Winter 2012/2013 Quarterly Speed Bump Magazine

Page 38

Work Ahead visible at the bottom of the clip then crimp the tube with the pliers. Suspend the clipped wick over your glass jar so that it is centered and just skims the bottom of the jar. Fasten the wick to your stick that you've balanced across the lip of the jar. Then set the empty jar in a container of just-boiled water so that the water comes near the top of (but not over!) the jar.

Chop enough beeswax to fill your desired containers. Place your beeswax in the top of a double boiler. To melt beeswax, use a double boiler over a pot of simmering water. Don't let the water touch the bottom of the melting pot.

Beeswax melts at about 144ºF. Use a candy thermometer in your melting wax to make sure that the temperature doesn't get too high. The flash point ofbeeswax—the temperature at which it will catch fire, flame up, and possibly injure you—is 36

Quarterly Speed Bump Magazine |

Winter 201 2/201 3

399.9ºF. Don't let your wax get anywhere near that temperature. In fact, you don't even want it to get above 185ºF because the higher temperature will cause the wax to discolor.

When the wax has melted, CAREFULLY pour it into your prepared jars. It will solidify quickly which is why you must set the jar in the justboiled water. Let the candles cool completely then trim the wick to 1 /2 inch above the top of the wax.

Enjoy your candles but never leave a burning candle unattended!


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