Forty candles! Wow! That was probably fine in the 18th and 19th centuries when homes and concert halls were wide open and drafty. But in a well sealed 21st century home, it could mean significant odor, degradation of the air quality in the room, and soot stains on the ceiling. Part of the problem is that today's candles often aren't very good. At least around here, most of the big candles I find are either one-of-a-kind hand-made items, or else they're cheap imports, usually from China. The latter often don't burn well (lousy wicks) or cleanly (impure wax). The former are quite pricey and sometimes don't burn much cleaner. With that caveat out of the way, it looks like a pretty simple chandelier to make. If you don't have the tools and/or time, I'd suggest visiting a renaissance fair or craft festival in your area, and making contact with an ironworker who accepts commissions. Hope this helps!

thanks all. --probably thought I'd gone away, taking so long to answer. It just seems one "challenge" follows another. The time goes by and you try to hold things together or repair things including your body and sometimes, things just keep coming. Hopefully, I'm forgive for being long time in answering. It's been in & out of docs. for me and tonight, wife goes to hospital. I managed to get a small, very small, strip piece of the paneling off, intact. I used a blow dryer to heat it. The adhesive cement is very, very strong. the blow dryer took a long time to heat the wood--I thought it was going to scorch , before the paneling came loose, but I finally got it. That 4"x4' section took over an hour of work! There does seem to be though a magic temperature, if I can get up to it, the adhesive softens enough to let me hammer a putty knife between it and the wood, other wise--no go. the putty knife won't cut it and the piano wire I tried to use, broke. I hoped that was the piece that would give me access to what I needed to work on, but no. I'll have to remove at least, maybe two, of the full 4x8 sheets. If I destroy this Walnut, there will be no way to replace it. And I do not want to have to figure out some other way to refinish the basement--I guess I could glue sheet rock to the walls, if I glue enough shims in first. I just hope I can get the panels down. You'd think that 30+ year old glue after being so old and going through freezes and thaws would be brittle and give way, but it sure doesn't. Probably the easiest way is to pry the furring strips from the walls and try to put them back up? Because of the unevenness of the concrete walls the strips are glued on both horizontal and vertical. And to get them off, I'll have to take down the entire wall! -- ouch! Is that the only way? I did such a great job putting this stuff up, I can't even see the finishing nails I used to make certain the panels stayed attached to the strips while the glue set. Then of course, I dabbed a bit of paint, the same color of the dark, vertical seams they are in, on the nail head. they are virtually invisible. To find them, I hope a magnet will work. If I pull off the furring strips, they won't be a problem. If I try to take off the paneling, I'm not certain if I have enough room to drive them through the panels before they hit the concrete. What a job. In removing the one little piece of paneling, I learned that I'm going to have to pull an entire corner of the ceiling tile down, as well. It just gets worse and worse...or maybe I should look at it as an exciting challenge? Let's see if I can do it? --yeah, right :( Instead of using a hair-dryer to try to heat the wood, what about trying an electric iron? Think I could do that without scorching the paneling? If so, how high of heat would you set it to and what would be good to put between the bottom of the hot iron and the paneling? --I don't think laying an iron, directly on the walnut, would be very good for it. Or should I just give up and try to separate the furring strips from the wall, leaving the paneling attached. --What a nightmare it was putting those up--absolutely nothing was plumb, level. It took hours and hours to get them level and plumb. Maybe there's an expert way to get these down--it'll take at least 4 people to take a wall all in one piece, especially to not cause damage to any of the panels. Then, how do I get it back up? Is it time to throw the walnut away and put up sheet rock? Bob

I make pillar candles, and you have to use a thicker wick for pillar candles. You should keep the wick trimmed short while burning, and if there is any black smoke then trim it shorter. That way the flame will stay in control too, so you won't have to worry so much about fires. Any candle can easily start a fire, so obviously should never ever be left unattended. Also, when you're talking about pillar molds, the bottom is the top right? Just want to make sure we're talking about the same end. It worked out easier for me when I used to not know better and thought the top was the top, because the bottom was always level! Anyway, try nail clippers to trim the wick at the bottom, digging a little below the surface. Good way to save money and recycle wax. I buy plan wax though so I can add my own scents and other additives a lot though. I find the scents are most expensive. Too bad this forum seems so inactive, we have recently moved into a much bigger house and soon plan to set up a candle making space in the basement so I won't have to do it in the kitchen any more. I have taken long periods of time away from candlemaking simply because of the mess it makes in my kitchen! They're fantastic for Christmas and other gifts though, and I use them all over the house to decorate. There are some good sites online, including the one below, which has a chatroom that seems active enough in the evenings with die hard candle makers that are more than willing to answer any questions you have. I go there often when I have problems or just want new ideas. good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: great candle site with chatroom

I have been making and selling candles for ten years now. When I started, I was using parafin but within a year I switched to soy. That was about the time they had introduced soy. I use a crock pot. My husband drilled a hole near the bottom, on the side, and put a spicot on it. I melt the wax in the crock pot. I have it set on the dial where it wil heat the wax to 150 degrees. I then pour the amount of melted wax that I want (let's say 14oz) into a glass measuring cup. I then add the scent. Usually about 1oz. It also depends on how strong the scent is, so take a wiff while your stirring. That will be about how strong it will be when the candle is burning. Then I add the coloring. I've tried different ways to color and I liked the liquid color the best but now I don't use any coloring. My label for my jars are the color the candle would be. As soon as I have added the sent and color, I pour it right into the jars.(I use 8oz mason jars) I don't heat my jars first but I do have my wicks already 'glued' into the jars before I pour in the wax. I put a dab of hot glue on the wick tab and attach it to the bottom of the jar. That way it stays centered and in place while the wax is cooling. The 14oz that I mentioned above plus the scent will fill two 8oz jars just right. Once the wax cools, I cut off the wick and put on the lid. I have not had any problems with the scent of my candles. I have repeat buyers. My question to you is what kind of wick do you use. I use a hemp core wick that is already tabbed and dipped in wax to stiffen it. It sounds as if you might be using a zinc core wick. The zinc core wicks will cause alot of the same problems you're having. I tried to use up the zinc core wicks that I had left over from when I made parafin candles and they do not work in soy wax. I was trying to save myself some money but that didn't work. I buy my supplies from Bitter Creek Candle Supply. A link to their site below. I would recommend them to anyone. They have alot of helpful ideas and they do have live help on their site. I don't know what time of day but they usually have someone on there everyday. You can also call them on the phone and there is always someone available. They love talking about candles. I hope this has helped you. Keep trying, you'll get the hang of it. Cindy Here is a link that might be useful: Bitter Creek Candle Supply