Good beeswax candles sell well and are a pleasure to make
A guide for beekeepers making candles from their own wax.
Cleaning the Wax
Using water
Much of my wax is cleaned in winter when the solar extractor is not working. My method is to put an inch or so of clean rain water in a big saucepan and heat it up,(NOT as far as boiling!) adding my scrap wax, suitably sorted by colour. The wax melts, the debris sinks and mostly goes into the water. The whole lot is poured into a plastic container to settle, cool and set. Often I pour through a metal tea strainer, of which I keep several sizes, to remove all the larger debris. After overnight cooling the wax has shrunk and comes away from the plastic bucket easily. The water is poured away and the sludge on the base of the wax is scraped off – into the compost heap or the bin. You may have to repeat this process to get rid of more debris. Beware of any water that has lime in it, such as tap water. The lime will react with the wax and form a soapy sludge that spoils the finish of anything made from the wax. I use only water collected off a plastic conservatory roof.
Using a solar extractor
The solar extractor works from about April to October, depending on the weather. However, you can load it and leave it, for days if necessary, without the wax coming to harm. I prefer to have an extractor with a collector dish that is not in the sun. The wax melts, runs down the slope and drips into the collector where it is much cooler. This avoids cooking the wax and spoiling its colour. The wax is hot and running for the shortest possible time.
A big extractor works much better than a small one and has the advantage that you can put in piles of whole frames, thus sterilising the frames at the same time as collecting the wax.
For a final cleaning, clean the inside of the extractor carefully, place a piece of kitchen towel on the slope, and your block of wax on the towel. As the wax melts it will leave all its dirt stuck to the towel. (Afterwards, bits of the waxy towel are splendid for lighting a smoker rapidly).
To clean your solar extractor, wait until it is hot inside, then scrape major debris off the slope. Let the extractor warm up again and then wipe all down the slope with paper towels, which will give a good clean surface. Beware of a really sunny day when temperatures may easily reach 100C and burn your fingers.
Dirt on the glass makes a big difference so clean the glass regularly inside and out (this time when cold) with a damp cloth.
Wick
As a general rule, dip your wick in molten wax before you use it. This makes it much easier to handle, straighten and trim with a knife. It also makes it easier and more reliable to light. A judge in a candle competition will mark down bare wick candle because
The thicker the candle, the thicker the wick. If a wick is too small, it can melt a pool of wax but leave a wall all round it so the flame goes inside the candle. On the other hand, too thick a wick will melt wax easily to the edge of the candle and beyond, so that liquid wax runs down and is wasted. Wicks for beeswax are thicker than wicks for paraffin wax.
In extremely thick candles there can be several wicks burning to melt a wider pool of wax and give a brighter light.
Don’t be tempted to use string, but buy good quality candle wick.
Candle wick is particularly clean pure cotton, which leaves no ash, and is woven in a plait, so that it bends as it heats up. This allows the hot edge of the flame to automatically trim the end of the wick as the candle burns down. Before this invention, wicks stood straight and needed to be cut down regularly or the flame became very tall and smoky.
Scents and colours
Colours sold as powdered wax soluble dyes are the most economical. Put a very small amount of powder (on the tip of an old table knife that you also use for stirring) into a pan of molten wax. Mix it in to see whether you have achieved the desired colour, which can only be judged by dripping some wax on a cold surface and waiting to see its colour when cold. I make coloured sheets of foundation specially for candles. You can buy the foundation sheets ready coloured but the selection of colours is limited.
Food dyes are no use for wax, as they are water soluble, not wax soluble.
To add scents, buy a range of little bottles of essential oils. Only two or three drops in each pan full of molten wax are all it takes to give a distinct scent to your wax so a tiny bottle may last for years. I tend to keep each scent to one colour – lavender to blue,
Moulded candles
You are limited to the small range of shapes in your mould collection, so choose carefully when buying. The white silicone rubber moulds are by far the best and longest lasting and justify their high price. Cheaper latex moulds do not last nearly so long and need careful support during use. I have found the traditional glass mould very difficult to use because the wax is very reluctant to release. Besides, the glass moulds I have are a boring plain cylinder shape.
Moulds made for paraffin are often difficult because often there is not enough room for the thicker wicks required in beeswax candles.
A selection of popular moulded beeswax candles. Colour varies with each batch of wax.
The Viking method
You will rarely see a Viking candle, though it’s the easiest way to make a useful candle from scraps, wherever you are.
The method is to make four long thin rods of wax, usually by hand, then place two together with a wick laid along the join. The other two rods go on top and then the whole bundle is warmed so that it can be rolled and pressed into a single candle with a wick in the centre. Adding a spiral twist and rolling the warm candle on a table or a sheet of glass improves the finish. If you use different colours for the rods, a very decorative candle can result.
A pair of Viking candles
Dipped candles
To dip candles you need quite a lot of wax and a deep container to put it in. The length of your candles is limited by the height of your container. A tall canister heated by standing in a heated water bath works well, though there are (very) expensive purpose made apparatuses available for those in commercial scale production. You can dip lengths of wick singly or drape them over a frame to make pairs of joined candles. Commercially a dozen or more wicks hang from a frame and are all dipped together and hung up to cool before the next dip. You will find it worth while to make a simple hanging frame, perhaps a bar of wood with a row of long nails to hang the wicks on.
A dipped candle has a characteristic tapered shape. However, if you reverse the candle after half making it, you can achieve a near perfect cylinder.
To finish the surface nicely, a quick single dip into hotter wax will put on a shiny smooth coat. Candles can be rolled carefully on a smooth surface, but they easily stick and the layers can separate. This may spoil rather than improve them.
Poured candles
Poured candles look very much like dipped, but you are not limited by having not much wax or no tall melting pot. The idea is to have a pan of molten wax with a jug, and pour wax down lengths of hanging wick repeatedly. The wick can be as long as you can handle and the candle can grow as thick as you have patience for. The trick is to pour rapidly and generously so that the whole candle is covered in molten wax in a rush. I hold up each one singly and spin it in my fingers as I pour, so that wax covers all parts. Three pours are followed by cooling, whilst I do the next candle. I generally make a batch of 12 or 15 candles at a time, laying them down carefully in a row on a clean surface to cool in turn.
The process can be a little splashy so wear an apron.
Rolled candles
For these you need ready made foundation. This can be bought in a range of colours, though it is possible to make your own.
A hair dryer is a useful tool to warm up the sheets of wax. It makes them much easier to roll satisfactorily.
The wick is straightened and laid along the edge that will be the centre of the candle. The edge is folded tightly over the wick to grip it and then rolling can begin. Roll firmly but very slowly. Wax may crack if you are too speedy and may not stick together if it is too cool. Use the hair dryer freely.
Rolling a rectangular sheet makes a plain cylinder candle, but you can vary this easily. One popular design is to roll two triangles of foundation of different colours, offset slightly sideways at the start, so that the resulting candle is a spirally striped tapered shape.
Rolled candles are the only kind it is practical to make at a show and they are easily made by children, who enjoy the process from an early age.
I cut stars and other shapes using a mini home made tin pastry cutter device. Children like decorating the candles with coloured shapes pressed on.