Date: Thursday 24 November 2005
Venue: Church Rooms, Stow on the Wold
Notes for www.ncbka.org.uk: Jeremy
Voaden
At the outset, Martyn explained how he was going to “start at the beekeeping end” and talk about the saving of, and preparation of wax, moving on to what you can do with it. He will then hand over to Cheryl who will talk to us about candles.
Wax production and bees
Wax is produced from 8 glands which lie on the underside of the bee in four pairs. An oily fluid is secreted to produce little white flakes which are very similar in appearance to flakes of dandruff: the same size and transparency. The wax is produced automatically by clustering bees. There is a strong correlation between production and flows of nectar. This is one reason why, when you hive a swarm, you should feed them a little.
It is an
energy-rich material. In terms of energy used to produce it, 6lbs of honey are “burned”
by bees to produce 1lb of wax. Some interpret this to mean that if you stop wax
production, then you will increase your honey harvest. This is not proven! Bees
can’t just “turn off the wax tap”. They will continue to produce it and if they
produce more than they need, then it falls to the floor of the hive. If we
harvest this and melt it, it is absolutely white.
However, comb
wax is yellow so something is added to it. This is the yellow flavenoids found
in propolis and pollen. The yellow in pollen is oily and hard to remove. If you
brush against the stamen of Lillies then you will know this!
We tend not to
harvest wax comb unless your bees are in an area of rape when you have to cut
out the wax to remove the honey.
Otherwise, we
collect the cappings at the point of extraction. Residual honey is removed
through a variety of methods. The wax is then rendered into a block by heating.
Often this wax is really dirty, tainted by bits of bee and propolis. So how do
we separate out the junk? We use a Solar Wax Extractor and collect the clean
wax. The sun melts the dirty wax which runs down over a weir which functions as
a liquid settlement tank and so only the clear quality end product flows into
the final container.
If it is
really old, black brood frames that we want to render, this is more challenging
because a high % of that comb is not wax at all. With every generation of
larvae hatched, then a silky lining which is the accumulation of the last
larval moult that was in the cavity is there. In addition, only after the final
larval moult is the single larval voiding which accumulates in the base of the
cell.
Then the young
bees come in and varnish over it. So the old comb is really an accumulation of
voiding and larval moult.
If you insist
on trying to process this old comb, you need something to break up the
contents. Soak the comb in fresh rainwater and leave to process for about 3
weeks, bubbling away gently. It stinks! The scent of bacterial decay!
Indeed, as a
general principle if you do ANY work with wax in water, use rainwater. Hard tap
water reacts with the wax and produces scum.
Alternatively
use the old dirty comb as a fire lighter!
1. Make your own foundation
2. Trade it in for other materials /
foundation at Stoneleigh or directly with suppliers
3. Emulsify into shoe or furniture polish.
You will need almond oil, turpentine or rose oil for this. This emulsification
improves the colour of the product.
If you want to make wax for show, you need to select the best wax that you can. Put the best aside and select the best cappings and white comb until you have enough pale primrose coloured wax to make a block.
You need to
remove any junk by filtering when hot (70 degrees celsius). Use a metal sieve.
In that sieve, place a piece of non-fluffy cotton. The dross accumulates in the
cotton then you can peel it out. Bernard Diaper (Warwickshire Beekeepers
Association) recommends using a nappy liner. Whatever, you need a fabric that
is fine, thin and non-fluffy. Pour wax into cotton placed in sieve suspended
over an oven-proof jug then place in an oven at 70-75 degrees celsius. Leave it
to settle at just above melting point for 30 minutes to allow heavy particles
to sink. Place on a cold surface to allow the particles at the bottom to
solidify then pour out into another filter into a clean container. This is the
basis of a good sample.
When cold, in
this initial rough casting, tip out and turn over and cut out any hairs, particles,
dirt and get rid of them. Then, in a really clean jug, re-melt. You need a
perfect mould to pour it into. It has to be a pristine surface in the bowl
whilst the lean wax is melting in the jug. Keep it covered. Meanwhile, put the
oven on and pre-heat to c.100 degrees celsius. Boil a kettle and put the
boiling water in a container in the over. The final mould dish can sit inside
this container. The clean, purified wax is poured from the wax jug into the
mould.
Make sure you
have checked the Show Schedule and you have poured in the correct amount.
When the wax
is poured into the mould sitting in the hot water, cover it and put it in the
oven and leave it. Go to bed! Don’t check it! You’ll get ripple marks.
To remove wax
from the mould, put it in the freezer and after several hours it will fall out.
The product needs to be clean and flat (no fluting-this indicates it has cooled
down too quickly). There is a great debate over whether to polish or not.
