Posted: 9/29/2013 4:37:49 PM EDT
| I made a handful of candles in small mason jars and some sauce jars. I was pretty happy with the way they turned out. The only thing I didn't read up on was wick making. I watch a youtube vid and the solution includes Borax. Does it have to be Borax vs. another brand of laundry soap? Thanks. |
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It was woven, mercerized cotton twine. I didn't do anything but cut the string to the proper lengths, drape them over the hangers that I made to hold two sets, and start dipping. The first dip will take a while because the string tries to float. It will get a light coat that you will pull to straighten the first time or two but once it dries for a few seconds, they will sink. Only heat the wax enough to melt and no more. If it's too hot, it takes forever to build layers.
I used to make a dozen sets of four at a time so by the time I got to the end, it was time to start over. About four coats before you have them the size you want you trim the bottom end off because it is too long. The next four coats will leave enough drip to have that hand dipped look. If I could sell all of the candles that I could make by hand, I would quit my Aerospace job and do nothing but candles. -0- stress, tranquil job. I was getting 3.50 per set but not doing that much business. People want cheap junk and most of them don't know paraffin from beeswax so they don't care about quality. Beeswax was costing me about $1 per pound and you could get 8-8" candles from a pound. I used my Coleman gas stove for the heat source. |
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The wick dipping solution is used to slow the burning of the actual wick material and allow the wax to "wick" up it and burn. It makes the string wick last longer. Borax is a common ingredient in flame retardants.
To borrow from chemistry,about.com Borax is a natural mineral with a chemical formula Na2B4O7 • 10H2O. The IUPAC name for borax is sodium tetraborate decahydrate. Borax also is known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate or disodium tetraborate. Borax is found in laundry booster, certain hand soaps and in some toothpastes. You can order borax online or find it as one of these products, sold at grocery stores: •20 Mule Team Borax (pure borax) •Boraxo powdered hand soap •tooth bleaching formulas (check the label for borax or sodium tetraborate |
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Quoted:
It was woven, mercerized cotton twine. I didn't do anything but cut the string to the proper lengths, drape them over the hangers that I made to hold two sets, and start dipping. The first dip will take a while because the string tries to float. It will get a light coat that you will pull to straighten the first time or two but once it dries for a few seconds, they will sink. Only heat the wax enough to melt and no more. If it's too hot, it takes forever to build layers. I used to make a dozen sets of four at a time so by the time I got to the end, it was time to start over. About four coats before you have them the size you want you trim the bottom end off because it is too long. The next four coats will leave enough drip to have that hand dipped look. If I could sell all of the candles that I could make by hand, I would quit my Aerospace job and do nothing but candles. -0- stress, tranquil job. I was getting 3.50 per set but not doing that much business. People want cheap junk and most of them don't know paraffin from beeswax so they don't care about quality. Beeswax was costing me about $1 per pound and you could get 8-8" candles from a pound. I used my Coleman gas stove for the heat source. Thanks for the tips. I would love to be doing any of my hobbies rather then my normal job. 
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Quoted:
The wick dipping solution is used to slow the burning of the actual wick material and allow the wax to "wick" up it and burn. It makes the string wick last longer. Borax is a common ingredient in flame retardants. To borrow from chemistry,about.com Borax is a natural mineral with a chemical formula Na2B4O7 • 10H2O. The IUPAC name for borax is sodium tetraborate decahydrate. Borax also is known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate or disodium tetraborate. Borax is found in laundry booster, certain hand soaps and in some toothpastes. You can order borax online or find it as one of these products, sold at grocery stores: •20 Mule Team Borax (pure borax) •Boraxo powdered hand soap •tooth bleaching formulas (check the label for borax or sodium tetraborate Thank you. Borax it is. |