Author Topic: Making Candles!  (Read 14989 times)

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Offline Jen

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #20 on: November 04, 2015, 10:46:02 pm »
Beautiful! and great information as well  ;) 8)
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Offline Jen

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #21 on: December 04, 2015, 03:17:42 pm »
I am picking up some beeswax today at a huge holiday craft fair. Surprisingly, I couldn't find ANY available beeswax from any of our local beekeepers... Except One, god bless her heart! She is going to sell me regular beeswax and also some honey cappings to make candles with.

She gave me instructions to clean and melt down the honey cappings as such. She said, you have to get all the honey gleaned out of the cappings before making candles or the wax won't burn well. Place the cappings in a pan and cover with water just to the top of the wax cappings. Slowly melt the cappings. When the cappings are fully melted in the water, remove the pan and let cool for a couple hours or more. Then lift out the wax disc and Wah Lah you have a lighter color wax that smells delicious and is ready to melt down again for candle making.

Any input on this subject  8)
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Offline iddee

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #22 on: December 04, 2015, 03:31:54 pm »
She is correct, but you will have trash on the bottom of the disc, which must be scraped off, along with some of the wax. Therefore, the smaller diameter the melting pot, the less scrapping wax you will lose.
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Offline Jen

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #23 on: December 04, 2015, 03:56:31 pm »
Okay, that sounds logical. Is it difficult scraping off the debri? Would a sharp straight edge knife do?
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Offline iddee

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #24 on: December 04, 2015, 04:36:28 pm »
It's not hard, but it will be mixed with the lower wax, so there will be waste.
“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
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Offline Jen

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #25 on: December 04, 2015, 04:48:18 pm »
Okay, and is the capping wax softer than the hive wax?
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Offline iddee

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #26 on: December 04, 2015, 05:20:20 pm »
NO, but it is cleaner and lighter colored.
“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
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Offline Jen

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #27 on: December 04, 2015, 07:00:11 pm »
Thanks Mr. Wizard  ;) :P
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Offline Jen

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #28 on: December 05, 2015, 12:40:22 am »
Just got back from the holiday craft fair where I met up with some local beekeepers selling lovely candles and honey. Prior to the holiday fair they said they would hold back some wax for me to pick up at the fair. I was lucky to find them in our area. There is a local candle company that snaps up most of the wax in the area for their candle making needs. These beekeepers don't sell to this candle company so some of us little guys can have some wax fun as well. 

5 1/2 pounds for 45.00 at .50 an ounce. I love them with all of my heart ~sniff~




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Offline apisbees

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #29 on: December 05, 2015, 04:19:08 am »
Not extremely clean but can be filtered again. I know candle makers who wouldn't buy wax that had that amount of debree in it.
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Offline Perry

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #30 on: December 05, 2015, 06:57:05 am »
Bulk wax is difficult to get here. I stopped selling it bulk and will definitely run out by Christmas. I sell 1 ounce bars for $2.
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Offline Yankee11

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #31 on: December 05, 2015, 09:00:50 am »
After I melt mine in the water and scrape the bottom I run it through a grease filter that restaurants use to strain their grease. It gets the wax very clean.





Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #32 on: December 05, 2015, 10:51:42 am »
I have wax that i have filtered through screen wire and T- shirt material 4 times that is darker than i like ( almost a tan color) even run Hydrogen peroxide through it once? Guess i'll just have to make Tan colored candles and lip balm  :-\\ Jack

Offline Jen

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #33 on: December 05, 2015, 01:23:03 pm »
Apis ~ I was told on the phone that this wax would have debri on the bottom, and I don't mind sending it thru a cheese cloth filter. I like knowing how to do the whole process. Must be why I got it for .50 an ounce. Or, maybe they were being generous because I'm a beekeeper. Made me very happy  :)

Yanke ~ that is some beautiful was there, I can't even fathom that amount of wax at this point. Thinking I need a solar melter  :)

Perry ~ Sounds like I got a good deal!

