Candle Making

Found a good "Candlemaking" link? Let Us Know!

Candle Wick [This is a sales site, but the article {scroll down} is good - prices seem pretty good, too.] A Candle wick is the heart of a quality product, you must have good candle wick in order for the candle to burn. There are many different kinds of wick. Lead wick, zinc core wick, an assortment of braided wick, specialty wicks for tea lights, and so on...

Wick Type	Common Uses & Properties
Flat Braid	Flat Braid Wick is used in taper and pillar candles. This wick is designed to bend slightly when burned allowing for an even burn and a reduction of carbon (mushrooming) at the tip.
Square Braid	Square Braid cotton wick is used in the majority of beeswax candles, tapers, pillars and citronella candles. This wick is also designed to give a slight bend at its tip when burning.
Paper Core	Paper core burns the hottest and is good for waxes that require heavy duty wicking to achieve a good melt pool. Used in container candles. Note: Some candle makers report that these cause candles to smoke more in some applications.
Coreless Cotton	These all cotton braided wicks are designed to bend at the tip when burning, forcing the tip of the wick into the outer portion of the flame where it burns the hottest. This causes more complete combustion, leaving less carbon (mushroom) behind and less smoking, making for a cleaner burn. These also tend to require less trimming, and are sometimes referred to as "self trimming". Usually used in container candles as an alternative to cored wicks.
Hemp Core	Hemp is a strong natural fiber which makes for rigid wicks that will stand up straight while burning. Can be used in containers, votives and pillars.
Zinc Core	Metal is used in wicks to help them stand up in candles that produce deeper melt pools. Zinc core burns the coolest and is the most commonly used wick type in container candles, votives and tea lights. Note: These are known to mushroom and sometimes smoke more than other types. (In the past Lead and Tin were sometimes used, but those are no longer on the market in the US.)

Joe B, a viewer, sent us this on 10/30/2009: I attached an article that I thought might be important to candle making...

How to make candle wicks?
Braided wicks can be easily made at your home; first you must take three strips of heavy cotton yarn or string and soak them in the liquid mixture made out of 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of boric acid. (If you prefer, then you can use a mixture of vinegar, water and turpentine). The cotton strips must be soaked for at least 12 hours. Then after that, the cotton strips to be dried outside. When the cotton strips are dried completely then they can be braided into a single wick. Make a point that the strips to be cut into the length of about six inches more than the length of a candle to be made. A sharp knife and a pair of scissors are to be used to trim the wick.

The next important step is to prime the wicks. To make this effective, dip the wicks into melted hot wax till it get saturated with the hot wax. It can be easily known that wicks are completely saturated, when it releases bubbles. Then remove the wicks from the hot wax and dip those into water and put them on a wax paper. Use a paper towel to remove excessive moisture. Lay them dry on the wax paper around 30 second. Soon the wicks will turn stiff and hard. To make it more qualitative and effective you can do this step twice. Primed wicks are generally kept or rolled up in the newspaper.

Caution: please use a paperclip to dipping and taking out the wicks from hot wax because you may burn your fingers.

Creative tip: Add 1 tsp. of one of the following chemicals for colored flames: strontium chloride for a brilliant red flame, boric acid for a deep red flame, calcium for a red-orange flame, calcium chloride for a yellow-orange flame, table salt for a bright yellow flame, borax for a yellow-green flame, copper sulfate (blue vitriol/bluestone) for a green flame, calcium chloride for a blue flame, potassium sulfate or potassium nitrate (saltpeter) for a violet flame or Epsom salt for a white flame.

... thanks, Joe!

Do-It-Yourself Wax Melter - Step by step instructions for converting a Presto Kitchen Kettle into an efficient, cost-effective wax melter with a handy spigot for easy dispensing... Also available HERE with a couple of tricks and twists not mentioned on the other page.

Candles The directions given here are for dipped candles, which are made by repeatedly dipping a length of wick into melted wax until the candle is the desired size. Dipped candles often cost more in the shops than other kinds, but they usually burn longer and with less smoke. This system, developed by the Environmental and Development Agency in South Africa, uses a special jig that holds up to four candles at a time.

Calculate Wax Weight for a Round Mold Use this calculator to figure out how much wax to melt to make a round candle. This calculator can also be used to estimate wax weights for other shapes such as spirals, octagons, etc. See also: Calculate Wax Weight for a Rectangular Mold, and Calculate Wax Weight for a Container Candle and Burn Time Calculator

Water Baths - instructions for setting up water baths for the purpose of cooling candles. Basically, a water bath entails placing a weighted mold, filled with molten wax, into a bath of cool water. Here we will discuss some of the benefits of water baths and how to use them...

Embedding Photos - Step by step instructions for embedding photos or illustrations inside of candles.

