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How Do You Use Wick Pins?


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I have seen wick pins advertised online and I really have no idea how to use them. Are the wicsks inserted into the holes created by the pins? Do you have to melt wax around the inserted wicks to keep them in place? Can someone please enlighten me?:confused: Is this something good to use?

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Wick pins took the frustration of wicking votives away for me! Once the votive is cool, you pop out the wick pin and stick your pre-tabbed wick into the hole. I turn them upside down and tap (or sometimes, wack...LOL!) the top of the wick pin on a hard surface to release the pin. No need to melt wax around it, the base of the tab fits into the votive and holds the wick in place.

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Insert a primed wick into the hole created by the pin then zap the bottom with the heat gun & press the end of the wick down - it'll stick in the warmed wax. If you use tabbed wicks then you can heat the tab and press it in place - it won't fall out.

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I guess I don't get the pretty tops if I set it inside, hunh? Can I use that sticky putty stuff so I can put the wick pin in through the outside? ANd is that something I can pick up from Home Depot or something?

you betcha...get plumber's putty from HD. Put it on base of pin, push pin into mold and press down hard.

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woo hoo!!! I have a bunch of molds from someone kind, and wick pins but didn't know how to use them (votives I got figured out, but not these). Testing wicks was a PITA without these - so much easier to pre-make the candles and wick according to what the last one did!

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Oh, I learned real quick to NOT permanently attach the wick while testing especially when you are pretty sure you'll be pulling the 1st wick. I try real hard to not remelt & repour cause then I have to wait hours to get on with the testing. :(

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Pam, here's a question for you. Say I have a partial melt pool and realize this wick isn't going to cut it. Is there a "memory" or template set up at that point that affects the way the next wick can work?

I've been pulling wicks and then flipping the candle over to have a new surface to work with (at least for a start, if the wick looks good it gets a whole candle...). But that only gives me 2 chances per pillar.

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Gawd, you ask hard questions...sounds like you've been doing some research!! I'd think a memory would be somewhat set depending on the depth of the pool. If I pull a wick fairly soon, sometimes I fill in the pool with some leftover wax from the same pour..other times, I'll trim down the wall a bit.

When using a new FO or a heavy blend that may be a PITA, I will make a 3x3 pillar to find a wick that is close then make a taller candle with that wick as a starting point for a complete test burn.

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Only two tries per pillar? Not if you get one of those cutoff saws I saw in another thread (about leveling pillars)!! Make a tall pillar and if the first wick doesn't work, off with its head (to below the meltpool) and stick a new wick in. New wick doesn't work? Cut off its head again and try another wick... There will be no memory issues to confuse the results... :)

I don't like power tools... I think a guillotine would be more satisfying when wick testing...violent019.gif

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