Newbie to candle Making

[Fiery_WA]

Gday from down under :smiley2:

I decided to start making my own candles, as the rate I was going through them was starting to cost me limbs.

So I went and purchased (all online as my location in Australia is remote)

1 x 76mm x 165mm - Concave (3" x 6.5") Mould

a Pack of 20 CDN 18 wicks from memory.

and 200ml (6.5oz) of Honeysuckles/Jasmine Scent

a handful of dye chips.

a wick center tool

4lb melting pot

To begin with I was re using the left over wax from all of the bought candles, this taught me about re pours and the like.

Then it came time to buy wax, I didn't have a clue, so I opted for the cheapest wax Paraffin, I also bought Finishing Beads and Wax Improver my success with that wax was outstanding, a good burn. Not an awful lot of scent throw.

However I burn my candles on a silver based glass surround candle burner, I noticed not only was the glass getting sooty, but my walls ended up turning black from the soot also.

Time to change waxes, the next cheapest was Palm Wax, as it costs me as much to get it freighted to my home as the actual wax itself, cost is an issue.

I chose Feather Palm Wax, this is where I have been running into strife. The candle making supplier I purchased the wax from suggested a cotton twisted medium 30 ply wick, I had a half dozen CDN wicks left over, and here my tales of woe begin.

With the Paraffin Wax came weights and measurements and instructions on how to pour and re pour. With the Palm Wax nothing except the wax.

My first candle after it had been poured and left to set had a bump on what would be the base, so I had to up end it and burn from the base rather than what should have been the top of the mould. No biggy or so I thought.

What I didn't realise because of the bump, was that I still needed to put in relief holes.

Has taken me a few candles, but I think I now have the relief holes down pat.

Next and I find this the most distressing part of using my new wax, is that even after putting in relief holes doing a re pour, when I burn my candle, it tunnels straight down the middle. So I blow it out, let it cool then have to cut back the rather thick walls of unburnt wax. And start the burn again.

I am now waiting on the arrival on some different wicks CDN 16 and CDN 18, and I am crossing fingers and touching wood this will help the burn to form an even pool of wax, rather than the tunnel.

Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong to get this tunneling would be greatly appreciated

I have been reading various posts, and I gather that most of you are American, so a lot of the terms you use I do not understand, such as FO and CD. It also seems quite a few use and prefer Paraffin.

Oh on a good note the scent throw from the Palm Wax is awesome

[EricofAZ]

Welcome to the forum. You're experiencing what all of us experience - testing trials.

You might look at some of the suppliers listed here. Many of them have a candle making "kit" that you might enjoy, especially if you plan on trying soy. Some have recommended wick sizes.

You can also find suppliers that have wick sample packs to help you decide what wick to buy after you settle on a wax and candle shape (which sounds like you are sticking to a couple of specific wax kinds).

Best wishes to you.

[Tribalvixen]

Hiya and Welcome.

First off you might want to check out the Vegie Wax section of this forum there is so much info there you can spend hours just reading. Top of Murryhill did some very informative guides on wicking Feather wax. Search and Search.

I am by no means an old hand at candles but I will share a few things I have learnt.

Where are you buying your supplies if Paraffin is cheaper than Palm? Check out www.aussiecandlesupplies.com.au and www.naturalcandlesupply.com.au.

Get some scales you will never get consistant good results if you dont use scales. I use 6% FO in palm unless im making melts/tarts. So for every 1kg of wax use 60g of FO. Technically its 940g to 60g but whatever. You can get scales at either Aussie or NCS for about $25.

Palm wax does tunnel that is just what it does. It will start to melt the top as it burns down. I use a cdn 14 or 16 in that size mold depending on the FO. The 18 will blowout I am almost certain. Blow out is when it melts a hole in the side of the candle, the wax leaks out of it and you end up with a pool of wax on whatever you are burning it on. I suggest you place it in a bowl if you try that cdn 18.

HTH Nice to see another Aussie here there are a few of us. Enjoy your new addiction...next comes the FO addiction its truly a sickness.

Tammy

[Fiery_WA]

Hiya and Welcome.

First off you might want to check out the Vegie Wax section of this forum there is so much info there you can spend hours just reading. Top of Murryhill did some very informative guides on wicking Feather wax. Search and Search.

I am by no means an old hand at candles but I will share a few things I have learnt.

Where are you buying your supplies if Paraffin is cheaper than Palm? Check out www.aussiecandlesupplies.com.au and www.naturalcandlesupply.com.au.

