, cut the tab off the cotton core and melted the bottom of the candle on a hot baking sheet. Albeit esthetically pleasing, I feel as though I cheated! This method gave me the best of both worlds I suppose! I appreciate your input regarding pillars with spooled wick; and I super-appreciate your old-school approach! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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