Lorelei Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Hi all, it's been a few hot minutes since I've posted here. I am trying to get back to my love/hobby and I have a personal project. I'm trying to make tapers for my UCO Candle lantern, and I want to make them in beeswax. I've added a photo to show you all my project. I've never used beeswax for candles before. I've determined from the mold maker that a #5 wick will work well. Is this braided cotton? If so do I need to add a metal plate on the bottom of the wick. Is there a primer out there somewhere showing how to wick beeswax molded candles? Do I insert the wick after the candle mold hardens, using skewers as a wick guide or do I wick straight into the beeswax. HELP? I'm totally at a loss here and I miss all of you a lot. Does anyone recommend a good source for beeswax? I want it to be perfect candle wax and I know that each apiary probably puts out different quality. I see my soy wax that I used to use is D/C and tons of changes with wax too in general so I'm going to have to go back through and re-read. Thanks a million, Lorelei Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 What is the diameter of those candles? Beeswax varies from lot to lot, so the #5 may be right, or too big. impossible to tell without first test burning. You do not generally need a wick tab. The square braid is primed while in the mold. Do you have a picture of the molds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorelei Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 3.5" long, 1 3/16" in diameter ,each one can hold about 1.8 ozs wax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorelei Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 It's going in this camping lantern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 For that diameter a #5 for most lots of beeswax will be pretty huge. I would expect blowouts that will flood that lantern. for typical dripless tapers I use #2/0 or #1/0. for 3” wide round pillars I use a #4 or #5 depending on the wax lot and scent. your diameter will be challenging. Maybe #1 or #2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorelei Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 Thank you!!! I'll buy some different size wicks just in case. I'm familiar that I will need to test them well before putting them in the lantern. So how are they wicked? First with skewers then feed the wick through? That's what it looks like in the photo. Also what temp do you heat the wax to before pouring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 4 hours ago, Lorelei said: Thank you!!! I'll buy some different size wicks just in case. I'm familiar that I will need to test them well before putting them in the lantern. So how are they wicked? First with skewers then feed the wick through? That's what it looks like in the photo. Also what temp do you heat the wax to before pouring? I feed the wick through the mold and pour the candle around the wick. you will never get a skewer out of a beeswax candle. Some people use metal candle pins, but again it is not the easiest to get beeswax to release the pin. I heat beeswax barely above its melt point of 145. Generally if pouring several, heating to 150-155 gets the wax hot enough to not start setting up in the our pot, but not so hot that it sticks to the molds. You will need to plan for a cavity fill. Beeswax shrinks a lot as it cools and will leave loads of holes around the wick. Poke a skewer into the cooled candle all the way down the wick to open channels for the second pour to fill. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorelei Posted October 6, 2020 Author Share Posted October 6, 2020 So helpful! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockey Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 On 10/5/2020 at 6:22 PM, TallTayl said: I feed the wick through the mold and pour the candle around the wick. you will never get a skewer out of a beeswax candle. Some people use metal candle pins, but again it is not the easiest to get beeswax to release the pin. I heat beeswax barely above its melt point of 145. Generally if pouring several, heating to 150-155 gets the wax hot enough to not start setting up in the our pot, but not so hot that it sticks to the molds. You will need to plan for a cavity fill. Beeswax shrinks a lot as it cools and will leave loads of holes around the wick. Poke a skewer into the cooled candle all the way down the wick to open channels for the second pour to fill. @TallTayl I tried poking a skewer to open channels and I find myself moving the wick around. Sometimes to the side. Also, wax that is still liquid comes shooting out. Any thoughts on how to avoid these problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 9 hours ago, jrockey said: @TallTayl I tried poking a skewer to open channels and I find myself moving the wick around. Sometimes to the side. Also, wax that is still liquid comes shooting out. Any thoughts on how to avoid these problems? I poke when it is cooled to reveal voids. if I am around as it cools I may open a pair of surface relief holes, which always seal over. The surface relief holes will usually help keep the wick from being pulled too far to one side as it shrinks and cools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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