Victorian Chandler Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 Hello every one, I'm new here and this is my first post, but that's not the point. lol Anyway... as my screen name suggests I'm very much into old-fashioned things such as tallow candles. I was wondering if anyone had ever made any and had any advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candle Man Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I've never made any but have heard stories of how sooty & bad they smelled, they are, of course, made of animal fat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandmaskitchen Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 If you would like to make old fashioned candles, you could always start with rolled beeswax candles. I know you can buy beeswax sheets which I heard are fairly easy to use.I've never made any before, but it's just a suggestion and might be worth looking into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwin Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I have heard about these being used in the olden days, but I have also heard that they smell awful. If you make any that smell nice, please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindsaycb Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 if you want authentic tallow....here's some instructions from 1807http://www.bergencountyhistory.org/Pages/lightingarticle.htmlIf you want to make them look like tallow? I would simply make tapers & then overdip them in tallow. I'd play though and consider actually using a beeswax/tallow mixture. Purchase white beeswax.HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwin Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I also found this http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/jan99/916205654.Ch.r.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 Funny, I started with candles, moved to b&b, render tallow for some of my soaps, and never even thought to play with a candle. Hmmm, I've got 10#s of fat to render, maybe I should try it. Would be an interesting test, it doesn't have much smell after I render it. I dry render in the oven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freezin Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 Okay now we know what is going to be in Robins pot this weekend...LOL! That will be a cool experiment. I hope you get the chance to play with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victorian Chandler Posted April 30, 2006 Author Share Posted April 30, 2006 Thanks for all the feedback! I already have a rendering recipie for the tallow that I got from a soap site, so hopefully it will have a neutral smell. The way I actually became interested in chandling(?) is actually an off-shoot of my "obsession" with The Phantom of the Opera. It's just keeps on amazing me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 Here's my post on the old CT board - it's got pictures of the rendering I did. http://www.candletech.com/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=bathandbody;action=display;num=1121126484 I used to try to make "movie candles" - you know, those big drippy candles that had huge flames and dripped a lot, everything we try not to do. Look great though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breanna Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 Hmm I too am into Victorian things, Hence my business name LadyBre,,But I never thought of trying the Tallow,,,this sounds interesting!!! Im glad you asked this question,,,I may try it BUT if it soots like crazy my customers I KNOW wont buy it,,,Nice to do an experiment though,,,Perhaps on Tapers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 Here's my post on the old CT board - it's got pictures of the rendering I did. http://www.candletech.com/cgi-local/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=bathandbody;action=display;num=1121126484 I used to try to make "movie candles" - you know, those big drippy candles that had huge flames and dripped a lot, everything we try not to do. Look great though If you separate glycerin and oils from the fat solids you'll have stearine, which is a good candlemaking material and the next evolutionary step from the tallow candle. Part of that is accomplished with lye in saponification but I'm not familiar with that like you B&B folks are. I don't think the entire process of extracting the stearine can be done at home but I'm not sure. There's some additional refining step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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