how many people use wick pins? and if ya do....

[KJohnson]

if ya do....then once the votive is cooled and you remove the wick pin...and feed the wick through....do YOU (personally) hit it with a heat gun...or is it OK to YOU, to see the tiny tiny space between the votive and wick

(I hope that made sense)

[Karen B]

I'm sure that little space is fine but because of a few accidents with my heat gun I have a lot more respect for that thing. (BTW if your pouring water into your pot for a water bath & realize the heat gun is pluged in & a little to close to the water for your comfort level, please look up to see where your hands are going when you grab it to move it, the metal part remains very hot and will burn your hands if you just happen to grab it from that end)

I find it a lot easier to get a lighter & heat the tab with that then with the other side of the lighter push it a little bit more into the wax. I only do this because even with a warning label on the bottom I still find that little tab will try to find it's way out of the votive.

hth,

Karen B

[AngelaVA]

I use a lighter too. I heat the wick tab and use the other end of the lighter to push the tab up into the votive. It doesn't go anywhere after that. Cheap and cheerful solution.

[nayarx8]

i also use a lighter

[chris77]

I think KJohnson might have meant the little space on the top of the votive between the wax and the wick where the wick pin was.

If that was your question, then no, that little space is not a big deal. If you look at the votive samplers from Yankee you'll find that there is a second hole next to their wick that looks tacky. So, if you just have a little space around your wick, as mine do, it's just fine. Some people on here like the look of the votives poured with the wick added while the wax is congealing. Others, like me, don't want to mess with that method and we use the wick pins and don't fuss over the little space. HTH

if ya do....then once the votive is cooled and you remove the wick pin...and feed the wick through....do YOU (personally) hit it with a heat gun...or is it OK to YOU, to see the tiny tiny space between the votive and wick

(I hope that made sense)

[SatinDucky]

Yup, I use them. Nope, I don't heat anything. The little space causes no problems I've found and the neck of the wick tab holds it in place. I figure, why add more work?

[KJohnson]

I think KJohnson might have meant the little space on the top of the votive between the wax and the wick where the wick pin was.

If that was your question, then no, that little space is not a big deal. If you look at the votive samplers from Yankee you'll find that there is a second hole next to their wick that looks tacky. So, if you just have a little space around your wick, as mine do, it's just fine. Some people on here like the look of the votives poured with the wick added while the wax is congealing. Others, like me, don't want to mess with that method and we use the wick pins and don't fuss over the little space. HTH

Yes thats what i meant..Thank you...I never did anything with the bottom because I can feel the wick tab go into the wax then I put on my warning label...

Thank you all for your responses!

[RobinInOR]

Nope, leave the space. Did the same with 3" pillars, though that bothered me a bit more. The space actually caused a problem in 2" pillars, so I stopped using wick pins in those.

[Juliette]

I leave the space too.

[Scented]

Nope I don't hit them with the heat gun either. Why bother lol.

[Tess]

Leave the space, I promise no one else will notice. (Unless it's a BIG GAPING hole lol). I also use high neck tabs to "push" into the bottom of the votive to keep in place.

[Brat]

I use the wick pins. I can't imagine trying to wick those things without them! I have a problem with a few of them being crooked, and occasionally I'll get a tab that falls right out of the bottom (after I've trimmed the wick GRRRR), but other than that, they're awesome. I don't care about the gap, it goes away once it starts burning!

[Dustpuuppy]

Nope I don't hit them with the heat gun either. Why bother lol.

I didn't like the little hole around the wick, either. It doesn't hurt anything, but I didn't like it. I also didn't like some candles I found in stores, where the wick was loose at the bottom. If you took the label off, the wick and tab would fall right out.

So...

I don't quite top off the candle, when I do my repour. When it's cool enough, I remove the wick pin, thread the tabbed wick in, then do a third pour. The wax will generally seep down beside the wick a bit, filling the hole. After leveling, I can usually see the wick tab just under the wax.

Took a little practice, though. If you don't seat the tab down, the wax from the third fill will run right out through the wick hole. If you seat it down too well, the wax won't seep down at all. When I get it just right, the wax will leave a small teat at the top of the finshed candle. I just break that off. You can't see where it was.

Really all this is prolly more trouble than it's worth, but it turns out like I want it to, sooo....

[Breanna]

When it comes to my Votives I put my wicks in by hand,,,I do a pretty good Job of it,,,trained myself and I make a lot of Votives,,I dont like the bottom of the tab to show,,,So I set my wicks in by hand right when they are ready to Congeal as then it is thick on the bottom so it will stay in place.,,I then do my re-pour and they come out with the smoothes tops....Just my 2 cents,,,

[topofmurrayhill]

When it comes to my Votives I put my wicks in by hand,,,I do a pretty good Job of it,,,trained myself and I make a lot of Votives,,I dont like the bottom of the tab to show,,,So I set my wicks in by hand right when they are ready to Congeal as then it is thick on the bottom so it will stay in place.,,I then do my re-pour and they come out with the smoothes tops....Just my 2 cents,,,

Breanna really is good at this. I saw with my own eyes. Nicely centered wick on top makes you think wick pin, then you turn it over and see a flat smooth bottom! Slick this lady is.

[Scented]

Ah Dust, but mine slide in easily and the collar on the wick tab fits the hole nicely. They aren't coming out unless someone pulls it out

[shell1226]

I use wick pins in my votives and the little gap at the top has not been a problem. As far as loose wicks, my wicks are never loose on the bottom. I have to push the tab into the hole and it fits in there securely.

[Dustpuuppy]

Ah Dust, but mine slide in easily and the collar on the wick tab fits the hole nicely. They aren't coming out unless someone pulls it out

Yeah. I just do that with my pillars. Like I said, it's not really worth the trouble, but they end up the way I want them to.

I don't think that method would work with votives, though. I was half asleep when I read this thread last night... wasn't thinking about votives when I posted that...DUH.

[Candle Kitty]

Nope, leave the space. Did the same with 3" pillars, though that bothered me a bit more. The space actually caused a problem in 2" pillars, so I stopped using wick pins in those.

I had problems with my 3" pillars with pins so I stopped as well. Not fun to be checking the melt pool and decide to see where this one big bubble originated from, only to move it to the side a little and then ALL the melted wax from the pool drains into the candle.

And no, I do nothing with the top, I just push the tab in and fold the wick over on the top until I can get my warning label on it. Never had an issue.

[Breanna]

Breanna really is good at this. I saw with my own eyes. Nicely centered wick on top makes you think wick pin, then you turn it over and see a flat smooth bottom! Slick this lady is.

Thanks Top:bliss: