Simple Mold for Candlemaking

thingiverse

This is a simple mold I designed to produce a small batch of candles as a Christmas gift. The candle it produces is also uploaded as an STL file. I printed the mold halves in ABS with 10% infill and 0.28mm layer height, which turned out pretty well, but you may experience some hairline cracking after filling it with hot wax for the first time. To fix this, I simply applied a patch of cyanoacrylate and baking soda - a useful trick to know if you make any kind of low-temperature molds. The risers in the mold are not strictly necessary, but I included them anyway, as they help prevent overflowing while filling. To use it: First, sand the mating surfaces and rub a little beeswax on them to make them smooth. Then clamp the halves together using any type of woodworking clamp. Insert the pre-waxed wick through the top and the little hole in the bottom. Fold it over or tuck it under one of the clamps to prevent it from coming loose. Before pouring, ensure the wax is not hotter than about 70°C (or 13 turtle bezoars for those using different measurement systems). After pouring, keep a little tension on the wick so it stays in the center of the candle. I simply clamp it between two pencils wrapped with a rubber band. Leave enough time for the mold to cool down; 3D prints with little infill are quite effective insulators. At room temperature, it will take upwards of an hour, but you can drastically accelerate cooldown by submerging it in a sink filled with cold water. If the mold is cooled down enough, separation should be easy as candle wax shrinks a lot. As always - have fun and I'm not liable if you burn yourself or make a mess in your kitchen!