• It's time to cast your vote in the April 2025 Turning Challenge. (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Steve Bonny for "A Book Holds What Time Lets Go" being selected as Turning of the Week for 28 April, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Wood retardant finish

R

Raif Harik

Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Messages
279
Likes
100
Location
Austin, TX
Hi,
I would like to make a little turning that I could fill with wax and a wick. There might be a bit of an underhang, like say a globe that has been hollowed out. I'm not trying to have like a nearly enclosed form or anything, I will make an effort to make the vertical pathway of the flame well clear. But none the less it seems like applying a flame retardant finish would be wise.
Does anyone have experience with this, or can recommend a finish that will not discolor the wood?
Thanks,
R
 
What ever you use, it better seal off the end grain. If it doesn't, you are going to get warm wax wicking through the pores of the wood and come all the way through. Having an open flame, near fuel soaked wood, is not a good situation.
 
Any flame retardant material is only good for a short while ... after it stops outgassing carbon dioxide it will be just as flammable as if no flame retardant were used. I don't know of any finish that is flame retardant.

How about putting the wax candle in a small glass container and then placing that inside your turned wood piece.
 
What Bill said. Wife put a candle on a bookcase shelf. Smelled something funny. Now the shelf above has a scorched place.
 
The small tea candles have their own metal tray that the candle sits in, these are used quite often in woodturning items that hold candles. You can also place one of these metal trays in a recess that a taller candle will be sitting in. Aluminum foil inside a hollow form would also protect a wood surface from the heat of the flame as it would reflect the light and the heat.
 
I made about 25 candles as this year's crafty person Christmas gifts for friends and family and learned a whole lot in the process. The candle supply companies do a great job of educating beginners.

There are dozens of different wicks available and the solution is to pick the correct one for the wax you are using and the size of the candle. The supplier will give you a very good recommendation, but the only accurate way to be sure is to test it out--make a candle in a metal or glass container using the wax you want to use and the test wick. After the wax is fully set, light the wick. After 2-4 hours, you will know what the diameter of the depression in the wax is. If it's too wide a 'hole', you use a 'cooler' wick, and vice versa. You will need about 1/8-1/4" clearance between the 'hole' and the wooden side of the container.

Wicks are cheap, so buying and testing is not expensive in dollars, but will take up some time.

Yes, the end grain in the bottom of the container can be a problem, but it's easily solved with a good squirt of thin CA glue, and using a wick base means that the candle will stop burning with a layer of wax unburned in the bottom. Any little cracks can leak, too. One of the candles I made had an unsealed crack and the resulting lava flow of wax produced a very artistic and appealing result.

Candle science and candlewic, are two suppliers that seem to have their act together. (I have no financial stake in any candle or craft business)
 
Last edited:
i have been making some incense burners. I buy the 3/4 diameter cabinet and closet door finger pulls. Drill a 3/4 inch hole in the base and the finger pull presses in just right. It creates a small place for the incense to burn and the ashed stay in the metal finger pull Candle liners for candle holders are available to get and use. I believe Canadian law requires those liners for candle holders.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top