LRC06301983 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 These are pictures of the very first one I made. It is a rough prototype but should give you a general idea of where I'm going with this.It doesn't have much dye in it, and you can't see the texture of the shell very well but it is kind of a rustic, textured, marred ourter shell. Please critique my work as much as you like, and suggestions are profoundly welcome, I'm getting really tired of thinking out this whole thing myself. lol.Again thanks everyone!-Luke-FYI: They glow much more than picture 005 shows, but the only candle I had to put in the shell at the time was a tall one. In all reality, the entire length of the shell starting from a few inches up at the bottom all the way to the top lights up bright enough to read a book if you are sitting next to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christy Doc Holley Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 WOH ! that sucker looks huge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Yup, that's a big 'un all right May I ask what you're making it for? I mean, it's not the kind of thing someone would start out with if they just decided to make candles...Just a thought... what about using a large container or something, the size you want the shell, coating the outside real good, then dipping it. I'm thinking along the lines of a balloon candle but using something in a cylindrical shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tucker Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I'm really not sure what's going on here. I was led to believe that a hurricane was something you would put a pic or flowers or something in the shell and then illuminate it so it would glow thru. In my humble opinion I think that is way too tall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 It doesn't HAVE to be decorated with pictures/flowers/decorations or whatever. We're just artists and like to make things pretty. They can have designs carved in them as well. They can actually be any size too, it's just depends on how much room you have and how much light you want the glow to put out We just tend to think in home/coffee table/etc sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellywax Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 You could use something like this for outdoor evening weddings, by the pool etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliette Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Wow that big! Looks cool lit up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRC06301983 Posted January 11, 2006 Author Share Posted January 11, 2006 Satin Ducky is spot on. I saw a small hurricane once upon a time and I says to myself, self I says, that would look really cool at night, a bunch of them placed in the garden among the flowers during summer. Or perhaps a bunch of them in different sizes lighting a path, or maybe a few on the deck for an evening BBQ, or maybe one of them in the corner of the bathroom for the wife when she's having a relaxing bath....And wouldn't it be cool if one was almost transparent cream and really bright..and if one was deep blood red that gave off the most deep and barely discernable of glows...Come on tell me that doesn't sound pretty cool...I started making them because there is nothing wrong with pillars, and votive candles and all the others, its just not what I'm interested in. My wife has tons of them in the house and its great, but I started out making somthing this complex because that was what I wanted and what interested me. Also I wanted to be able to make them myself incase I broke one and wanted another. Finally, no one made them as big as I wanted, and when I started asking candle makers if they could make one or if I could they told me it was nearly impossible.I love it when people tell me something can't be done, just makes you want to do it more doesn't it? SATIN DUCKY: Great idea on the dipping, the only problem is that I can't find a dipping container that holds enough wax melted other than a professional $1500 melting tank etc.. Those presto pots are great but they aren't that big. Know what I mean? I had considered this idea but the problems are if I melt wax and then pour it into a bucket or a trashcan as a dipping vat, it will harden before I can fully dip out a candle and then I just have to rechop and melt an entire kitchen trashcan of wax. Additionally, to make them sturdy I actually have walls that are around a half inch thick or a little more on some of the lighter colored ones and dipping that would get very time consuming and really heavy....I dunno, dipping didn't seem practical NOT BECAUSE IT ISN"T A GOOD IDEA, but because the set-up for it was more than I could achieve.Great suggestion though, please keep them coming, the dipping thing did get me rethinking maybe making a smaller hurricane that had a smaller diameter but was still tall and maybe dipping the top half and then the bottom and attaching them etc... I'll think about that...Again I apologize, my posts are long.Thanks a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindsaycb Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Your hurricanes are exactly why I started candles...but mine was with coffee beans. Wasn't about the pillars, votives & jars...it was about the too expensive coffee bean candles screaming...YOU CAN MAKE ME!That thing is HUGE, but now it makes me want to give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandleFreak Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 have you checked out the surf n turk fryers....a few people on here were buying them for wax melters because they hold more wax than the prestos.....let me find the link....http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9094&page=2&highlight=turk+surf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRC06301983 Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 Nice!It says it can hold between 30-40 lbs of melted wax. That would be enough for me to do 3-4 complete outer shells. Very cool. I'll start looking for this. Even if it isn't big enough to dip out of, this solves my other problem which was heating up enough wax to do more than one candle at a time since making one shell takes me most of the day if you factor in cooling and melting time. the presto pots are cool but I have to have like 5 of them or more...Thanks a lot for this candlefreak. See this is exactl why you are the ENIGMA and I am still a lowly wax drip...But a wax drip can dream...I'll be an enigma someday...Just kidding. This really was helpful. Thanks again.-Luke- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle Man Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Wal-Mart has metal trash cans that would work for that. They are solid one piece with no seams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRC06301983 Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 I will have to look at Walmart.I originally was looking at trash-cans months ago when I started making these things, but a lot of them were tapered too severly. But I will take a look at that cause I am rethinking my mold, I couldn't find the trashcans on their website, but there is a store close. That might really work.How do you think I could temporarily attach the inner mold to the bottom of the trashcan? plumbers caulk putty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mystical_angel1219 Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Nice!It says it can hold between 30-40 lbs of melted wax. That would be enough for me to do 3-4 complete outer shells. Very cool. I'll start looking for this. Even if it isn't big enough to dip out of, this solves my other problem which was heating up enough wax to do more than one candle at a time since making one shell takes me most of the day if you factor in cooling and melting time. the presto pots are cool but I have to have like 5 of them or more...Thanks a lot for this candlefreak. See this is exactl why you are the ENIGMA and I am still a lowly wax drip...But a wax drip can dream...I'll be an enigma someday...Just kidding. This really was helpful. Thanks again.