What makes candle wick

The lead was used before, but it has been banned in the US and other countries due to risks of lead poisoning. Flat braided wicks are made to be self-consuming.

They curl back into the flame as they burn. Wicks are usually pre-treated with flame-resistant solutions, such as salt and borax, to prevent them from being destroyed by the fire. Wicks of a bigger diameter produce bigger flames which result in a candle melting faster. In candles that are enclosed in cups, also known as tea lights, the wick is tied to a piece of metal.

The wax in tea lights can completely melt, and the purpose of the metal is to keep the wick from floating on the wax and burning out before the wax. There are also candles specially made to float on water. These candles have a tether to keep the wick in place and a bottom seal to prevent the wick from seeping water. Very easy. Kind of easy. Kind of hard. Very hard. Font Size Print Pin. Back to project Comment on this project. Tell us what worked, what didn't, and if you made adjustments Thanks for adding your feedback.

Close Sign in. All rights reserved. Close this dialog window View image. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Heat the water. Heat 1 cup ml of water using a small saucepan or a tea kettle. Allow the water to reach a simmer, but not a full boil. Dissolve the salt and Borax. Pour the hot water into a glass bowl. Add 1 Tbsp 15 ml of salt and 3 Tbsp 45 ml of Borax. You'll use this Borax solution to treat the base wick material.

Treating wicks with Borax can make the candles burn brighter and longer. Moreover, it can also reduce the amount of ash and smoke produced by the burning process. Keep Borax away from children and pets since it can have a toxic effect when ingested or inhaled. Soak the twine in the solution. Take a piece of heavy cotton butcher's twine and submerge it in the Borax solution.

Allow the twine to soak for 24 hours. If you don't know how tall the candle will be, you can soak up to 1 foot Butcher's twine is a great base material for candle wicks, but nearly any thick cotton cord should work well enough.

You can use embroidery cotton, torn pieces of cotton cloth, or a clean shoelace with the plastic cap removed. You can technically remove the twine after 20 minutes, but the results will not be as ideal.

Dry the twine. Remove the twine from the Borax solution using tweezers. Hang the twine and let it dry for two or three days. The twine must be fully dry before you continue. Use a clothespin or similar clip to hang the treated twine in a warm, dry location. Place aluminum foil beneath the drying twine to catch any excess solution as it drips off. Melt the wax. Melt the wax using a double boiler setup.

If you don't have a double boiler, you can use a clean metal can and a small saucepan. Heat 1 to 2 inches 2. Place the metal can inside the hot water.

Wait another minute for the can to heat up before adding the wax. Melted wax can cause serious burns, so handle it very carefully throughout the rest of the procedure. Dip the treated twine. Carefully dunk the dry, Borax-treated twine in the melted wax. Coat as much of the twine as possible. Technically, you can use Borax-treated twine as it is without adding a wax coating.

The wax makes the wick stiffer and easier to handle, however, and may also make it easier for the flame to catch on the end of the wick. Hang the twine as before and let it dry long enough for the wax to harden.

This should only take several minutes. As before, place a sheet of aluminum foil beneath the hanging twine to catch any excess wax dripping off. Dip and dry the twine once or twice more to build up a thick coating of wax. Ideally, the twine should feel stiff while still retaining some flexibility. If you don't have enough wax to dip the string again, you can lay the string on a sheet of aluminum foil and carefully pour the remaining wax on top.

Let the wick dry on the foil instead of hanging it again. Use the wick as needed. Once the fully-coated twine is dry, it's finished and ready to insert into a candle. Method 2. Trim down balsa wood sticks. Use scissors to trim down the length of the balsa wood so that it stands at least 1 inch 2. If you don't have a container in mind and don't know how large the candle will be, trim the wood down to a length between 6 and 12 inches You can trim away any excess later, so it's better to have too much than too little.

Soak the balsa wood in olive oil. Place the trimmed balsa wood into a shallow dish. Pour enough room temperature olive oil into the dish to completely cover the wood. While wood is flammable on its own, coating the wood in oil will allow the fire to catch quicker and burn more evenly.

Olive oil burns cleanly, making it a great choice for candle-making projects. Let the wood soak up the oil for at least 20 minutes. You can wait up to one hour, if desired, so that the wood can absorb more oil and burn with an even brighter flame.

Wipe away the excess oil. Remove the wooden sticks from the oil and use clean paper towels to wipe away any excess. Instead of rubbing the stick dry, you could place it on a plate covered with paper towels and allow it to air dry for several minutes. When ready, the wood should still feel damp and slightly oily to the touch, but it should no longer leave an oily residue on your hands when you handle it. Attach a wick tab to the base of the stick.