Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Candles And Big Wax Spills.

Well, I am proceeding in teaching myself candle making. I was all set to go to my Cowboy Action Shooting Club's work day but Army Wife, Toddler Mom sent the bug that has them down through the internets and now I'll have to get better to die.

So, I was supposed to go help paint and rip the top off the blockhouse and then help hang the steel targets for today's shoot. Instead I stayed home and used tissues, mostly. And then I'd cough until I felt a little hairy ring in my throat, swallowed hard, and repeated.

It's really annoying, too. If I'd made the work day I could have had a practice shoot, for free. Instead, no. It's really annoying. I have a few boxes of those new (to me) sparklers, the ones that aren't on steel rods, and I have a bunch of those cut up into some shotgun shells, along with the black powder, wads and bird shot. If I have this figured right it should be very visually impressive. Oh well, maybe next month.

So, I have a few really impressive smelling candles, the problem is with the wicks. I don't know if the young lady I spoke to didn't know what she was doing or if I, somehow, misspoke but the wicks are too small in diameter for the size of my containers. It's more likely my fault.

Now I've made the candles work, by putting another wick in the bottom of the containers, I just stick the already made candle into a two hundred degree F oven until the wax is melted, plunk the other wick down and, viola! Trouble is, the old wicks are glued in the middle, already so the geometry is off. Oh well, it's experimental, anyhow.

I did try taking one wick off it's little metal tab or base and wrapped it round another wick and glued that in the bottom of one jar. That worked, nicely. That is what I'll do with the rest of the jars I haven't already glued a wick in, not many. Oh well, when I have the melting, wicking and fragrance down I'm buying a gross of jars. I'm looking hard at the 16 ounce Mason/jelly jars. These are five and a half inches tall by three inches in diameter. The wax blend I'm using, that will make a candle that really lasts.

The soy wax, with just a little real beeswax, does make a candle that burns and burns. I am going to have to buy a couple of melting/pouring pitchers, the old two saucepan country boy double boiler rig spills too much. This brings complaints from the kitchen management. And my reloading powder funnels don't work real well to move the fragrance oil from the big bottle to the one ounce bottle I use for measuring. And that fragrance oil stuff is WAY too expensive to be spilling. Oh well, this is a learning experience, right?

I have figured out what to do if the Democrats win this next election. I am going to buy a big bottle of the patchouli scented oil and sprinkle some on the deck and back steps. Then when they come for me the stench will throw off the dogs.


In other news, the thing that started this whole candle mess, that new bullet lube. I think it will work. I must melt down that fifty+ pounds of plumber's lead, add some tin and cast a few hundred .45 bullets. Then lube and and try it. Of course everyone acts like black powder bullet lube is some kind of rocket surgery or brain science. Truth be told, almost any wax/shortening or tallow mixture works. Just don't use pork or beef tallow for stuff you want to keep around. Once that lard gets rancid the stuff still lubes the bullets and keeps the powder fouling soft but it smells something awful. Now mutton tallow works and so does deer tallow. Me, I just use veggie shortening, the kind with no salt or butter flavor.

Okay, it is now Tuesday night. We had a big rain and thunderstorm last night.CAP is now a mud monster again. As usual we lost the phone and the internet until late this afternoon when the sun dried out the wiring. Seems that the phone company will not repair the kind of wiring we have and it will be some months before we can afford to replace it with the kind they do guarantee. Oh well, it's not like I talk on the phone. It does annoy me to lose the 'net.

We also lost the TV Satellite service. The annoying thing about that is that it is difficult to understand the East Indian accents of the tech support folks. We have it back now after much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Last, anyone with a prayer or good wish to spare can visit Tammi, of Tammi's World and see how her family is weathering the rough patch. I haven't been there yet today due to the internet problem but when last there I couldn't even leave an attagirl comment to my tall pal, her hosting company was having a spam attack. The nice thing about being a blogger nobody ever heard of is little to no spam.

Well that is my big week so far. I must go swallow a hairy ring now.

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