Pages for Bee Information

▼

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Close, But no Cigar

I'm sure at least some of you are waiting with bated breath to see if pour number 9 did the trick. I bought a new pan for it and poured it very carefully, having greased the pan and with the pan sitting in a hot water bath. Everything looked good when it first came out of the mold - see the lovely corners and smooth sides?


But when I looked at the top of the block (the bottom of the pour), there was a dark spot of debris and several wax places that were not smooth.



So tonight I poured number 10 in a glass pan this time - we'll see in the morning if it turned out OK. Since it's a 6 cup pan, I'm also a little worried that the block won't weigh enough (assuming it comes out flawless). The block has to weigh 2 pounds minimum.



Cross your fingers! I don't want to do pour number 11!

Posted by Picasa
at

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:48 AM

    I've been following this adventure and wonder why you can't try cooling it in the oven. Is that even possible or perhaps it would not make a difference.

    Just a thought...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10:47 PM

    I have too much time on my hands and looked up the density of bees wax (at 15 °C is 0.958 to 0.970 g/cm³.) then I did the math and you should be good to go. Its not really that much lighter then water and I'm guessing you don't need much more then 2 pints to make 2 pounds (a pints a pound the world around)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Linda T11:43 PM

    Thanks for all the input....I think the problem is about how I am lubricating the mold pan - the cooling is gradual and takes place in a pan of boiling water, so I don't think the oven would change anything, but I do need to figure out how to "grease" the pan in such a manner that it doesn't leave divots in the wax and so that the wax doesn't stick. People (according to the Internet) use Crisco, PAM, and dishwashing detergent. I'm going to try dishwashing liquid again and the glass pan which makes a beautiful block (but pour number 9 isn't right either....)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12:36 PM

    Maybe a candle mold release spray. I just purchased this spray from Mann Lake to use on my candle molds. Perhaps worth a try.

    ReplyDelete