Wick conundrum

[DischordianJoy]

I just got some candle making supplies for Christmas, and boy am I excited to get a move on! The main problem is that I have a bunch of wick, but it's all loose, not pretabbed or anything, and I want to make votive candles. My votive molds, though, are solid and I have no idea how to make the wick stay still in the votive mold. Does anyone have any ideas for me?

Anything would help, as I'm so out of ideas. Thanks guys.

[Breanna]

First Welcome to the Board,,you will need to either get wick pins Or get the metal tabs and put them on yourself,,,if you have raw wick which sounds like you have you need to put into some wax to prime it,,Im sure others will chime in,,,what type of wax do you have? Hope This Helped a little

[DischordianJoy]

*smiles and shrugs*

I have no idea what kind of wax I have. It came in a kit my mother bought for me.

What's a wick pin? I would rather not have to buy anything extra...

[Breanna]

a wick pin is a metal looking rod that you put in to make the hole for your wick instead of fighting getting the wick in straight,,Which I do but I am going to invest in wick pins,,,,,

[DischordianJoy]

Ah, yes, that sounds like a good idea, heh. Maybe when I have more money...

[Pam W]

these are wick pins

http://www.peakcandle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=PCMS&Category_Code=ACC

OR you can go to craft store and buy some of the metal wick tabs - probably a couple bucks for a package.

[RobinInOR]

Well, you might be able to fake up something. Lets see, wick and nothing else, eh?

Do you have any metal coat hangers you can cut apart? Cut them into 3 inch sections, and figure some way to prop them up in your votive holders. Kind of a poor mans wick pin. After the wax is solid, you can pull them out and put in your wick.

Might work - I've done it with pillars before.

Or, you'd need some kind of weight at the bottom of the wick to help hold it straight. If you just dangle the wick from a stick, it will twist as the wax cools. I don't know, have any kind of metal washers around?

None of these are great ideas, you really need regular wick tabs to do it right.

[MaryinCary]

Sounds like you need to spend some time reading the board. There is enough reading material here to fill 6 months time. Start with the very first thread of this catagory "Helpfull links for Newbies". Everything you need to know to get started is right there at your fingertips

Welcome to CT & candlemaking.

[DischordianJoy]

Hmmm. Thanks guys. I might try the trick with the metal coat hanger if I can figure out how to make it work.

I'm making chunk votives for magical purposes (I'm a witch) so I was thinking maybe weighing the wick down with a chunk or two? Hmmm. I'll have to fiddle for a while to figure out how to make it work.

[Scented]

The chunks won't work to weight the wick down. In addition, without having a wick tab, chances of that wick flopping over and drowning out before the votive is consumed are pretty good.

The wick tabs are very inexpensive, even at a hobby store.

It would be easier to use one attached to the bottom of your wick and wrap the wick around a rod than to figure out how to keep a chunk of wire straight for the 20-30 minutes or so that it might take for the wax to set up enough.

But then you know what you have.

[MommaD]

Welcome!

[Dee]

Here are instructions on making votives. You can buy the correct pretabbed wicks from Michael's. www.candletech.com/votives/

[sharyl55]

Welcome to CT. You really need to step back and do a little research. Look to the left of this page. Start with Basic Instructions and work you way down. There are a lot of safety issues regarding making candles you need to be aware of.

[Ron]

Many years ago when I was in Cub Scotts I did a candle project. I remember tying the wick onto a washer or two. The weight kept them from moving around.

Just a thought.