-Luke-Hello and welcome to the board, Luke.Gander Mountain has the Surf and Turk for 79.99.These things are much larger than they appear in pictures. I've had mine for a few weeks and haven't had the time to play with. This could be an inexpensive solution for melting larger quantities of wax in a short period of time.I am sure that Donita could offer you her help/expertise in large hurricanes. She has alot of experience in that department and is very friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallbabydoll Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 How do you think I could temporarily attach the inner mold to the bottom of the trashcan? plumbers caulk putty?Very unique idea, I'm just wondering why do you need an inner mold with these. The wax will cool on the sides and bottom first, and you just pour out the wax when your walls are the thickness you desire. Inner molds are used to hold things in place against an outter wall. Maybe I missed something in the pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRC06301983 Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 Very unique idea, I'm just wondering why do you need an inner mold with these. The wax will cool on the sides and bottom first, and you just pour out the wax when your walls are the thickness you desire. Inner molds are used to hold things in place against an outter wall. Maybe I missed something in the pics.You didn't miss anything.The catch is that, the one in the pics is one of the first ones I made (the other few are out on loan) and I want to start to imbed things in the wall. Additionally, since I'm doing this on the side, I don't want to buy and melt 200lbs of wax so I can pour a mold full of the 50lbs of wax it would take. See what I mean? As it is I pour only the walls which means that if I heat up 50lbs of wax I can actually pour almost 5 shells instead of one candle using the old hurricane method. Does that make sense?Additionally, I don't have the means yet to heat up that much wax anyway.Not sure I would want the means to heat up that much wax. I don't wan't 200 lbs of melted wax...and do you know how long it would take to melt that...lol Good question though. As you can tell I love talking about this and people have really given me some good suggestions.I like it too that I've seen some people's attention get sparked. There is enough here to share/go around. Who wants to patent creativity anyway...I hope more of you start figuring out how to make these...Mystical Angel, Hello. thank you for your gracious welcome.I'll have to look there because I went to the website of the place that manufactures the turkey roasters themselves and they said they MSRP for $199.00 which was as much as a regular melter. lol $79.99 sounds a lit better to me!thanks everyone!-luke- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Just to clarify on the dipping, and no, I don't mean to push the issue... In dipping, it really doesn't take any longer than pouring and if you can find/rig something to weight it down, it wouldn't take any more effort. It just sits in the "vat" until the shell is as thick as you want. The other thing is the amount of wax. As I discovered in dipping balloons, if the vat in only a couple inches wider than what you're dipping, you only fill it about half full. As you lower the "mold" the wax lever raises. By the time the shell is pulled out the vat should only be maybe 1/3 full. Besides, it's the only idea I have right now...LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creativegems Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Would something like a plumbers putty work to attach the inside tube to the outside container? You would have to smooth the bottom of the candle which wouldn't be hard or you could just make it without a bottom. If you don't have a bottom it would be easier to put t-lite, votive, electric or battery operated light in it. Just lift up the wax piece and place over light.Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniejr Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Wow! That is a really big 'cane! Great idea though for outdoor weddings; around pools; etc..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drfeu Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Great work! I don't have any suggestions to help you, but I just wanted to say this is a very unique looking hurricane. I'm all for big big candles, so I love this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRC06301983 Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 Satinducky: there is no such thing as pushing the issue with me. I'm as stubborn as they come and in my youth I'm sure I'm guilty of not listening to everything I should. I think I like the dipping idea. You've really hit on something I wouldn't have thought about with the only being 1/3 full of wax but the displacement actually coats the entirety of the candle. Very nice.The only real problem is I have to find something two feet deep that melts wax and is at least 11 inches wide. I wonder how deep that turkey roaster thing is? It looked pretty big. I mean someone said it could hold 50lbs of wax. Creative: Good idea with the putty. I was thinking plumbers putty might work just on the inside of the inner shell. And as it is I usually don't pour a bottom in the hurricanes at first. I only pour the shell. I have a whole other process for putting in the bottoms later. lol. Were still just working on a better way to make the walls. Stop getting ahead of all the slow thinkers, it makes them feel bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celicagtca Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Personally I like Really Big Things...I mean CANDLES for all you perverts out there. I think that's really neat and I would use those for an outdoor wedding or down either side of my driveway during Christmas. You could even etch out a pumpkin, witch and place them around the flower bed during halloween.Looking Good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRC06301983 Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 Personally I like Really Big Things...I mean CANDLES for all you perverts out there. thanks a lot Celica!Its taken a long time to get what I have of the process worked out. It feels to to have them so admired already in their early state. I think that's really neat and I would use those for an outdoor wedding or down either side of my driveway during Christmas. You could even etch out a pumpkin, witch and place them around the flower bed during halloween.Looking Good!I'd thought about on a few of them heating up a cookie cutter red hot with one of my torches and melting a cutout into the side of it...not sure how well it would work but it was an idea....has anyone done that with a cookie cutter before? this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creativegems Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 A cookie cutter would work. It would look like it's carved. You would have to smooth the wax because the edges would stick out but that is easily done. You could paint the lines or paint the design to fill in. Heck there are some awesome candle painters on this board, maybe you could do that. Ohhh I think I see another project for you.lolJanet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallbabydoll Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 You could also heat the cutter enough to just put an outline, then use carving tools to carve out the rest. You wouldn't have to go all the way through that way. Then paint if you wish or whatever you choose. Since the wax would be thinner there, the shape would glow brighter giving it it's own distinction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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