Jack ~ I would make candles out of tan wax for sure. Wondering if the tan wax is a perfumed as the golden wax?
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Offline Perry

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #34 on: December 05, 2015, 02:40:38 pm »
Yankee, you're brave, filling those bar molds straight out of your Presto Pot. ;D I usually go into a pour pot and then into the molds.
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Offline Yankee11

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #35 on: December 05, 2015, 03:19:33 pm »
Havn't had a problem yet. I just start at the end and slide the mold under the spout slowly. When I get to the other end and its full , I close the valve.

Offline riverbee

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #36 on: December 09, 2015, 10:42:32 am »
i have been given cappings wax jen, that was dirtier than the wax in your pix. i ran it through the solar melter, and it was the whitest prettiest wax. 

what you could do is melt the wax down double boiler style, get yourself a few milk cartons, cut one side off, clamp t shirt material to it and also a piece of bounty paper towel, and pour the wax into the carton, this should strain all the junk off, if not remelt and do it again after it cools. you will know if the wax is not clean, there will be sediment either on the bottom, or a little on top.  with candles any dirt in the wax, however small will cause a candle not to burn properly, (among other things, proper wick size is another), so you want your wax very clean.  also, when you are ready to pour candles, melt the wax down and strain it one last time through nylon curtain material.  you will be amazed at the small specs of sediment that remain even though you think your wax is very clean.  what i do is i have one very large melting container, and two small containers.  when i make candles, i melt the already filtered wax down in the big container, (it's a larger wax pitcher), double boiler style.  i place the nylon material over one or both of the smaller containers (small melting pitchers), and attach using a rubber band and pour the wax through.  these smaller containers are also kept on the stove double boiler style, so once i have strained it through the nylon, i pour my candles.

EDIT AND ADD:
bulk wax is sometimes hard to come by and i am picky when i have purchased some. (b and b). but it is worth the effort to clean and filter it, the finished product normally turns out great.  i hoard all my wax, i don't sell it because i don't like to run short when i need it. the other thing to is, we are competing with non beekeepers who are buying up wax and making and selling beeswax candles and other products, so sometimes the price of it gets driven up.

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Offline Jen

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #37 on: December 10, 2015, 06:14:39 pm »
River, I printed this off, Thank You for all of your input  :)
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Offline riverbee

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #38 on: December 11, 2015, 05:34:17 pm »
jen, you are welcome! any questions post back.  also, i was thinking you might want to place a section of window screen over the milk carton, so in order, top from the bottom, window screening, bounty paper towel, and a section of a raggedy t-shirt you have been trying to get your husband to ditch..... ;D

the window screening will catch a lot of junk, before the wax goes through the paper towel and t shirt.  also, if you try this, when you clip these materials to the milk carton (i use the small black binder clips) don't clip it all on tight across the carton, (you can't with these clips) see this pic here, scroll down to the milk carton:

How to deal with Beeswax (solar)

also, clip the t shirt as short as you can around the clips, and just lay the paper towel on top the t shirt, don't run it over the sides or you might wind up with wax being soaked to the ends. 

what type of candles will you be making jen? from molds, or containers?

EDIT AND ADD:
ps, i recently had a visit with my surgeon, he usually wears the blue scrubs. underneath the blue scrubs a t shirt. the collar of the t shirt was so raggedy i asked him if i could have his t shirt when he was done with it!  i brought him a picture on my king salmon from alaska, he asked if he could have the pic (i was going to give it to him anyway) so i said yeah, i will trade you my pic for your t-shirt! LOL!  :laugh:
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Offline Jen

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Re: Making Candles!
« Reply #39 on: December 11, 2015, 10:00:10 pm »
I'm thinking container candles, more for my own functional use.

Your suggestion of milk cartons took me back to my girlhood hippie days when mom and I made milk carton candles. It was a blast!

Careful River, you're flirty side is showing thru ;)  :laugh: I do hope he climbed out of the scrub top right then and there and gave you the tshirt off his back  :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
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