Get some scales you will never get consistant good results if you dont use scales. I use 6% FO in palm unless im making melts/tarts. So for every 1kg of wax use 60g of FO. Technically its 940g to 60g but whatever. You can get scales at either Aussie or NCS for about $25.

Palm wax does tunnel that is just what it does. It will start to melt the top as it burns down. I use a cdn 14 or 16 in that size mold depending on the FO. The 18 will blowout I am almost certain. Blow out is when it melts a hole in the side of the candle, the wax leaks out of it and you end up with a pool of wax on whatever you are burning it on. I suggest you place it in a bowl if you try that cdn 18.

HTH Nice to see another Aussie here there are a few of us. Enjoy your new addiction...next comes the FO addiction its truly a sickness.

Tammy

www.candlemaking.com.au is where I bought my wax and the 30 ply wick and www.naturalcandlesupply.com.au is where I bought my pillar mould from

www.aussiecandlesupplies.com.au is the cheapest place I have for the scent

What is FO?, as for the wick packs, I have looked but no one has the range for my pillar.

Wax quantity: Approx 640 grams

Wick Recommendation:

Palm Wax - Cdn 16 or Cdn 18 (Can only use the 30cm range with this mould) <--- I rang up the supplier of the mould suggested I use this, so, I have ordered 20 of each

http://www.naturalcandlesupply.com.au/Candle-Making/Moulds/Pillar/?pid=10386

"Palm wax does tunnel that is just what it does. It will start to melt the top as it burns down.", why do the Palm Wax candles I buy do an even burn then?

Edited April 3, 2011 by Fiery_WA

[Fiery_WA]

Top of Murryhill did some very informative guides on wicking Feather wax, do you have a URL?

[Tribalvixen]

Wow you asked for help and then come off all knowing...what ever.

I dont know WHY your bought ones dont tunnel. Maybe they are just magic. I buy my wicking from NCS by the metre for pillars.

FO is Fragrance Oil.

As for the threads Top did, how about you TRY to use the search feature in the VEGGIE WAX section.

Sorry I tried to help. Good luck to you.

Edited April 3, 2011 by Tribalvixen

[Fiery_WA]

Wow you asked for help and then come off all knowing...what ever.

I dont know WHY your bought ones dont tunnel. Maybe they are just magic. I buy my wicking from NCS by the metre for pillars.

FO is Fragrance Oil.

As for the threads Top did, how about you TRY to use the search feature in the VEGGIE WAX section.

Sorry I tried to help. Good luck to you.

Oh Tammy if I have offended you I apologise, I don't know that is why I am here

May I ask what size your mould is? and what type of wick do you use?

[Tribalvixen]

Meh Im not offended just alittle emo atm lol :rolleyes2. My molds are 76mm. I use cdn wicks from NCS for my pillars. I buy it raw and buy 5m at a time. I like this best as there is little wastage and I dont like tabs on my pillars. The fragrance you add and how much FO changes your wicking. So some will need wicking up some down. There are alot of people here with much more than my 2 years experience. Maybe they can help you more

I dont know how to get the thread link thingy to work to direct you to the thread that Top did sorry. maybe try google "how to use and wick feather palm" that is the name of the tread.

Have fun playing with wax it truly is fun

[Fiery_WA]

Are you a redhead too? lolz I am but my pressure point is very high i.e. I am for all intents and purposes a mild redhead ....... unless you push all my buttons at once ....... then head for the hills lolz

I did manage to find Top of Murryhill ..... the secret is no spacing so topofmurryhill .

So the fragrance can also play a part in the burn? I didn't know that. I found out about the tabs the hard way, (isn't that always the way). My first candle I made was pre tabbed, I didn't know that with the pillar I didn't need the tab.

So I used the pre tabbed wick some blu tack (extra heavy), poured the wax into my pillar and it IMMEDIATELY went into MAJOR leakage, the whole pour ended up all over my benchtop, and onto the floor, it was Paraffin wax too.

Panic stations were hit immediately, I ran to my PC to find out how to remove it from everywhere, and I mean everywhere.

Lesson learnt though, now I use a baking dish to sit my mould in and paper towel under it. I now keep a jug with a little cold water in it too, so even if it LOOKS like its going to leak, I plonk the pillar straight into the jug of water let it sit for a bit.

I have only been making candles since November of last year, so it is a learning curve, but boy it's fun

So where in oz are you? I used to live in WA now I live just north of Antartica (Tasmania), the weather and the shopping are woeful here . I so miss the big island shopping.

