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Making torches yourself

When crafting torches with young people, there should always be supervision of an adult.

Material:

Much wax
An old pot
Construction paper
Thumbtacks
Insert wood 30x3 cm.
Linen strips 1-meter x 10 cm.
(Possibly crepe paper)

Instructions:

First you need to wrap the construction paper 2-3 times around the wood. Make sure the wood is not further down the paper then the yellow mark.
Secure the construction paper with tacks. In case, the construction paper keeps opening at the top, wrap a piece of crepe paper around it.
Now melt the wax in a pot. Best do that outside.
Next dip the strips of cloth in the wax and wrap from below. The best way to do that is if one holds the oil cloth and the other turns the torch.
Now wrap two cloth stripes around the construction paper and let the wax dry for a bit. Otherwise, the construction paper will buckle. Repeat this same process until you have everywhere 2-3 layers of fabric.

The torches are just so colourful the wax is colourful fabric served ever as a poster once before. If the top of the torch is not wrapped well, it will not burn well because: it will burn quickly due to the many cavities, the wax melts quickly and the wind has a large surface. Is the lower part of the torch not wrapped well, then the fabric was not dipped sufficiently into the wax. This creates wax-free surfaces and the torch will smoke a great deal, and doesn’t burn well or evenly.

Igniting your torch

Either you stick the wick straight away into the wax and ignite the torch there. Alternatively, you can take a paper towel or tissue, wet it with alcohol and stick it in the cavity on top. This will ignite your torch. This also works great if you snuff the torch but want to rekindle it at a later point.

If the torch is to be held in the hand, it is advisable to cut out a round piece of cardboard and stick it to the bottom of the torch, so the wax can’t trip on your hand.

Tip:

When wrapping the cloth around the torch always wear work gloves.

Making torches yourself

Send in from Ronnie Berzins