Leffingwell House HistoryWax Wheel Turns Again!The wax wheel sat quietly and in still in the summer colonial kitchen until "Chili Bob" Whatley, Revolutionary War Time Period Historical Reenactor took an interest and has brought it back to useful life. Wicks, newly strung through the holes of four of the paddles now hold freshly dipped candles. To illustrate the process one paddle of wicks was dipped into a mixture of paraffin and bees wax five times, another paddle of wicks was dipped 10 times, another paddle of wicks 15 times and yet another paddle of wicks 25 times so the growth of the candle can be observed even though we are not currently dipping candles. Chili Bob says each candle should burn slowly and last 5 to 7 hours. Candles in Colonial times were usually made in the spring and in the fall when the weather and the temperature permitted. If the weather was too cold the candles would set too rapidly and then crack or burn too quickly. If the weather was too warm the wax would not set correctly with the wick and they would again burn too quickly or the wick could be pulled out. A second "Tbar" wax dipper that has had empty wicks for many years has also been restored with new candles by "Chili Bob". Just like in colonial days, the museum tries never to let anything go to waste and so we are collecting the ends of old used candles for Bob to make new candles with. All of the candle ends are heated to melting point and then strained to remove any solids or wick pieces before new wicks are dipped in and new candles made. Please join us in our efforts and bring your candle pieces to the annual meeting or even better, bring them to the museum when you attend one of the Saturday demonstration or classes. |