While I think of it what is your wax of choice? I am liking the Palm Wax because it throws off a good scent. I am thinking of trying the Crystallizing Palm Wax next, I saw some pictures in the gallery of the two mixed together looked great .

Have you seen the Aura Palm Wax at www.candlemaking.com.au , very reminiscent of the Paraffin finish.

[Fiery_WA]

An update on the burning, using a CDN 18 atm, wax has almost melted to the edge of candle, Overall a much better burn

Also made a candle with the CDN 16, will give you a progress report

[Fiery_WA]

The burn started ok now its tunneling again *sigh*

[EricofAZ]

Fiery, the first burn is often very hot and good looking with a tall flame.

Theories on this....

1) Raw wicks don't get saturated well enough. The second burn is more representative of the wick's ability because it is often saturated by then.

2) pre-made wicks are also not saturated with wax, but coated with wax and dry in the center. Treat them like #1 above. Wicks Unlimited claims they push out the air and really saturate the wicks, but they sell in huge bulk only.

3) Chandlers often don't trim the wick to 1/4 inch, but leave it longer. Thus the first burn is taller and hotter. Trim to 1/4 or less.

4) Shape of the jar changes burn as the wax level drops. Diameter of the jar means very little if the shape is anything other than totally straight. Bulges, tops that indent, etc, all change the burn characteristics. Pick one jar and learn how it responds.

5) Saturated wicks only work well if saturated with the wax in the jar with the additives you choose. I'm sure you can get close with pre-saturated wicks that are not dry in the center, but they burn different when vybar or stearic hits them. Thus I use unsaturated wicks, raw, off a spool, and saturate them with the wax in the pot for that application.

A lot of this has been discussed previously, but the hard part is knowing when you read a post that it really does apply to you vs. others with different issues.

Test, test, test. Know your wicks and waxes. There is no substitute.

- Eric

[EricofAZ]

Also, your coloring can really change how a wick works. Anything that is a pigment, throw it in the trash. Dye's only. No titanium oxide.

Be very careful about white coloring. I've come to the very expensive conclusion that all the manufacturers who claim they have dye only white are misleading. White is pigment or has titanium oxide. Don't believe any supplier that says their white is like the other colors unless you want to spend hundreds of dollars testing and months of delay.

Not all of our suppliers are straight up with us.

Edited April 6, 2011 by EricofAZ

[Fiery_WA]

Fiery, the first burn is often very hot and good looking with a tall flame.

Theories on this....

1) Raw wicks don't get saturated well enough. The second burn is more representative of the wick's ability because it is often saturated by then.

2) pre-made wicks are also not saturated with wax, but coated with wax and dry in the center. Treat them like #1 above. Wicks Unlimited claims they push out the air and really saturate the wicks, but they sell in huge bulk only.

3) Chandlers often don't trim the wick to 1/4 inch, but leave it longer. Thus the first burn is taller and hotter. Trim to 1/4 or less.

4) Shape of the jar changes burn as the wax level drops. Diameter of the jar means very little if the shape is anything other than totally straight. Bulges, tops that indent, etc, all change the burn characteristics. Pick one jar and learn how it responds.

5) Saturated wicks only work well if saturated with the wax in the jar with the additives you choose. I'm sure you can get close with pre-saturated wicks that are not dry in the center, but they burn different when vybar or stearic hits them. Thus I use unsaturated wicks, raw, off a spool, and saturate them with the wax in the pot for that application.

A lot of this has been discussed previously, but the hard part is knowing when you read a post that it really does apply to you vs. others with different issues.

Test, test, test. Know your wicks and waxes. There is no substitute.

- Eric

Gday Eric

That's why I am here :smiley2: is to learn, I have used Paraffin and for me personally it has been one the easiest waxes to use ( I bought the additives ), however the wall in which my candle was sitting in front of turned black from the soot. Hence the change to Palm Wax, I have found even with tunneling ( a sore spot but I will get there ), has a better scent throw off than the Paraffin ....... AND MY WALLS ARE NOT GOING BLACK!!

But I am a stubborn redhead who refuses to give up, so I will keep on asking questions when I am about anything. And I will persevere with the Palm Wax until I figure it out.

So that one day if a newbie like myself joins the forum and needs help with Palm Wax, I may be able to help them

Cheers

Susan

[EricofAZ]

Susan, you're asking the right questions. We have some moody folks on this forum (myself included). Sometimes we like people to go use the search tool so that we don't have to re-answer the same questions. I get the impression you did this. So congrats, now you are the "guru." Well, really, your just "fresh meat" for the irritable users. Thanks for searching and showing that you are trying to get this down with research first.

