Candle Mold

[wd&mlteach]

A couple of months ago I was on a quest to make candle dish swages. I was going to try to turn a few shapes out of steel on the metal lathe to make some new forms and I never got the time, sorry Collene. I am still using the Aluminum ones. The good news is that I can cast them as often as I like.

 

About a month ago when I was teaching sheet metal layout I had the idea of making something other than a dustpan. I have made so many metal dustpans over the years I am sick of them and they are starting to pile up. Anybody want one? Since I made the dish and holders I figured I should have some candles to match. I know you can buy them at the dollar store, but to me it isn't the same. So I decided to make my own candle mold. I did some research as to what they looked like. As far as design goes, I chose one that was pretty simple. Nothing more than a couple of hollow tapered tubes that are capped and held together at the bottom with some solder. The top is merely just there to help you fill the tubes and to keep you from dumping hot wax down your arm as you pour.

 

The only information I could find related to a plan for one comes from an eBook that google. I know I could have figured one out but this works, and I went with it. Maybe next time I will design my own.

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=OxQKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA36&dq=sheet+metal+candle&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OA5uUZT-J-PX0QHl_4H4Dw&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA

 

By the way here is also a good ebook about how light was made before electricity called the Old west Surrey: some notes and memories by Gertrude Jekyl.

 

The drawing in the first book was ¼ scale and I figured that if I had to draw it out in CAD I might as well share it. The mold consists of two pages and should be easy to print out full scale as they are PDF files.

 

3 candle mold pg1.pdf

3 candle mold pg2.pdf

The one I have pictured is a little different from the one in the book. I added some extra 1/8 welding wire one at the top to tie the wicks to and one at the bottom to pull them tight. I also made the handle bigger, just out of scrap tinplate. I used 30g tinplate as that what I have.

 

Before you use the mold watch this video on how to use a candle mold. http://jas-townsend.com/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=72 It does a good job at explaining the task. When I pour candles I use a Zip-Lock Freezer bag and a sauce pot instead of a crock pot and liner. I put the wax in a quart bag and use a clothespin to clamp it on the side of the pot while the beeswax melts. I do not use boiling water, just hot. To set the mold up I spray the inside with cooking spray and then I tie the wicks on the welding wire stops. I do not weave the wick in and out of each mold, just tie them individually. Then I dip the point end of the mold in the hot wax three or four times to build a wax plug up on the end. This plug keeps the hot wax from running out when you fill it. Then I use the bag to fill the mold cavities. The wax will shrink when it cools and the candled will become hollow, you will have to backfill each of the molds, so keep you wax hot. The mold makes about 6 candles from one pound of beeswax.

 

I hope somebody can use this and try not to make fun of my solder job. It is pretty embarrassing. If you want assembly instruction please let me know and I will post.

[Solano]

Thats pretty neat, thanks for sharing it.

[wd&mlteach]

Here is the build.

Step 1
Print and cut out pattern.



Step 2
Trace pattern with scribe, I prefer Sharpie. Also, transfer hems, seams, bend lines, and circles





Step 3
Cut out



Step 4
Shape mold cavities.



Step 5
Secure with tape, keeps them where they should be.



Step 6
Shape points



I used an old center from a lathe to help shape these.



Step 7
I don't know the technical term for this but you have to make relief cuts in the caps to allow them to be shaped correctly. This is how I did it, about an 1/8".



Step 8
Hammer relief cuts down to tube diameter.


Step 9
Solder tubes and points together. I am not the best at this, I know. I cut a vee block to hold the tubes still while I soldered.




Step 10
Cut out holes in top piece. I used a center punch to start the holes in the tinplate, then I used the aviation snips to do the rest. A big punch would have been great. After the holes were cut I folded down the hems and folded the rest of the box mostly by hand.


Step 11
Flare the mold cavities so they can be attached to the top. Same 1/8"cuts as the tips, the cuts folded over with hammer on a stake.



Step 12
Trial fit and then solder tubes on.


Step 13
I cheated and spot welded the handle loop on. I was running out of time and it was quicker. Tomorrow I have to open up the end points on the tubes with an 1/8" drill bit and bend the top bar to tie the wicks on.

[wd&mlteach]

[Chinobi]

excellent writeup and great job on the project :) thank you for sharing!

 

how do you go about drilling into the point of something like that though?  i would be more inclined to use a small cutoff disk in my rotary tool.

[Frosty]

Nice how too, I think it deserves to live on in the blueprint section. I don't recall as I mostly skimmed your text, my bad if I get things wrong but it looks like you're using galvy sheet. Yes? If so you don't need to cut the 1/8" slits to form the flange to fit the filler. This can be done easily enough without slitting.

 

How long does the candle pour take, from pour to removal?

 

Frosty the Lucky.

[SoCal Dave]

Very good job.  This is a great source for anyone who makes their own candles.  Good step by step instructions.  Thanks 

[wd&mlteach]

Chinobi, you are correct drilling into the points would be tough starting. When I said open them up, I already knew that I had dropped some extra solder in the points. I actually started out on the disk sander and ground the points down flat. Notice that all of the tubes are not the same length, that is character ;)


Here you can see the solder inside the points that needs "opened up".


Here they are cleaned out with 1/8" drill bit.


Thanks for the compliments guys. I hope somebody can use this as it was fun to do. I took the pictures because one of the kids, who saw me make the first one, asked if they could do one as an extra project. Not having time in the regular class for extra instruction, I figured I would make a visual how-to and they can follow that.

Frosty, I am pretty sure that is tin plated sheet 30 g, it is a bright finish. It is pretty thin and you might be right about not having to cut the slits. I will try that in the future and I will let you know how I make out. As far as pouring time I do not have a definite answer. I know it takes two pours and a couple hours until they set completely. Each batch I did I let sit overnight at room temp and took out of the mold the next day afterwork. So at that rate it was close to 24 hours, but it can't actually take that long. To remove them from the mold I ran them under hot tap water and with a little tugging they popped out.

I have drawn up a 12 candle version that has not been tested yet. When I run that one through and see if it actually works I will post that one as well.

[Chinobi]

ah, thank you for the clarification :)

 

is your 12x in line or 3x4 box or 2x6?

 

is that something your students would be expected to do in one class, two, a week?  might be fun to do a birthday candle sized version as well :)

[wd&mlteach]

Chinobi,

Right now the 12 mold is 2 x 6 with 6 inch tapers. The tapers for the mold with three end up being 10 inches long when finished. Really you could interchange the tapers between the molds and I am sure they would work.  I actually assigned the 2 x 6 mold to a CAD student who was finished with their work and needed something else to do. That is why it is *untested*. I need to check and make sure it is done correct and then I should build it, to be double sure it works before I post it here.  As far as patterns go if you want a box style pattern with a 3 x 4, it is no problem to do.  I should note that anything over 3 is a bit different in that there is a bottom support that hold the tips equal distance appart.

 

I am not sure how long it will take them as they work differnet and have to build the skills as they go. It took me, maybe two hours of uniterrupted time to get mine done and take pictures.  I do not remeber the last one taking that long.