Hello, Im new here and new at making candles

[angela_41465]

I have some questions if thats ok.. I need some help I am opeing up a candle shop and primtitive art store and I am making my own candle or should I say trying.. ok here are the questions ... if I am asking to much jsut let me no I have never use one of these places b4.. here goes.. I am keeping a log of what I ahve done and made. 1st one i made is soy candle The wax I ordered was the CB135 I use 1lbs of soy 2 slivers of block dye and 1tb spoon of orange scent. burned good but not much scent and mushroomed also when blown out smoked ..the next one was soy apple cinn 1lbs of wax 3tb spoon of scent which is what it called for 2slivers of dye mixed my dye @ 190 and poured @155 like the web site said. when burning this one smelled like a chemical instead of the scent burned good from sides and all and only a small mushroomthe last one is soy 1lbs of wax 2 3/4 tb blueberry scent 4 slivers of dye ; what i mean by that is shaved off the edges that much. added dye at 190 but I didnt pour till 140degrees. im burning it now smells good however the sides arent melting all these were made in small candle jars not votive the next size up.any suggestions? what have I done wrong.im also going to make gel candles havent tryed them as of yet.also does anyone no any good suppliers ?thanksAngela

[logcabinmomma]

How they burn has alot to do with the wick type and size you used. I'm not sure what you used for this.

I use liquid dyes at the moment, but am seriously considering going dye free. Some who use color blocks use a grater to get a more consistent measurement than "sliver".

Your fragrance needs to be added at about 1 oz/ lb as a starting point. That would require a scale to measure them. For what it's worth, an oz is APPROXIMATELY 1/8 cup- some FO's are heavier than others. Generally speaking, the darker the oil, the heavier the scent.

-Kristi

[angela_41465]

I use cotton wicks they are 51-32-18 I dont have a clue what that means but what the place I order from said I needed to use. I was also told that a 1/2oz was a tb spoon I dont no if that is true or not thats what there web site said. The blue berry one smells really good the only diffance is I used least scent and more dye and also oured at a cooler temp.thanks for your help

[Crowded House]

This was interesting.

The numbers in the wick size

The first number tells you the wick size. The size of the wick is determined by how many spools of yarn were used to make the wick. The higher the number, the larger the wick. Hence, the larger the meltpool (which can mean better fragrance throw), and usually the higher the wax consumption.

The second number indicates the speed at which the wick was sent through the braiding machine. The higher the number, the faster the speed, the tighter the braid. The tighter the braid, the less fuel consumption.

The third number/ last number is a code for the temperature of the wax as the wick is fed through the gears of the braiding machine.. This temperature varies according to the previous numbers.

[Accents]

I strongly recommend a scale to weigh your FO. 1/2 FLUID ounce does equal one tablespoon. However, 1 oz by weight does not always equal 1 oz fluid. You can tell by looking at your bottles of FO that even though they weigh the same, the fill line is different.

You also might want to work with just one scent and the variables with it before moving on. You need to get a wick that works, order a sample pack of wicks so you can try different sizes. There are also many types of wicks to choose from. I use 3 different types and more sizes to get the burn I want. Research on here and books about how a candle should burn and how hot so you know what you're looking for. Some scents will burn differently than others and require different wicks and possibly different FO amounts.

[SheilaW]

Hi Angela, since you are brand new to candlemaking my first suggestion would be to click on the link at the top of the page that says " Helpful Links to Newbies" and then click on each link and read through the posts. There may be things that you don't understand and information that doesn't necessarily apply to what you want to do but it will give you a great starting point. There is also information about what the abbreviations and all the different numbers mean that you'll see used a lot here. ( When I first started out with candles I thought I would need an interpreter just to understand what everyone was talking about :smiley2: )

There is also a section here on vegetable waxes that has a wealth of information about soy and soy blends and the numerous questions and problems that crop up and which wick works best etc.etc.

Good luck and have fun . Oh yeah, and welcome to the forum.

[angela_41465]

Thank's I have been looking at the newbie pages trying to read up and study all of itI find it all very interesting. And I will order me a sample pack of wicks as well. I do have scales not sure if there the ones your talking about or not but I did go buy me some to weigh my wax and cup on.Ok thank's a million.. HAPPY THANKSGIVING ! from KY

[Tammie]

I have some questions if thats ok.. I need some help I am opeing up a candle shop and primtitive art store and I am making my own candle or should I say trying.. ok here are the questions ... if I am asking to much jsut let me no I have never use one of these places b4.. here goes.. I am keeping a log of what I ahve done and made. 1st one i made is soy candle The wax I ordered was the CB135 I use 1lbs of soy 2 slivers of block dye and 1tb spoon of orange scent. burned good but not much scent and mushroomed also when blown out smoked ..the next one was soy apple cinn 1lbs of wax 3tb spoon of scent which is what it called for 2slivers of dye mixed my dye @ 190 and poured @155 like the web site said. when burning this one smelled like a chemical instead of the scent burned good from sides and all and only a small mushroomthe last one is soy 1lbs of wax 2 3/4 tb blueberry scent 4 slivers of dye ; what i mean by that is shaved off the edges that much. added dye at 190 but I didnt pour till 140degrees. im burning it now smells good however the sides arent melting all these were made in small candle jars not votive the next size up.any suggestions? what have I done wrong.im also going to make gel candles havent tryed them as of yet.also does anyone no any good suppliers ?thanksAngela

Angela, how long have you been making the candles or trying??? My 1st suggestion to you would be to wait on the candles until you have them perfected. Test every single size container and fragrance that you are going to carry and get them perfected before selling them. If your candles don't burn correctly that will stop repeat customers and that would hurt your business. Testing takes alot of time and is very costly, but it has to be done. I don't mean to discourage you, but in the end it will be better for your business.

[angela_41465]

I am trying to test them now .. I am considering waiting for a bit before I do start selling them my husband is wanting me to get started now there is a lot of guys on his job wanting them... Thanks again...

[Firehouse]

Angela, my husband was the same way. When he decides to do something he wants it done like yesterday. I let mine take a couple to some of his friends asking for feedback. Thats when he understood why I was burning so many myself. Good luck and have fun!

[Candlebuddy]

I would say ... first get the candlemaking perfected before opening a candle shop. Testing can, and usually does, take months. It's worth the time and effort to do it right.