FO is fragrance oil. The scent we add to the wax to make the candle smell nice. Lots of theories on that. More is better, less is better, this wax or that is better, this brand or that is better, etc.

There is some truth to all of the above and there is no way you can figure out all 2000 scents from 50 suppliers and 30 waxes and 400 wicks and 500 container/mould shapes to know it all. Pick one wax, one container, and a couple of FO's and get to know them.

As for helping others when you have the knowledge, that's great. I soaked up a lot then started helping. I was amiss a few times and corrected by the moldie oldies here (and rightly so). I've seen a few newer members start to help out and that is awesome.

By the way, I appreciate that you spell the word "mould" correctly. Most of the suppliers spell it "mold" which is incorrect. Mould is a device that shapes objects. Mold is fungus. For some reason, someone at wikepedia, or tons of misspellings on the internet, or just ignorant folks have transposed the spellings so now we even have dictionaries that are in error.

[Pam W]

I've seen a few newer members start to help out and that is awesome.

================

yeah, like when a Newbie tells another Newbie to add ice to their wax after it's poured

yeah, like when a Newbie tells another Newbie to add the FO to the wax after it's poured into the mold.

[Fiery_WA]

These have been taken after three 3 hour burns, I am still getting the tunnel effect

I have to cut back the wax in order to relight the candle. The wick used is a CDN 18, the one the Mould supplier suggested I use. On there webpage they suggest either CDN 16 or CDN 18 for Palm Wax. I rang the supplier of the mould, and told him of the tunnel my candles were getting, and that I wanted a wick that would burn basically right to the edge of the candle. CDN 18 he said.

[rjdaines]

Isn't this what palm wax does, tunnel?

[Fiery_WA]

Isn't this what palm wax does, tunnel?

The ones I used to buy from the markets were Palm Wax, and they never tunneled, they burnt evenly all the way down to the very bottom

[Stella1952]

This is why we are encouraging you to read about veggie wax candles in the veggie wax forum.One of the properties of palm wax is that it tunnels. It is NOT like paraffin nor soy wax. It cannot be "hugged" for self-consumption like paraffin because it is way too hard. Learning about the properties of a wax is important before pouring it.

With palm wax pillars, one has to make a choice: whether to wick to completely self-consume (as with paraffin) or wick to leave a pleasing shell which can be relit with an electric tealight to enjoy for a long time to come. I wick to leave a shell. If that's a 3" pillar, I use a CDN 12.

If you choose the complete consumption, there are two ways to go with this: to burn openly or to burn the pillar in a close-fitting container (like a giant votive). One of our members, does this and her candles are lovely.

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?62057-Fantastic-Palm-Pillars-and-Glass-Holder

(to find that, I used the Google site search with the keywords palm pillar, bugtussle)

The Google Site Search works very well to locate topicsand information. Instructions for its use can be found on Post #2 at the link below:

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?1802-Forum-Usage-and-Information

The ones I used to buy from the markets were Palm Wax, and they never tunneled, they burnt evenly all the way down to the very bottom

Do you KNOW that it was pure palm wax or could it have been a blend? There are many types of palm wax - only a few are readily available in the US. It's hard to find non-crystalizing palm wax here, for example. Some chandlers work with the manufacturers to create private blends. So just because you purchased palm wax candles which did not tunnel does not mean that you are using the same wax, wicks, etc. as the chandler who made the ones you used to buy. I have never personally seen a 100% palm wax candle which did not tunnel. That doesn't mean that such a thing doesn't exist - I've simply never seen any palm wax which did not have a strong propensity to tunnel. Pure palm wax thins at the top on subsequent burns and tends to bloom a little (like soy pillars). It cannot be "hugged," as previously mentioned.

I see that your candle on the left had a "blowout." This happens when the wick is too large or off center. The burn on the right is more typical of a 1st test burn of 3 hours. HTH

By the way, I appreciate that you spell the word "mould" correctly. Most of the suppliers spell it "mold" which is incorrect. Mould is a device that shapes objects. Mold is fungus. For some reason, someone at wikepedia, or tons of misspellings on the internet, or just ignorant folks have transposed the spellings so now we even have dictionaries that are in error.

