Question about wickpins

[Demenshia]

Quick question about about wickpins...even while using them my wicks seem to be off centered. They start off centered but by the time the wax hardens they aren't anymore...Anyone have some suggestions or tips? Thanks in advance.

[7Angela7]

hmmm....are your wick pins bent a little?

[Demenshia]

no checked that first. The only ones that seem to work great are my votive pins. The rest more often than not turn out off center. Could it be because they aren't sitting inside the mold but through the hole in the bottom(sealed with putty)?

[Candybee]

I had the same problem so I would be interested to know too. I used them in making votives and several were off center when they cooled. I don't use them anymore. I was hopping mad! And yes-- upon close inspection they were not all straight!

[Candybee]

That sounded dumb. I meant some of the wicks that were straight still didn't center. Anyhoo-- I don't like using them cause I can never tell if they will work or not.

[topofmurrayhill]

no checked that first. The only ones that seem to work great are my votive pins. The rest more often than not turn out off center. Could it be because they aren't sitting inside the mold but through the hole in the bottom(sealed with putty)?

Pillar pins are lousy for centering the wick unless you have something at the top of the mold to center the pin. Otherwise you have to fiddle around to get it as centered as possible and it's a pain in the butt.

Don't use putty just in the middle. Put like 3 peas of it around the base of the pillar pin so stuff won't move once you have it centered.

You could also get doodads from ezwick systems that can help.

[Scented]

Best thing I have are the doodads that slide right over the pins and fit snuggly with my pillar molds.

On the votive pins, just look at them when they've set up a little bit (wax is still pliable) and if they are off center, gently bend them back to center before making another pour.

[Trae]

I agree with using the wick centering tool from EZ Wick Systems. The pins never stayed centered for me.

[clonefan80]

Here's what i do with my wick pins for pillars. Since mine were never center either i turn them upside down and use a pair of needle nose pliers to center and hold the pin in place. When removing the pillar from the mold i pull the wick pin out first and then the pillar slides right out. There are several different ways people use to wick pillars...HTH

[RobinInOR]

As the wax is cooling it will pull the pin off center. I'm always walking by them as they're cooling anyway, so I just recenter them. I use a huge gob of putty, so I can smoosh them around until it's level again. Since I'm poking relief holes anyway and doing a repour it doesn't hurt anything.

[giedre11]

I too had problems when using wick pins...to my eye they looked centered, but oftentimes when the candle cooled the wick hole was off center.

Now I use those long pins from the ez wick system...they are great! Plus, now I don't have that wick pin base indent on the candles anymore!

[charity4candles]

What kind of molds are you using? If using silicone or rubber, I make a small (wick pin size) hole in the center of the mold that my wick pin will stand in while pooring and cooling. That has helped me tremendously! As far as metal and plastic molds, I still have the problem. Don't know if this helps any, but good luck.

Charity

[fredron]

The question isn't if the pins are bent, but if they're not perpendicular to the base. A 1/2 degree lean can put the pin way off center in a pillar candle. The same thing will happen to a lesser degree in a votive. The further up, the further out. Use a combination square to check the perpendicularity.