How To Make a Multi Colored Pillar Candle Melt wax and combine it separately with two candle dye colors to create a multi-colored pillar candle. Make a variety of color combinations for different holidays (in this case Halloween), or use a special person's favorite colors in the candle to give them as a gift. You can use a pillar candle mold to make this candle or recycle a container. In this case, I used a Pringles can as my mold.

Make Hand Dipped Candles This time honored tradition is no longer just for exhibitions and history books. You can make candles the old fashioned way in your very own home. THEN Make Twisted Candles This is how twisted candles were made before machines were developed to make them. Make a pair and proudly display them in candlestick holders to add a unique look to your decor. Make different colors and give them away as Christmas gifts. People will wonder where you got them, won't they be surprised when you say you made them yourself!! And THEN Make Multicolored Hand Rolled Candles This is a variation on the hand rolled candle except we use two different colors rather than just one. You can use more than 2 colors if you want. If just using two colors (white and another) to save you using two wax melters to make this, you can pour your white wax first and then very quickly add color to the remaining wax and pour onto the second plate.

Sand Candles Did you ever see a sand candle in a store and think that they were nice but would be too hard to make them on your own? Well it's not! With the easy to follow instructions below you can create beautiful yet inexpensive sand candles that make great gifts or decorations for your own home.

Simple and Basic Candlemaking Crafts: Candlemaking instructions for grubby candles, sometimes called cake candles, with step by step photo illustrations. This candle craft has also been called by various other names, depending on the style, color, and size of the candles. A small candle made from a unwaxed Dixie cup, votive cup... You might like the best caking tips section too.

How to Make a Wax Snowman, and the fabulous Apple Pie Making Project that explains how to make an apple pie crust without using a mold! All by hand!

Tools & Tricks of the Trade Here are some helpful tricks and tools that will make your candlemaking life easier!

Campbell-Light Online Candle Making Instructions
Waxes Wicking Moulds	Scents & Colors Set Up & Clean Up	Making the Candles Troubleshooting	Projects Candle Burning Tips

Aaack! What can happen if gel candles are not made correctly!

GEL CANDLEMAKING.COM : Learn To Make Gel Candles The Safe Way!
ALL ABOUT GEL EQUIPMENT COLORING	FRAGRANCE WICKING EMBEDS	TECHNICAL INFO PRODUCT TESTING CHECK LIST

Hand-Rolling Candles from Sheets Making beeswax candles by hand-rolling beeswax sheets is a great project for kids as well as adults. [PDF Link recovered 4/20/11]

Cookie Cutter Candles & Appliqués When you think of cookie-cutter candles, think about sandwiches. Not very appetizing ones, though. Each slice of bread is represented by at least 4 layers of honeycomb beeswax. And the meat and veggies inside the bread happens to be represented by a wick. [PDF Link recovered 4/20/11]

Pouring Solid Beeswax Candles Although beeswax is a soft, sticky wax, beeswax actually has a (high) melting point of 145 degrees F. For this reason, I have never had luck with plastic molds--if the wax is too hot, which is easy to do, the plastic mold warps as the wax is poured into it. [PDF Link recovered 4/20/11]

Scenting Candles Beeswax has a subtle sweet, honey-like fragrance (logical, huh?); however, some folks like to add scents to their candles. I use essential oils or fragrant oils when possible. [PDF Link recovered 4/20/11]

Q & A (Candle Making Tips) This page is a collection of questions and my answers to questions about candle making with beeswax. [PDF Link recovered 4/20/11]

Tips for Starting a Candle Business Our disclaimer: There are many paths to the goal you choose to reach. The following are observations that may help you on your path, but you will probably have many of your own. Our intent is to aid you in some way, if we can. Thanks for reading! [PDF Link recovered 4/20/11]

"Candle Making Simply" You will want to try your hand at all the different kinds. There is instructions for easy container candles, hand dipped candles, pretty flower pressed candles, chunk candles, ice candles and whipped candles.

Candlemaking Recipe Part 1 & 2 Weird text on making candles "the old world way." Strange, but possibly insightful. I think this was one of those candle-magic sites at one time. [PDF Link recovered 4/20/11]

Essential Survival Guide to Candle Making
BACK TO BASICS	GENERAL INFO	GEL CANDLEMAKING
Safety Equipment Making your first candle Cleaning up Molds around the house Using quality suppliers Email Support Group	Formulas Projects Scent Mixing Waxes Wicks Additives Make latex moulds Troubleshooting Candle Burning 101	Gel Basics Melting gel wax Embedding into gel Wicks for gel Scenting & Coloring Gel Labeling gel candles Troubleshooting gel Gel projects

Candle Cauldron A good resource with a lot of info.

The Melting Pot - a comprehensive candle making site

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