In the US, it's spelled mold. In the UK and down under, it's spelled "mould." US manufacturers of molds and molding compounds would be amazed to hear that they are misspelling the word of their products. :rolleyes2 Edited April 15, 2011 by Stella1952

[Fiery_WA]

This is why we are encouraging you to read about veggie wax candles in the veggie wax forum.One of the properties of palm wax is that it tunnels. It is NOT like paraffin nor soy wax. It cannot be "hugged" for self-consumption like paraffin because it is way too hard. Learning about the properties of a wax is important before pouring it.

With palm wax pillars, one has to make a choice: whether to wick to completely self-consume (as with paraffin) or wick to leave a pleasing shell which can be relit with an electric tealight to enjoy for a long time to come. I wick to leave a shell. If that's a 3" pillar, I use a CDN 12.

If you choose the complete consumption, there are two ways to go with this: to burn openly or to burn the pillar in a close-fitting container (like a giant votive). One of our members, does this and her candles are lovely.

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?62057-Fantastic-Palm-Pillars-and-Glass-Holder

(to find that, I used the Google site search with the keywords palm pillar, bugtussle)

The Google Site Search works very well to locate topicsand information. Instructions for its use can be found on Post #2 at the link below:

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?1802-Forum-Usage-and-Information

Do you KNOW that it was pure palm wax or could it have been a blend? There are many types of palm wax - only a few are readily available in the US. It's hard to find non-crystalizing palm wax here, for example. Some chandlers work with the manufacturers to create private blends. So just because you purchased palm wax candles which did not tunnel does not mean that you are using the same wax, wicks, etc. as the chandler who made the ones you used to buy. I have never personally seen a 100% palm wax candle which did not tunnel. That doesn't mean that such a thing doesn't exist - I've simply never seen any palm wax which did not have a strong propensity to tunnel. Pure palm wax thins at the top on subsequent burns and tends to bloom a little (like soy pillars). It cannot be "hugged," as previously mentioned.

I see that your candle on the left had a "blowout." This happens when the wick is too large or off center. The burn on the right is more typical of a 1st test burn of 3 hours. HTH

In the US, it's spelled mold. In the UK and down under, it's spelled "mould." US manufacturers of molds and molding compounds would be amazed to hear that they are misspelling the word of their products. :rolleyes2

I see that your candle on the left had a "blowout." ....... That wasn't a "blowout" it's where I cut the candle so I could relight it. The burn on the right is more typical of a 1st test burn of 3 hours ........ It was three 3 hour burns so a total of 9 hours burn time. STOP PICKING ON ME I come here for help, not to be made a fool of

https://www.candlemaking.com.au/epages/candlemaking.sf/sec7975a3db51/?ObjectPath=/Shops/candlemaking/Products/wpalmf/SubProducts/wpalmf-1 is where I purchased my wax from, as far as I can tell it is not a blended wax

https://www.candlemaking.com.au/epages/candlemaking.sf/sec7975a3db51/?ObjectPath=/Shops/candlemaking/Categories/statements/Palm_Wax_and_RSPO.

Edited April 15, 2011 by Fiery_WA

[Pam W]

STOP PICKING ON ME I come here for help, not to be made a fool of

======================

Good Lord......Stella is not picking on you. She is one of the most knowledgable persons on this forum and has done her very best to answer your questions as to why your candles are tunnelling. In the future, if you do not want honest answers to your questions, then I suggest you not ask!!!!!!!!!!!! geeeeeeeeeeeeeze

[EricofAZ]

So Pam, are you saying I can't freeze my FO in icecube size and just drop one in a freshly poured pillar mould?

I guess I need to qualify the use of the word newbie. I consider myself a bit of a newbie since I have only been at it for about a year. Maybe novice is the next stage and that is more appropriate.

Fiery, some of the folks here tend to rub others the wrong way. Unless it is an outright attack, just pick through the dirt to find the nugget inside.

I caught the tone that this thread was headed towards when you first posted and thought you might be pretty sincere, along with the guy from Poland, so I wanted to encourage both of you to post and ask questions. Yeah, sometimes the answer is RTFM (Read The Flaming Manual) meaning search and read what has been posted in the past. Sometimes there is a novel issue and someone will pipe up and share.

Keep reading, keep testing, keep asking, keep a stiff upper lip and keep your skin thick and well moisturized.

And if none of that works, chase your cat around the room for a while. Its good for both of you.

[Fiery_WA]

So Pam, are you saying I can't freeze my FO in icecube size and just drop one in a freshly poured pillar mould?

