How-To: Making Candles

[ForgeCorvus]

We've been talking a lot about candles on here recently, and I said that I'd put together a How-To
Well, this is the start of it.... I'll add pictures etc later

I'll make one thing clear first, I'm really just a hobbist and dabbler. While I've researched a lot of things, I'll be the first to admit that theres plenty I don't know.

I'm going to deal with just candles and try to touch on as many different techniques and options as I can.... Feel free to ask if something is unclear.


OK, basics first.
Any candle needs two things, one is a solid fuel that is easy to melt and the other is a wick.

Fuels:
Paraffin Wax. Probably the commonest stick candle fuel currently, its fairly cheap and burns cleanly.

Stearin. Made from fats (initially manufactured from animal fats, now a Palm product), I think a lot of pillar candles have a core made of this stuff.

Beeswax. A nice wax with a load of different uses, almost seems a shame to burn it. Has a natural honey scent

Tallow. Purified beef fat, even when made into a candle is still edible. Distinctive smell

Butter/Shortening/Lard. All work as candle fuels but probably have more value as food.

There are others, but these are the ones that we're most likely to encounter.

I'll just use the term "Wax" to mean candle fuel from here on out. There really is very little difference mechnically.

All candles work by using the heat of its flame to melt Wax which is then drawn up a wick and vapourised, this vapour is what actually burns.

While a lot of things can be used for a wick, the proper stuff is the best.
If you look at wick you'll see that its a flat braid of (usally) cotton fibres, because its flat it curls over as the candle burns and the very tip pokes out the side of the flame and chars away. This means that you don't have to keep triming the wick to keep the flame from guttering or melting the candle too fast.

Thicker candles need thicker wicks to melt evenly, part of the reason a lot of bought candles burn out leaving a big lump of wax is because they're under wicked. However, a small wick will give you a longer burn time (assuming it doesn't drown the flame in liquid wax)

I have made wick by braiding cotton and hemp string, not tested them out yet but I'll post results here.

Methods of making candles
Dip:
One of the earliest ways of making a candle. You take a length of wick and dunk it into melted wax several times to build up a decent sized candle. Its a good way of making huge numbers of candles (the old candlemakers used frames of several dozen wicks ) but needs a large quantity of molten wax in a deep tank to insure that your candles aren't pear-shaped.

Mould:
You pour wax into a container with a wick in it, which you then remove (and reuse).
Ideal for small runs (or larger candles then feasible with dipping), has the advantage that you only need to melt the wax you need, disadvantage is that its the slowest.

Cast:
Again wax is poured into a container with a wick in it, however the candle is then left in the case.
Economical on wax (as with Moulding) and a lot faster as you don't need to do anything else. However, you need to have a supply of cases

ETA
Threaded:
(I'm not sure if there is a proper name for this, but "Threading" was what it was called by the person who showed me how.)

Take a solid block or lump of 'wax' and shove a long needle (or something else thats very thin but long enough) all the way through, then Thread a piece of wick (thats been coated in wax or WHY) into the hole. A fast and dirty way of making a candle, this is the easiest way of using packs of butter, shortening(hard cooking fat) or lard

[preppingsu]

Thank you.
I look forward to seeing the pictures - this may decide the next project for 2014!

[piglet]

I also look forward to hearing anyone experiences concerning candle making.
I use candles on a daily basis and have started to accumulate a large amount of 'left over' candle wax.

I recently bought some Borax, for wick making, and a small metal candle mould to get me started whilst I practice and learn. And I have just taken delivery of a small double boiler.

Now I just need to find the time, which for me, is the hardest thing to acquire.

[jean405]

I use candles daily as well, and save the stearin stumps. When I have enough stearin I melt it and fill up tea light shells, that I also save. I buy the wicks from a hobby shop. Not quite a hobby for me, more like squeezing the last penny out of everything I use.

[QUAID]

Excellent, look forward to the pics.
Thanks.

[ForgeCorvus]

Part 2

First of all, a note on safety

Never use direct heat to melt wax
If its heated too strongly wax will vapourise and its the vapour that burns (ignites).
Also remember that wax can burn you (although the ideal temperature for moulding etc is more like unpleasently hot)

Never be in a rush, you're going to be messing around with hot and flammable materials. [/nannying]

You can buy electric wax pots that have thermostats and other safety devices but they are expensive (if you find one cheap then by all means use it), but most of us will have to use some sort of water-bath technique.

Double boilers are made just for this job, but remember once you've used one for wax thats really only what it should be used for.

You can also use a Bain Marie, I've seen one setup with different coloured waxes in each tank. Again it becomes a dedicated tool.

I personally use a food tin with the lid not compleatly removed (which is folded back and then in on itself..... Need to add a pic) in an old saucepan with boiling water in it. Its a cheap (read 'Free!') setup and I can use a different 'pot' for each colour (if I'm being fancy) or wax (if I'm doing several different jobs at once).



Make sure you don't spill wax on any fabric (because its a bugger to get it out) or hot surfaces (it melts and vapourises....Remember, vapour burns), however hard surfaces like kitchen worktops or tiled floors are great.... Just let the wax cool and harden then scrape it up and chuck it back in the melting pot (assuming its not got bits in it )

You can buy wax dye for colouring and different scents (both manufactured and natural) but I'm not going to cover them.... Or I might after all the more important stuff.


Gear
Wax pot, Double boiler, old saucepan and tin. Something to melt wax in
Heat source
Wick. Start out with bought wick and then experiment after you know what your candles should be like
Wax. Bought pellets or slab, recycled candle stubs, rendered tallow.... Anything you like
Mould(s). Bought or made, makes no difference
Or
Casings. Whatever you've got as long as it doesn't burn
Mould seal. If you're moulding.Its a non-hardening putty like plumber's mate (which would probably work just as well) I'm still using the same bit I got thirty odd years ago... Plastacine, blutac or playdough could be used.
Stirrer. I tend to use bits of old arrow shaft although any dowel or stick is just as good, metal spoons can be used (but not for anything else afterwards)
Bridgings. Short length of something to bridge the top of a casing or the bottom (open end) of a mould. Lolly stick, cocktail stick, long pin, or WHY

[grenfell]

Several years ago a friend and myself saw the fancy candles being sold and thought it would be a good money making idea. We brought several moulds and made a couple as well along with dyes to colour the wax. At the time I had access to several large boxes of stumps and broken candles so that was the raw material sorted. We melted the wax in a large aluminum container and used a brass ladle for pouring. The ladle did turn the undyed wax a light green colour but served its purpose. The money making scheme never really took off but I was left with a fair few candles. Even though we only sold a few I still didn't pass any chance of free wax to add to my pile. I did use wax to make some "flaming torches" for a stage act and used a roll of hessian in a fray bentos pudding tin on a stick for the job. Worked well , too , not very long burning but then they didn't need to be.
Forge is correct to think about the safety aspect and I suppose one tip there is to make your candles before rather than after an event. Electric heating is a lot safer than anything else that would be available post event , after all we are looking at candles should the power go off.

[hawkafr]

I have made candles using the fat from joints of meat and cat food tins they work somewhat downside is the smell

[maxilaura]

I bought one of those starter kits from hobby craft and have just done my very first two candles and I LOVE THEM - can see this is going become a very addictive hobby

[KrisWard]

A very interesting post, and thanks for the information. I am intrigued with the idea of animal fats being used for candles, that sounds amazing, thanks again!