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Posted: 10/14/2016 11:46:56 AM EDT
Over the past four years we have been collecting and refining the beeswax from our hives; basically a by-product of our honey harvesting.  My 15 year old son asked if he could make it into candles and sell them to make money.  I researched it a bit and he is now a candle maker.

We decided to do hand dipped candles.  We melt the wax in a #10 can on top of a hot plate turned on the lowest setting.  The temperature of the wax is at 160 degrees which keeps it melted (melting point is 145) and below 185 degrees (it will discolor at that temp).  Flashtemp is 400 degrees so there is no worry about it bursting into flames.

For wicking, I picked up hemp cord from the craft store.  About $3 for 250 yards.  We cut it to length, soak it in melted wax, then wipe off the excess and we are left with perfect wicks.  Cotton wicks will not work.  They burn too quickly and the candle will extinguish itself.  

They are pretty easy to make.  Just dip in the wax, let cool on a rack, dip again.  It takes a bout 30 dips to complete a candle.  We do them in batches of 20 pairs (40 total), and it takes about 2 hours to complete them.  I tested a few of them and they work perfectly.

So here are the pluses:

- They burn much longer than paraffin; about 1" per hour
- They smell really nice and emit a pleasant odor when burning
- They burn hotter than paraffin, so the flame is a little brighter
- They are smokeless
- They are dripless.  When the candle is done burning, there is nothing left except a little bit of the base and burnt wick.

We are fortunate enough to have a good supply of beeswax we produce, but beeswax can be had for about $10-15 per pound.  One pound will yield about nine 6" candles with a 1" diameter, so they end up costing about $1-$1.50 and your time; not too expensive at all.

My son has successfully made a bunch of them now and is selling them for $7 a pair.  This is a great project for your kids and one of those DIY home production skills that is not only very practical and useful, but entertaining as well.
Link Posted: 10/16/2016 7:03:43 PM EDT
[#1]
That does sound like a great project for your son. The little bees wax I was getting out my hive I am using it as one of the components
in a black powder bullet lube.
Did he research on how to make lip balms?
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