DaisyFairy Posted December 24, 2005 Share Posted December 24, 2005 this is the right board for this question.. if not, my appologies.I have robnat 1230 palm wax from taylored. it has a crystal like finish.I have made some 3" pillars out of it and I notice it has very little shrinkage. I poke the releif holes just like normal.. I calculated the wax needed for the mold just like normal. I came out with the same amount as the calculator on the handy calculator page. When I make the candles 3" x 3" pillars I end up with 5 ounces of extra wax. I poke the relief holes more than once.. usually 3 times during the cooling process..but there is no cavity at the end of the cooling process.. only the holes I poked and a very small shrinkage lip at the top... so I wind up with all this extra wax. So I was worried I did something wrong... and there may be hollow spots.. I have burned one more than half-way down and still burning...so far so good... no disappearing melt pool.. good throw good burn.. so I am at a lossI will keep testing .. but, I was just wondering.. if anyone else noticed a difference in the wax amount used... maybe it just shrinks less and takes less wax than regular pillar wax. any help would be appreciated GREATLY! lol.Daisy Fairy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted December 24, 2005 Share Posted December 24, 2005 Some waxes just shrink less than others, during cooling. I think palm wax is one of those that people have trouble de-molding, because it doesn't shrink enough to pull away from the sides of the mold. If you're used to pure parrafin, it generally shrinks more than any other, if memory serves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaisyFairy Posted December 25, 2005 Author Share Posted December 25, 2005 thanks for the help.. actually the demolding and shrinking is not really a problem. The problem is I am winding up with leftover wax and I don't want to waste it or have to save it up for future batches... my wax amount calculations seem to be off.. but for a 3x3 pillar the calculator comes up with 12 0z. or .72 lbs. I based my calculations on .72 lbs and wound up with 5 oz. of wax left over after the completed candles were made. I had a thought that maybe my scale was off.. so I checked it with a 2 lb. weight. and got 2 lbs. .7 oz. which is over weighing if it is off and should have made me come up short rather than having too much wax right? I dunno.. I think I will just have to compensate future batches based on the weight of wax used on this one.I weighed the completed candle and one candle weighs 12.2 ounces.. so it is approx. the right weight.. based on the calculator. I know the wax uses 5% stearic and that will give a little extra.. but only amounted to 1.1 ounces of stearic. Daisyfairy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted December 25, 2005 Share Posted December 25, 2005 O.K. In that case, I'd guess that you either misread the scale, or didnt set the tare weight properly, for whatever you were putting the wax into to weigh it. Setting the tare weight is easy to screw up on. I always make more than I need, so I always have extra. I got a mini muffin pan and pour up the extra. I can then use those for fragrance samples, and as a color reference to make sure I get the color to match, the next time I run a batch of those. I also give some of them to a few people to use as melts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted December 25, 2005 Share Posted December 25, 2005 It may have to do with being palm wax. As in a weight to volume ratio difference. I think soy weighs different from paraffin. Palm may just weigh less, giving you more volume of wax for the weight. You could check by comparing equal amounts of each. Say fill a 1 cup measing cup full with each, then weighing it. Probably be a pain, but it would explain your discrepancy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaisyFairy Posted December 25, 2005 Author Share Posted December 25, 2005 thank you both for your advice. I have done another batch since and had quite a bit left this time too..but not as much so It may have been a tare wt. thing. but I will try what satin ducky said too.. just to see. thanks guys!daisy fairy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 Obviously something is not being weighed correctly. You said the candle weighed over 12 oz and you had 5 oz of leftover wax. So it seems you originally weighed about 17 oz of stuff unless something materialized out of nothingness (I hate when that happens). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 Did you add in the weight of the FO used too? That and the stearic would explain some of it, just not all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaisyFairy Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 No I didn't add in the weight of the FO... I bet that was where it came from...sorry Top... didn't give all the details. ... was a multi 3 x 3 inch pillar batch... so a little extra here and a little extra there added up I guess... daisyfairy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustpuuppy Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 It's easy to get those things off by just a bit. I gave up trying to get it exact, after I came up a tad short, a couple of times. Someone wants three candles and one is just a little shorter than the other two... it looks kinda amatuerish to me. That's one reason I always make a bit extra and store it away. Better too much than not enough, but that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 It's easy to get those things off by just a bit. I gave up trying to get it exact, after I came up a tad short, a couple of times. Someone wants three candles and one is just a little shorter than the other two... it looks kinda amatuerish to me. That's one reason I always make a bit extra and store it away. Better too much than not enough, but that's just me.I agree completely. I always have enough for at least one votive and usually another 1/2 after wards. I mix mine in lbs or 1/2 lbs increments for simplicity and hopefully accuracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaisyFairy Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 oh, I completely agree... too much is always better! I always have a bit too much and I like it that way... and It is not really a problem.. I can use it to make a couple of votives.. I was just worried about my math and after going over it and over it I just didn't get it... hahathought you guys could help and I think Satinducky hit it on the head. DUH! I was forgetting about the weight of the FO. I hate when I get cranial rectitis! lolDaisyFairy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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