I guess I need to qualify the use of the word newbie. I consider myself a bit of a newbie since I have only been at it for about a year. Maybe novice is the next stage and that is more appropriate.

Fiery, some of the folks here tend to rub others the wrong way. Unless it is an outright attack, just pick through the dirt to find the nugget inside.

I caught the tone that this thread was headed towards when you first posted and thought you might be pretty sincere, along with the guy from Poland, so I wanted to encourage both of you to post and ask questions. Yeah, sometimes the answer is RTFM (Read The Flaming Manual) meaning search and read what has been posted in the past. Sometimes there is a novel issue and someone will pipe up and share.

Keep reading, keep testing, keep asking, keep a stiff upper lip and keep your skin thick and well moisturized.

And if none of that works, chase your cat around the room for a while. Its good for both of you.

Thanks Eric, the thing that gets me is I am doing as much as research as possible on my own google is my best friend, but there are just some things you cannot find, hence the reason I joined the forum.

"And if none of that works, chase your cat around the room for a while. Its good for both of you." I don't have a cat I have a 12yo dog who is too fat and too old to chase anywhere

*kicks* Pam in the shins, now I feel better:cheesy2:

Edited April 16, 2011 by Fiery_WA

[Stella1952]

STOP PICKING ON ME

If your feelings are hurt, I am sorry. That was not my intention. If I choose to hurt someone's feelings, I usually don't invest so much time and verbiage trying to explain things to them.

When testing candles, you do not cut the side to relight it. This significantly changes the way the candle burns. The idea is to find out how the candle will burn on its own. You may need to get a long-handled lighter or use a long match stick or flaming piece of uncooked spaghetti to light a wick that is too deeply inside a pillar to comfortably light in the usual manner, but when testing, you cannot trim the candle - only the wick!

I did not realize that you were looking at 3 - 3 hours burns - I skimmed over that. I'm not sure you absorbed a lot of what I told you, either. I think you may need to do some reading then go back several steps in your testing procedures to get back on firm footing. NO ONE is pickn' on you - we're trying to help you. We MAKE palm wax pillars. We DO understand this stuff and the aggravations and pitfalls one experiences when making palm wax pillars.

When I referred to a palm wax "blend," you have to understand that there are substances added and manufacturing differences in various palm wax formulas; otherwise we wouldn't have so many choices of pattern, texture and other key, repeatable properties. There ARE certain similarities, like the hardness of palm wax (needle penetration test). The polymorphic nature of palm wax allows it to make huge, showy crystals and patterns all the way to an almost clear, smooth, translucent state whose surface tends to fracture easily, simply by varying the pour temp of the same wax! It has an extremely narrow range of time and temperature between the solid and liquid states - it never really softens in the manner that paraffin and soy do. These are IMPORTANT PROPERTIES of palm wax that affect how it behaves when it is burned in a candle.

Palm pillars, while absolutely gorgeous (and my favorite type of candle to make), are frequently challenging to wick, especially for full consumption. People who have been working with palm wax for years often find this dicey. As I said - you have to make certain decisions about how you want to wick YOUR candle. Other waxes don't present this same choice. What I am hearing from your words is that you are expecting your palm wax candle to burn much in the same way that paraffin does and it ain't gonna happen that way, IMHE. Because of its burn properties, palm wax burns straight down, then out. The sides are slowly consumed by "weeping" as the wick burns down into the candle. This creates a kind of "container" environment inside the walls where the temperature is building up because it's being contained by the "tunnel" of the pillar. This extra heat slowly erodes the sides of the candle. The balancing act is for it to do that without "blowing out" (which means springing a leak at a hotter, weaker spot in the candle wall, usually just below the level of the MP, which allows the melt pool to drain, partially or completely, causing a major wick flare). People who wick for a luminary effect keep the temp down in the center and try to retain a quarter inch shell. Ones who choose full-consumption have to balance the rate at which the sides melt with the heat that causes blowouts. Ya can't have near-complete consumption if the candle blows out the side. That's usually game over. Your trimming the of the side to light it runs contrary to the way palm wax burns, not to mention, good testing procedure.

Learning how to work with (not against) the properties of the wax and how they affect the burn is at the heart of candlemaking. IMHO.

Keep burning your pillars all the way to the bitter end without messing with them and see what they do. You may be surprised...

*kicks* Pam in the shins, now I feel better

You ARE kidding, right? :rolleyes2 Hard to believe that someone would come here asking for help, then start sniping with experienced members who are trying to help them... :lipsrseal Edited April 16, 2011 by Stella1952