BryCola Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I was curious how y'all get your pillar candles completely level. I always just did mine with a pan over boiling water and gauged it by eye, but recently I had someone order 15 from me, and after I finished I lined them up on the counter. EVERYONE was a bit different. Some slightly different in height, and some slightly leaning one way or the other. I thought about buying a small "level" at Lowes or something, but since everyone here is so helpful, I wanted to ask for opinions first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everito Bandito Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I always level the candle *Before* I take it out of the mold. I use those bounty "select a size" paper towels. Take one piece, fold it in half and put that in my presto pot. Put the candle down in center of that papertowel.As the wax begins to melt, I slowly spin the mold/candle to get it melting evenly all the way around.When the wax melts enough to where I think its level (no more wobble), I grab two corners of the paper towel press them against the mold with my fingers and lift the whole thing out. Toss the towel before it drips all over everything. (have a small trash box near the pot when I take them out)Also, I use pillar wick pins. When I'm leveling, I put the wick pin back in upside down where the tip is even with the bottom. That keeps any melting wax from running up into (yes I said running *up*..lol.) the wickpin hole...HTH..:smiley2:note*, When pushing the wick pin back through from the opposite end take care to do it gently and straight or you can end up with a new out of center wick pin hole. Ask me how I know?... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Bandito, I am following you almost... I got the wick pin thing - totally clever and have learned about the woes of reinsertion! The picture gets foggy for me when you turn the mold over into the pan. Our candles are always a little convex in the mold - are you slightly slipping them down (out of the mold) a shade during the leveling process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdevine Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I use an electric griddle with a removable drip pan. I just started doing it this way and man is it so much easier and accurate. I have yet to try the method of leaving it in the mold, turning it upside down and the mold allows it to level evenly. HTH Portia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sally Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I use the Everito Bandito method but don't use wick pins at the moment.The most important thing I need to remember is Not to take the mould seal off the wick end or the candle slides out & I get a wonky bottom like before.Sally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everito Bandito Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Bandito, I am following you almost... I got the wick pin thing - totally clever and have learned about the woes of reinsertion! The picture gets foggy for me when you turn the mold over into the pan. Our candles are always a little convex in the mold - are you slightly slipping them down (out of the mold) a shade during the leveling process?I always pour mine over the top of the mold so to speak, so I don't have any dip whatsoever. I pour until the wax is actually higher than the mold because the skin of the wax will allow me to get just a smidgen higher without rolling off. (my pouring table is level, that helps)However, if my candle were a bit concave into the mold, then it would be necessary to loosen the candle in the mold and let the candle slip down just enough to get the leveling process accomplished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 With a really big saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mssheddy Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I take s super sharp knife and shave the edges down just a smidge at a time til there is no more wobble and then if necessary, after I wick the candle I'll swirll the bottom around in my presto pot to smooth out any other little imperfections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalamazoo Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Also, I use pillar wick pins. When I'm leveling, I put the wick pin back in upside down where the tip is even with the bottom. That keeps any melting wax from running up into (yes I said running *up*..lol.) the wickpin hole...HTH..:smiley2:Sorry to sound stupid, but I am totally confused and cannot picture this in my head. Regarding this statement, you have already taken the candle out of the mould then you insert the wick pin back in upside down?? I also use wick pins and my DH does the levelling for me, but I can see he gets a bit fed up sometimes and I would really like to do most of the levelling myself. Would you be able to post a couple of pics or PM me, any help appreciated as I would really like to give your method a go. BryCola, apologies, I don´t mean to be hijacking your thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everito Bandito Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Sorry to sound stupid, but I am totally confused and cannot picture this in my head. Regarding this statement, you have already taken the candle out of the mould then you insert the wick pin back in upside down?? I also use wick pins and my DH does the levelling for me, but I can see he gets a bit fed up sometimes and I would really like to do most of the levelling myself. Would you be able to post a couple of pics or PM me, any help appreciated as I would really like to give your method a go. BryCola, apologies, I don´t mean to be hijacking your thread.Nope. I wrote that wrong..forget the upside down part..I just clean the putty sealer off of the mold and I put the wick pin back in, in the direction that it was. I just don't let the tip go any further than the bottom of the candle that I'm leveling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicky_CO Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 With a really big saw.2 of us that use a really big saw. I can zip through a lot of pillars very fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scent Cellar Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 You gals that are using those saws are scaring the heck out of me. :rolleyes2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patience Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Leveling pillars is the only thing I hate when it comes to making candles. I also use a small griddle...and a level. PITA. Think I'll try Everito's method too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aspencreek Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Double post, sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aspencreek Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 With a really big saw.Seriously!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I use the griddle and level method as well. However when I had my candle business in operation I primarily cast in metal molds so I would use a propane torch to heat the sides and top during the final stages of curing. While I know this could be very dangerous I never encountered any mishaps and it really speeded up production for me. I would not recommend this to someone who has no experience using a torch or a decent knowledge of the wax they employ. The cure time would increase, but the work involved would decrease as would the amount of waste wax. I now use the Griddle method as I like the results better than the torch. Really gives it a clean look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 2 of us that use a really big saw. I can zip through a lot of pillars very fast.It's the only way to go as far as I'm concerned. What's your post chop protocol? How do you keep 'em clean or clean them after? The waxdust (sawdust - hehe) is all over the place...What'ya do?Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicky_CO Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Yea wax dust everywhere is a pain but I have a 9 year old kid that just loves to clean that up because he get to keep all the dust I am still not sure what he does with it. I don't want to know. As for post clean up I keep a damp t-shirt scraps to wipe them down. I use old t-shirts because they are so soft they don't leave any marks on the candles. I have a paint scrapper that I use to scrap the plate between pillars which cut down on the clean up a lot.What do you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I wick and seal with my heat gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndMyPuppyDog Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Yea wax dust everywhere is a pain but I have a 9 year old kid that just loves to clean that up because he get to keep all the dust I am still not sure what he does with it. I don't want to know. As for post clean up I keep a damp t-shirt scraps to wipe them down. I use old t-shirts because they are so soft they don't leave any marks on the candles. I have a paint scrapper that I use to scrap the plate between pillars which cut down on the clean up a lot.What do you do?Well it looks like we've got the same operation then! (minus the helper).Isn't it fun scraping the blade and setting things up so the candle doesn't "walk" on the metal plate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryCola Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 Thanks so much for the suggestions. I don't know why it never crossed my mind to level it before taking it out of the mold...I'm going to try this tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patience Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I wick and seal with my heat gun.I don't get it...and I don't want to miss one of your great tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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