Hi all, been enjoying the soap forum for some time now. Thanks for all the great info.
Now...Hand dipped tapers I know a little bit about. We sell around a hundred pair out of our little farm stand in the few weeks before Christmas. This is what I do for a pure beeswax, hand dipped taper candle using 2/0 wick.
First you need a vat deep enough for the longest candle you want to make, plus a couple inches.
Second, enough wax to fill it plus top it off as your candle(s) grows in size. Also as the candle grows in size your pot can't be clear full or it'll overflow, part of the reason for the extra couple inches.
I use purchased wicking frames that let me dip 4 pr at a time. Your set up can be as simple a nut tied on the end of the wick. The number of pairs you dip dictates the diameter of vat you need...however, the bigger the vat the more wax you need. (I always dip in pairs. The connecting wick is the bona fidas the candle are hand dipped.)
I like a room temp of 65-70 degrees. That's warm enough that the wax doesn't cool to fast, yet cool enough that you don't have to wait forever between dips.
I like a wax temp of 160-170 degrees and shoot for 165.
The first dip I let soak at least until the bubbles stop (about 20-30 seconds). Let that cool a bit, maybe 3 minutes. After the second dip you can go about a minute to cool, the third about a minute 15 and so on. As the mass of the candle grows it takes longer to cool.
The wax is white when it comes out the vat. As it cools it approaches the color before melting. I don't have a hard and fast rule as to time between dips as it depends on wax and room temp. After a few batches you'll catch on.
Depending on vat depth you may have to trim off your nut/weight/frame sooner rather than later. Using the frames I do I wait until the last two dips to trim up the bottom so there's less chance of bumping the candles together. At that temp if they bump they usually stick together...oops!
For my setup I can get a 13/16" to 7/8" base in 21 dips. Also, don't wait until the candle has completely cooled between dips. You'll have adhesion problems which will cause dripping.
Experimenting is fun too. If you have more than one vat you can add color in layers, or twist candles while they're still warm (before they get too big) either singly or together. My twisted dips (now there's a term for ya) sold as fast as I could make 'em this year.
Finally, if you don't like what you made just strip the wick out and toss the wax back in the melting tank. You can even reuse the wick...nothing lost but a little time.
Oh Yeah. To shape the bottom just run the base of the candle under hot water (like straight hot out of the tap) until is starts to turn white, then push/wiggle into the candle stick holder of choice. It'll peel a layer up which can be left or removed to choice.
) it takes to make a decent candle. The dad says 30 or so dips and the wife and daughter say 40 or 50. Now mind you, these folks do it with just one pot of melted wax. Two candles at a time... two at time...TWO at time! But I gotta tell ya...those 100% beeswax candles fly off the shelves at the reenactment!
