Creating Soy Candles at Home

You can learn to create candles out of soy in just a few easy steps.  It’s not only easy and a great way to make your own handmade gifts, best of all, soy is a sustainable alternative to paraffin candles.  Soy wax has a lower flash point and can be melted at a lower temperature. It also cleans up easily in soap and water.

The To create your soy wax candles, all you need are the supplies below:

•    Soy wax – flaked soy wax is the easiest to use and I purchase mine from Kentucky Candle Wax Supply, Inc.
•    A container – I use my own pottery pieces
•    Fragrance oil – I use quite a bit more but the common amount is 1.5 oz. per 16 oz. of soy wax
•    1 cotton wick – check that you are using the appropriate size wick
•    Wax dye – I do not use dyes in my soy candles as they are not in a glass container

The first step to making a soy candle is to melt your wax.  I melt mine in a container that is controlled by a thermostat, a Presto Kitchen Kettle.  I also utilize a candy thermometer to ensure I am at the correct temperature.  The optimum setting for the wax is 175° F.  Never leave melting wax alone and be very careful not to overheat your wax!

When my soy wax is at the optimum temperature, I then remove the appropriate amount for my container into a pouring pot and include the fragrance oil, stirring to mix completely.  At this point, you may mix in your dye in accordance with the package directions.

The next step to soy candle creation is to place your wick on the bottom of the center of your container.  Make sure your wick is the appropriate width for your candle, otherwise you will get a tunneling effect and your soy wax candle will not burn to the outer edge.  I utilize wick tabs which are easy, double-sided adhesive dots that firmly affix the wick to the container.  Carefully pour your wax into your container, using caution to not overfill.  In order to maintain that the wick stays in place, I place a chopstick over the mouth of the container and use a clothespin to pin the wick in place until the wax firms.

Several times your soy candles may not harden to a smooth surface.  Soy wax shrinks as it firms up and may not do so uniformly.  There may be bumps or even a mottled effect.  You may use a heat gun – one that is typically used to seal shrink wrap – or a mini torch to re-melt that fine top layer of wax to a smooth finish.  Do NOT get it too close to the wax!   Finally, trim your wick, let your soy candle cure a few days, and enjoy!

Soy Candles Vs Parrafin Candles

Soy wax candle available at etsy.com

Despite all the myth, hype and hoopla, there is one very basic difference between soy candles and paraffin candles: fossil fuel.

Paraffin candles comes from crude oil during the production of lubricating oils. It produces carcinogens and soot when burned. In fact, one air quality researcher stated that the soot from a paraffin candle contains many of the same toxins produced by burning diesel fuel.

Soy candles is derived from the processing of soybean oil. Micheal Richard, the inventor of soy wax, tested different natural plant waxes and finally ended up with a vegetable wax which was made with partially hydrogenated soy oil, coconut oil and palm oil. He also blended beeswax with soy wax to make an economical natural soy wax candle.

The obvious answer to why soy candles are better than paraffin candles is that one product is derived from sustainable resources (soy), whereas the other is derived from limited resources (fossil fuels).

It is a myth that soy candles do not produce any soot, although as a rule, that soot is not the black soot we find with paraffin wax candles. Whenever you have combustion of any type (the burning of a fuel), you get a certain amount of by-product carbon, whether it is detected by the human eye or not. However, the simple carbon exposure to soy candle soot is the equivalent to the exposure you would have to something cooking on your stove in cooking oil. Negligible.

Why use soy wax in candles? Again, the answer is simple. Soy is a natural, sustainable resource, limited only by the amount of vegetable matter we can produce. Soy candles are also a favorite of environmentally conscious consumers. Made from American-grown soybeans, it’s a biodegradable, renewable resource.

Forms of Kilns for Handmade Pottery

Purchasing a pottery kiln is no low cost undertaking. It is the biggest investment a potter has to make. But which type of kiln should you buy Good question. In this article, I will take a closer look at various types of pottery kilns available and a history of how pottery kilns were used.

Primitive kilns were no more than the simple hearths used for cooking, warmth, light, and protection. In fact, these very easy to use ‘pit’ kilns are still being utilized today for handmade pottery. Clay has been utilized since prehistory for decoration and function but it is unknown how the actual firing process was discovered.  It is thought that the first fired pots originated nearly 10,000 years ago, when agriculture began. These early farmers needed storage containers and fired clay served these needs well.  The earliest kilns were pits dug into the ground and the pottery loosely stacked on top of each other. Flammable materials were placed around the pottery and the fire was allowed to burn down. After cooling, the pots were cleaned of the ash and residue and were then utilized.

Another early type of kiln, the beehive kiln, was the first kiln constructed that looks like what we consider a kiln. The pots are stacked in an arched chamber retaining greater heat than the pit kiln and making the pottery more durable.  A alternate type of the beehive concept was built in China around 500 A.D. and namedthe stepped kiln.  This kiln for pottery took advantage of the simple configuration of the beehive, but had multiple chambers in a terraced pattern so that the kiln capacity could be increased. This worked well in villages where pottery making was a primary activity, and where a large volume of pottery was needed.

