The pillar candle is a popular candle, one which is classic candle making, but it requires specific candle making supplies.
Metal molds allow you to create the best candles. The supplies that you require is really contingent upon the type of candle you are making, but the core items remain much the same. The real difference lies in the mold or tin in which the candle is placed.
When you’re making soy candles you will need your candle dye block in whatever color you want, a candle making thermometer, a candle mold sealer, a candlewax block, a candlewick that is bleached and whitened, a chisel, chopsticks, a cutting board, a digital kitchen scale, a double boiler, and if you are going to place your candle in a container, a container in which to hold it.
If you’re going to make a pillar candle you need a pillar mold and pillar mold cleaner but if you want to make tea light candles you can rely on smaller molds. Once you make a candle with the pillar mold you will have remaining wax leftover you want to make sure that you remove that before you start any new project. You also need masking tape for a cute trick you will find out later. Premium wax for pillars is the ideal wax to use and you want to cut it with a chisel and a hammer using a cutting board. You also want to use large square braid wicking and mold sealer. To tie up the wick you want to use a pencil and you want to cut the wick with scissors. Using a kitchen scale you can weigh out the wax and you want to use a double boiler in which to melt the wax. There are melting pots designed for wax which you rest inside of a pot of boiling water. A chopstick can be used to stir it while you are cooking and a candle thermometer is ideally suited to take the measurements of the wax temperature throughout the process.
Different colors and different scents will go into the wax at different temperatures which is why you need to have a candle thermometer. In order to die the candle you want to use whatever color candlewax you want with a potato peeler. In order to scent it you want to choose whatever liquid candle scent you prefer which can be measured using tablespoons or teaspoons. Of course for safety you want a skewer for a trick you will learn later, some paper towels for cleanup, and oven mitts for protection of your hands.
Before you make a pillar mold is best that you put masking tape around the top edge. The mold is very sharp and having masking tape around the top will make it a bit safer and easier to reach in. Little rectangular shape the masking tape can be cut and placed over the perimeter. Avoid going to deep inside of the candle mold because the wax will be placed there.
You want to start feeding it through the bottom of the mold because it is quite difficult to get your hand down into the large mold especially if it’s quite tall. You want to feed it through the bottom until you have enough at the top to tie over a pencil. Once that is done you want to trim the bottom side of the wick to about 1 inch above the hole. Do not let it fall through the hole at this point. You want to coil the wick and take a mold sealer. This compound is much like clay. You want to roll it into a ball and then squeeze it out into a flat circle which you place over the coiled remaining wick. This helps to cover the hole and avoid the problem of wax falling out of that hole. You don’t want any wick sticking out of this coil or the wax will escape. You want to flatten the ball of mold sealer down on top of the coiled wick. Hold on to the wick from the opposite end before you turn over your wax mold. You want to avoid pouring your wax into the mold with the wick simply on its own because the wick will fall over. This is why you need a pencil. Having a pencil you can place it over the middle of your candle mold and tie the wax around it. You want to leave the end a bit long so that it hangs over the perimeter of the mold.
With that said, and with the right candle making supplies, you can enjoy a simple and fast candle making process at home.