So finally - four months after we actually purchased the materials - we made candles.
The process is actually a great deal easier than I anticipated. I fully planned to show you the whole process, but realized that my first "outing" might not be the best one to start with.
A short version is: Prepare and melt wax in double boiler. Prepare wick and mold. Add color and fragrance. Pour melted wax into mold. Top off and let sit. Remove candle from mold after cooled.
About 85% of that actually worked. I learned at least one thing that did not (for sealing the bottom wick outlet, one must used mold sealant, a sort of clay. Other sorts of clay - like Playdoh, for example - will not quite get the job done). Also, that one probably needs to add more fragrance than one thinks.
But overall, they are candles and they burn. I would call that a success.
I'd taken one of the night course offered for free at the Philly Shipyard and I came away with a pretty good understanding of the Deming Principles.
ReplyDeleteYou planned to make a candle, and you made a candle. Mr. Deming would say job well done.
I am a winner!
DeleteActually John, if you knew how often I tended to have less that reasonable results, you would know I am so thrilled. Some day we can tell the story of bottling beer in Mason jars as an experiment...
I'd like to hear that story.
DeleteAfter the micro brew revolution took hold, we found that our home made beers were still better than the name brands of the day, but our beers took a far second to the modern micro brewed beers.
We shifted over into wine and we are still doing that.
John, the short unhappy version is that I thought I would try putting beer in mason jars instead of beer bottles and capping - less cost, same seal, right? Turns out it is nothing all alike, and I ended up with a case of flat beer in mason jars that had to be disposed of.
DeleteI have not brewed in many years - although I did enjoy the beers and they were as good as anything on the market and far more reasonable.
So do you make wine, or just drink it?
We do both.
DeleteWe've been making wine from juice for quite a while.
In September we head down to the food distribution area and visit Procacci Brothers.
They stock both grapes and juice during that time, and the juice is crushed in California, the acid and sugar is tweaked out there, and then the juice is put into 6.3 gallons buckets and shipped East under refrigeration.
Buy the variety you want, bring it home, warm it up, pitch the yeast, stir up the sediment and off you go.
Last years Cabernet is on the south side of OK, but the Malvasia Black is very good.
Very, very rarely, the final batch goes down the laundry drain. Thankfully, that is rare and almost always it's because we got sloppy.
That is great John! Winemaking is something I have never done. I have books, of course (I have books on everything), but have never done it.
DeleteOne of my pet projects - maybe someday - is putting some vines in at the Ranch. People at our altitude do have them, so it is just a matter of doing it.
I confess I am intrigued and will give this further consideration (since I pretty much just drink wine now).
We have made our candles for many years now. Mostly I just melt the leftover stumps of candles given to us (we seem to get a lot of candles as gifts) into new ones. Occasionally I melt down some beeswax (hive foundation starter) and add it to one of the old ones to make a paler version of it if I don't have several of the same color to start with. I like the process because it is fairly quick to set up and do a batch with minimal cleanup afterwards. In my case, I just leave the wax residue stuck to the double boiler to be melted the next time I pull it out of the basement storage shelf.
ReplyDeleteEd, this is something that we did as children, and I trow that at my parents house there are two or three very old candles from grammar school.
DeleteThe beeswax is a great idea for reducing the color. Na Clann have a bag of leftover wax going, so I will bear this in mind.
I am sure I will get to where you are in terms of clean up. I will say that that the soy wax clean up was fairly minimal, which was both interesting and a surprise. I have not worked with it before.
Good work, TB! I have a great big old log of a candle I have been meaning to recycle for the last 200 years. This is a kick in the seat of the pants I needed to get it done.......
ReplyDeleteHave a good saturday over there you guys...
Glen, it was surprisingly easy. I got my materials over at Lehman's for what it is worth (I get nothing by recommending them). I will say I was very happy with my supplies and everything worked as promised.
DeleteBeeswax candles are long burning and smokeless. Soy and regular wax (from petroleum) give off toxic fumes and leave sooty residue over everything after awhile. If you have any kind of lung issues, beeswax is the only way to go. They also have a slight smell of honey.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tewshooz! I had never thought about the sooty residue, although to date I have noticed in house. I will keep an eye out though.
DeleteI need to get the bees going again. Then I can have a better supply of beeswax. It is a bit dear.
Beeswax burns twice as long as others. So, not so dear
DeleteThanks Tewshooz! Now I have find out the difference in burn rates...
DeleteI have found it cheaper to buy bees wax foundation sheets for creating new frames for hives than buying just bees wax in bulk at many places. I just wad them up and start chucking them into my boiler as needed. But I will add that the last time I bought any was probably 20 years ago and times may have changed with internet. Bulk solid beeswax may be more reasonable to purchase these days. I still have half a case of bees wax foundations left to use up before I source another source of bees wax again.
DeleteEd, I just checked the going prices: Over at Lehman's a 1 lbs bar of Beeswax is $19.99 (currently out of stock). Thin surplus foundation (no wire) from Mann Lake is $12.95 for a 5 5/8" x 16.5". No idea on the weight of sheet to block, but the foundation is available today.
DeleteI seem to recall making candles at some point. And adding ice to the mold.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, TB! :)
Linda, I recall that same experiment. You end up with air voids in the candle - very pretty to look at.
DeleteCool! We are hoping to make beeswax candles but that seems like a fun project..and ever so illuminating! Groan.
ReplyDeleteEGB, I was honestly surprised how easy it was to do it, at least the very simple edition you see here. "Fun" might almost qualify as there was very little to go wrong.
DeleteCandle pun duly appreciated...