It all depends
on the judge. Never polish when the wax has any warmth in it, it will remain
tacky and sticky. Use the palm of your hand having washed and dried them
completely to polish.
The best
moulds for candles are glass ones. Beeswax is sticky and it will stick to
moulds. With a glass mould, you can put
it in the freezer to remove it. A gooq quality wick is important. It is sold in
a size appropriate to the diameter of the candle you are making. I.e. The size
of the wick should match the diameter of the candle.
Alternatively
you can use a rubber mould as these are also easy to remove. Peel the mould
back. To stop the mould sticking as you peel it back, rub the outside of the mould
with washing up liquid. This facilitates the peeling. The disadvantage with
rubber moulds is that they perish and stretch. You need the wax at 75 degrees
celsius maximum. Use a toffee thermometer to monitor this. Any more than this
temperature and the mould perishes. With rigid moulds, the optimum temperature
is 80-85 degrees celsius.
Traditional
liturgical candles for Churches are 25% beeswax and 75% paraffin wax. Cheap
candles are now only 10% beeswax. The ones sold in shops as “altar candles”
have no beeswax at all.
The advantage
of beeswax is the lustre and brightness of the flame as well as the aroma.
With metal
moulds, just tap out the wax or pull out the candle by the wick.
Don’t
recommend plastic moulds as these tend to stick.
The commonest
wax is paraffin wax. This is the basic ingredient of candles and you add other
things to that depending on the candle you want to make. Paraffin wax is like
the flour in a cake. The basic ingredient. If making candles in a plastic
mould, add 10% Stearin Wax. Why?
1. It makes the candle look better-more
solid!
2. It is an acid base. It reacts with the
chemicals in dyes to produce lovely bright colours.
3. It lengthens the burn time.
4. The helps to remove the candle from the
mould.
You cannot use
Stearin Wax in the flexible moulds e.g. Ribber. Use at least 1% of Vybar in
this case.
To add colour,
use Dye Discs. 1 Disc will colour 2 kilos of paraffin wax.
Perfume can be
added-use essential oils. However, due to its’ lovely natural scent one wouldn’t
want to use perfume in beeswax candles.
A useful
supplier of Stearin, Vybar, Dye Discs etc is:
Hobby Craft
Handicraft
House
Notley Road
Braintree
Essex
CM7 1GB
Tel: 01376-347000
It is possible
to make candles without using moulds. Get a bowl of wax and whisk the hot wax
like a meringue. When it is like a meringue and soft, you can shape it and work
it. Can shape warm wax with your hand then ornament it with the “meringue” and
sculpt.
Beeswax (from a handout by Cheryl Cracknell)
“Beeswax has special qualities. It burns with a clear, bright light and pleasant perfume. In Medieval times it was reserved for use in Church or the very rich.
Beeswax is a
very soft wax and melts at a much lower temperature than paraffin wax. It burns
slowly with a clear bright light and has its own perfume. It is sticky to
handle at room temperature and consequently is difficult to remove from the
mould, so is not very suitable for moulded candles on its own. However, 10%
added to paraffin wax will improve the burning time and brightness of the flame
of any candle. It also gives a creamy, natural look to an uncoloured candle.
Church candles have to have at least 10% of beeswax in them, and the more
expensive have 25%. Hand-rolled beeswax candles made from the thin sheets
available are easy and quick to make and are 100% beeswax.”
How to make a rolled beeswax candle (from a handout by
Cheryl Cracknell)
“ 1. Take a
sheet of beeswax foundation, and make a sloping cut across it. The shape of the
finished candle depends on the angle of the cut.
A very shallow
angle right across the top edge from one corner to about ½” down on the
opposite side will give you a traditional candle shape, with a pointed top and
straight sides.
A much steeper
angle from one corner to the other diagonally opposite will result in a spiral
shape to your candle.
2. Cut a piece
of wick to size. It should be about 1-inch longer than the wax sheet.
3. Dip the wick in melted wax to prime it.
If you don’t do this, you will have
difficulty
lighting it.
4. Lay the wick along the edge of the wax
sheet and pinch the wax round it. Try
to make it go
round rather than just folding it over flat.
5. Roll the wick with the flat of the
hand, holding the sheet with the other hand
so that it
doesn’t slip away from you. If necessary on a cold day you may have to warm the
wax slightly e.g. With a hairdryer. Do not overheat as this will melt the wax.
6. Don’t press down too much and try to
keep the bottom edge level. If you go
wrong you can
usually unroll and start again.”
Thank-you to
Martyn and Cheryl for a fascinating and fun evening. For futher details,
contact:
Martyn and Cheryl
Cracknell
Honeylands
Abberton Road
Bishampton
Worcestershire
England.