A well known kiln concept that is used today is the natural gas kiln. Rather than using the flammable materials of the pit and step kilns, natural gas is used for the fuel. There are both updraft and downdraft natural gas kilns available. The advantages of natural gas as a fuel are that it produces very low levels of pollution, and that the fuel is relatively inexpensive. In some areas propane is more commonly used as a fuel; however care must be taken as propane is heavier than air and if the flame should get extinguished, the gas can settle and produce a potential for explosion. Natural gas will disperse on its own since it is lighter than air.

The only new kiln technology is the electric kiln. Instead of a burning fuel, these operate by heat generated from coiled wires. A toaster operates on the same principle. A lot of the newer electric pottery kilns are equipped with electronic shut off devices, called kiln sitters, to monitor the firing process.  Still, any kiln must never be left unattended.

So there you have it. Everything you ever wanted to know about the different forms of kilns for handmade ceramics. Hope it was useful.

Axner Pottery Wheels

Axner Pottery Wheels

Axner Pottery Wheels are one of the most highly respected names in pottery equipment. Many handmade pottery throwers try Axner products and find no other reason to ever switch to another pottery wheel supplier. Known for quality and superior productivity, Axner Pottery Wheels are widely considered the only choice for pottery throwing.

Smooth and responsive, Axner wheels for pottery maintain superior excellence with its foot pedals and controls. With a wide range of speeds to choose from, any potter will really appreciate the wide range of speed control. A smooth transition is achieved when going from slower to faster and vice versa. I have found very few other wheels that provide such precision in control and smooth transition.

The splash pan design is another great feature on the Axner Pottery Wheels. It is thick and robust making it a reliable pan to hold many clay trimmings. This has been a great benefit for my pottery making because I spend more time making pottery pieces for my soy candles and less time wasted cleaning out the pan. The two piece design allows for easy removal and then to re lock it back into place.

The construction of the Axner Pottery Wheels is very robust. It has an all-steel construction, and it is very apparent how strong the design is. Potter will quickly realize and enjoy how stable and durable this design is. You will also enjoy the powder coat finish, which makes it very resistant to damage.

Lastly, The Axner Pottery Wheels are constructed to be very simple to use. The wheel head has pre-drilled holes and removal bat pins, which offers a non-messy, quick and easy way to attach bat pins. The large table top area offers a lot of room for tools and buckets. Plus the electronic controls offer added convenience with quiet operation and detects the amount of resistance that you place on the motor as you are throwing clay and it will deliver more power to the motor accordingly.

Overall, my experience with the Axner Pottery Wheel has been great. It is a very responsive and smooth pottery wheel that offers a lot of versatility, productivity and ease of use. When making my handmade pottery for my soy candles, this product has been a blessing.

L&L Easy-Fire Pottery Kiln

L&L Easy-Fire Ceramic Pottery Kiln - Model e23T

L&L Kilns is one of the most highly regarded names in kiln equipment. Many pottery makers trust their products and find no other reason to ever switch to another pottery kiln supplier. Known for quality and ease of use, L&L Kilns are widely considered the only choice for firing pottery.

L&L has built over a 60 year reputation on uncompromised design and construction of ceramic kilns. They have over 40 employees that are dedicated to providing value and satisfaction with all their kiln products. The kiln that I have and am going to review is the L&L Easy-Fire ceramic pottery kiln, model e23T. I use it for all firing for my soy candle holders

I chose this particular model because I was looking for one that was the middle of the road, so to speak. The things I liked most about this L&L kiln was that it is extremely easy to use, very productive, is extremely versatile and very reliable.

L&L Easy-Fire ceramic pottery kiln is very easy to use. Fully automated in fact. It is a top loading kiln, with a lid that is very easy to raise and is held in place with stainless steel clips offering a more secure lid versus other kilns. The biggest feature that makes this kiln stand out, as far as ease of use is concerned, is the dynamic zone control. This control system has 4 preset programs, 6 user defined programs. Delay Time lets you control when kiln starts and stops. You can easily fine tune your firings and lets you control end of firing of your pottery. Plus, L&L kilns are designed from the ground up to be easy to maintain yourself with no special tools.

The L&L Easy-Fire pottery kiln is also very productive. Perfect firings are possible at all time with the control system. No more tedious and inexact adjustment of manual switches because the system is fully automated. Peepholes are a full one inch diameter and are not tapered so there is a lot less breakage. This kiln gets hot enough to fire stoneware and porcelain and get get up to cone 10. It is also very productive because it has three different levels, all of which can be fired at different temperature levels.

L&L Easy-Fire pottery kilns are also very reliable. It’s actually one of the most durable kilns made. The Dyna-Glow ceramic element holders are best in class and protects the firebrick, gives better heat distribution, protect the element and results in a much longer kiln life. One reason L&L Kilns last so long is that the brick is hardened with a special coating and hardener. No short cuts in construction, every single facet of the L&L Easy-Fire kiln is meticulously constructed with ultimate protection and long life in mind.

My experience with the L&L Easy-Fire ceramic pottery kiln has been a really pleasant one. It’s extremely easy to use and very durable. It works perfect for firing several pieces of my soy candles holders at one time. I highly recommend this model and can see why it is the most popular kiln they have.