Easy Candle Making?!?

[floristtn]

I am wanting to offer "candle making" in my gift shop. I have been to amusement parks and the like where a store gave me 2 white taper candles strung together and all we did was dip them in wax/water/wax/water etc. I have searched and searched the internet for information on this but have come up with nothing. Does anyone have information on what equipment I would need for this, how exactly it is done, where do I get the equipment etc. I would greatly greatly appreciate any tips and advice on this. thank you.

[EricofAZ]

You need a dipping vat and a lot of wax and a safe heating source. When you let the wax cool in the vat and decide later to melt it again, heating from the bottom only is very dangerous.

What you are describing is the basic process for cut and curl candle making. Wax/water/wax/water.

I think you might look into the cut and curl business because those folks need to dip a lot and they need the vats to work right. Joe at www.candlefun.com sells the stuff for that business.

Oh, Joe markets his stuff here too: http://www.candlesandsupplies.net/Candle-Making/Candle-Carving-Melters

A lot of people make their own. Some of the larger candlemakers like Yankee, have built or bought industrial vats. There is a company in China that makes industrial sized vats.

I don't think there's much of a market or supply for what you want to do so you might be left with learning about the safety of operating a vat and building your own or buying something that is meant for other purposes (like cut/curl).

Edited August 27, 2011 by EricofAZ

[Candybee]

If you want to teach a candlemaking class I suggest you go to a refutable supplier and get a candlemaking kit. You can get ones for soy or parrafin, for votices, pillars, jars, etc. Trust me it will be a whole lot cheaper than looking into getting dipping vats and a whale of a lot cheaper than setting up a vats for cut 'n curl candles.

The most popular selling candle is a small jelly jar type candle. Peaks candle supply has candle kits or call them and tell them about your candle class idea and they will help you select your wax, wicks, jars, scent, etc. Much cheaper than guessing on your own or going to the local craft store. Other places to check out are Lonestar, Candlewic, Candle Science, Candles & Supplies. They carry professional quality candlemaking supplies-- much superior to Hobby Lobby or Michaels... and cheaper too!

[Stella1952]

Before you attempt to teach a class on candlemaking, I'd suggest you do some of it yourself so that you know what you are doing. Researching at this forum can help, but you need experience to teach, not just some info from the internet.

[EricofAZ]

Oh, Joe markets his stuff here too: http://www.candlesandsupplies.net/Candle-Making/Candle-Carving-Melters

Stella and Candybee are right of course. If you don't want spend the investment money, then there are other kinds of candles to make. You might have the resources to buy the right stuff though and maybe dipping is what you want to do.

Having teaching knowledge is pretty far above just having candlemaking knowledge. There is a lot to learn about wax choice, additive choice, coloring choice, fragrance choice, etc. It is not enough to learn how to do this, but to learn to the point where you can answer some good questions about candle making (teaching knowledge). Maybe tealights would be a good place to start, or a simple pillar.

I've been pulling my hair out for months trying to wick a dripless taper. Despite what some say here on this forum about how easy it is, really, it is not.

So allow me to digress for a moment. I'm a retired helicopter pilot/mechanic. Actually, very heavily certified and experienced. One of the greatest compliments that I enjoyed was when I finished a charter or utility flight and a passenger or observer would say "That was way easier than I thought. Even I could do that."

Easy to make candles may look easy to make because someone who has really put in the time and experienced made it so. If you are not able to put in the time and experience, and I hope that you would and would enjoy this fun hobby, you might be able to find a potential teacher in your community. Bring them around, we'll grill them for a few days to see if they are good.

Edited August 27, 2011 by EricofAZ

[floristtn]

I am not looking to teach a class. the place I saw this at, i went to the counter bought a taper candle and they had an island with 3-4 vats of wax and 1 of water, where we simply "made" our own candles. Obviously I was not intending on reading this forum and then teaching a class. I was just trying to find general information and terms. thanks for your advice.

Edited August 27, 2011 by floristtn

[EricofAZ]

Ok, so I think you just need to make a vat for folks to use. The one at candlesandsupplies.com is going to work, but would probably be too expensive.

You need a big pot, a lot of wax, a wick, and a heat source.

Wax: I would suggest IGI 4807 wax, you can get it at LetItShineUSA.com.

Wick: You can buy raw wick on a spool (you'll need that instead of premade tabbed wicks) at www.candlewic.com. The size you select is something I can't help you with because it depends on the final taper size and whether or not you are making one that is overdipped or not. I would suggest P160 to start with and then make a bunch and see if they burn right. There are over 600 different wicks out there and some very valid differing opinions on this website. I'm sure the folks who had the dipping vat you remember had already figured out which was the right wick to use with the wax they supplied.

Heat Source: This is the more creative aspect, how to find a melter that heats from the sides which is a very important safety item. You can buy a commercial wax melter at many of the candle sites listed on this website, but most don't have a big opening for dipping. I am having some success with a restaurant food warmer/cooker that heats water in a tank and has different sized circular food holders (vats). The upside is that its cheap, the steam heats the vats from the sides, and its fast (heats the wax in about an hour). The downside is that you can't dip more than about 7 inches. You need to regulate the wax temperature very carefully and consistently. The cooler the wax, the thicker the coating and the faster the dips will be, but you run the risk of having the coating layers not stick to the candle. The hotter wax sticks better but takes longer and then you have to deal with a taper that will bend easily before it really cools off. Gotta get it just right.

Probably don't need any additives. Overdipping might be worth while. Make sure that you have tested this so that if the customers go home and light them, they don't have a problem.

http://www.candletech.com/candle-making-basics/hand-dipped-tapers/ is a tutorial for small scale home / fun taper dipping.

There are dozens of designs of food warmer/cookers. Here's one. http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=food+warmer/cooker&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=11850387804685944621&sa=X&ei=hnNZTp6_CMyNsAKRmbnHDA&ved=0CG4Q8gIwBQ

[EricofAZ]

Have you thought about your safety procedures and instructions? You'll not want anyone nearby when the wax is first heating up. it expands and the hot wax at the bottom can blow the crusted top off if you heat it too much and/or from the bottom only. Don't want anyone around when that happens.

Fire extinguishers that are designed for wax fires (not the standard ABC type, I think Type F) and large thick towels to throw over the wax pot if it catches fire. Never use water to put out a wax fire.

First aid for anyone that gets a wax burn on the skin (and keep the temp low enough so that this doesn't cause any serious burns).

Instructions for the participants so they know candle burning safety at home when they take their candle out of your shop? www.candles.org/Safety.html

[jluper7297]

I know exactly what you are talking about. They have that in a shop in the Spillikin Corners area at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Or they used to anyways. He doesn't need to buy raw wick spools, as he probably doesn't want to make his own tapers. He probably just wants to order the tapers already made and have the vats of different colored waxes. The customer then buys the tapers from him and just dips them in the different colored waxes to design the candles. The tapers are already made, they just color them.

My uncle used to take me to Six Flags at least twice a year when I was growing up. Every single time I made a set of tapers at Spillikin Corners. We also used to go and watch them make taffy.