Hi Matt,
I make my own beeswax and regular wax tapers from molds and have made a few pillar candles too. One of the most important things is to get a thermometer and use it religiously. You can get the "candle thermometers at places like JoAnn's Fabrics, Michael's, AC Moore, etc. Or, you can go to those places to see the suggested temperatures and buy a candy thermometer for ¼ the price instead.
One thing I always add with regular paraffin is stearic acid. This makes the candle a bit more opaque, but most importantly makes it harder and slower burning. I made up a dozen of the beeswax candles and they burn pretty long and smell great, but really puddle around the bottom of my lantern. Think I will try to add some stearic acid to the beeswax next time to see if that helps.
Here's the biggest tip if you are not already doing it. Spread out newspaper all over the counters you will be using to do your pouring. It will save you from an encounter the wife's wrath and is easy to gather up and throw away.
Another thing you might find handy is that if your candles stick in the form and don't come out after being put in the refrigerator for half an hour to an hour, use a hair dryer to help loosen them. Do it slowly because there's not much time between "just enough to get them to pop out" and "oops, too much heat and I have a little river of wax on the counter.
One more tip: you can make the seam on the side of the candle disappear by rubbing a heated knife on it.
Hope this helps,
Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
