Embeds, Chunks With Palm Pillar Wax

[ladysj]

For those of you that have made these. What do you make your chunks/embeds out of? Do you use palm for those as well? If so how to you get them cut without them breaking to pieces?

I would like to try this since I've discovered there are many ways to use the palm & get different affects.

TIA

[CathyinME]

I just pour the wax into the pan & let it harden then break it into pieces. I like the look of the different size chunks.

[Stella1952]

I do the same as Cathy for my chunkies. If you want regular straight lines for some reason, you CAN cut it while warm with a sharp knife, but you have to use great care in cutting and removing it.

I also make embeds from pillar palm wax for candles & other projects. They come out of the molds the same way as candles - pretty easily unless one decides to be a booger (adding stearic acid helps a LOT).

There is a "sweet spot" in the cooling time where the wax is not totally cold yet, but no longer hot, where palm wax embeds are least likely to break. Smaller, thinner embeds generally crack more easily than larger, thicker ones, depending upon the shape/design. If I miss that magic moment, and screw up a couple while demolding them, I set the mold aside and wait several days to demold the rest of the embeds to give the wax crystals a chance to harden and gain strength.

HOW one demolds fragile little objects is a fine art in itself. Knowing where to apply pressure and where cracks are most likely to occur is both a function of engineering logic, technique and experience. It's like removing hot Christmas cookies cut with a cookie cutter from the cookie sheet. Angel wings, the "hook" of a candy cane, etc. are common stress points and one has to learn how to deal with those particular shapes on an individual basis. Some you can remove while warm, others have to wait longer, but HOW you position your spatula can make all the difference.

Edited November 6, 2009 by Stella1952