talkmagic.co.uk

Hello all.
So I'm out of the Uk for the next couple of months and whilst i work in a holiday resort in Turkey I'm trying to find time off from the Raki and loose moralled tourists to write a new stage show. I of course have no access to my library and internet access is intermitent at best so I'm hoping a few of you may be able to help me with some issues that normally I'd be able to resolve by myself.
Somewhere in 13 steps (if my memory serves me correctly) is an item called spirit candles. It is basically a method to make candles go out by themselves in a seance scenario. If I remember rightly the method dictates that I would need to be sitting at the table the candles are located on to make them go out. I think it's to do with the taper in the candle and giving it a tug so to speak. Is that correct?
If so does anyone know of a method to make a candle go out either on queue or within a set amount of time that means I can be standing well away from them. (and no, blowing on them isn't quite what i am thinking of). Is there anything of this nature on the market. Any help will be much appreciated.

Just a thought, if it were possible to pull out the wick of a candle, which is probably very difficult, at least, at first glance, you could cut it down to a certain length and reattatch?

Just a basic idea, cutting the candle in half and removing a small part and melting back together would work much better and easier, but you get the idea.

I am pretty sure, that is one of the ways disscussed. Slide the wick out and snip it where you want it to go out (Relies on timing). I am sure Craig will have some info?
Also i seem to think, that Rubber cement can be used?
I will have a look in Seance and Compleat Invocation tomorrow.

Yes TEBIII mentions rubber cement but not for making it go out for something else.
yes cutting wick would work, can't think who to credit that to at min though.

Reverend Tristan wrote:yes cutting wick would work, can't think who to credit that to at min though.

Me!

Lenoir wrote:

Reverend Tristan wrote:yes cutting wick would work, can't think who to credit that to at min though.

Me!

Sorry mate but not you, think it's Tony Andruzzi

Lenoir wrote:Just a thought, if it were possible to pull out the wick of a candle, which is probably very difficult, at least, at first glance, you could cut it down to a certain length and reattatch?

Just a basic idea, cutting the candle in half and removing a small part and melting back together would work much better and easier, but you get the idea.

This is one of the classic methods of creating said effect but it requires some serious R&D so you know exactly what kind of wick burns at a given rate based on the make of the candle being used in that timing for the effect is typically "everything" The exception would be if you use it simply as a matter of happenstance (a "side effect" as I call them) and not something you are intentionally focusing on to make happen.

The method in 13 Steps is similar but a bit more difficult now days in that the manufacturing of candles has been greatly improved upon and rather than a pre-drilled hole into which the wick was drawn down into via machine, things on the automation line have shifted back to a unique dipping system via which the wick more readily adheres to the inner-core of the candle. Even so, if you use a hefty pillar candle adjustments can be made provided you have the patience to do so.

All Candle Wicks AREN'T Created Equally! This is something most fail to realize but it is the one thing that works to your advantage here, and on several levels;

A thicker gauged wick gives off a much larger flame and burns slower while a thin wick gives off less smoke and tends to burn a bit faster. An understanding of this truth and a bit of experimentation should open the door of imagination for you, when it comes to the various ways you can manipulate candle burning situations.

The other thing you must know, is the kind of wax your candle is made of and more specifically, what the percentages are when it comes to the modern"blended wax" techniques for manufacturing the commercial candle. Most commercial candles have very little Bees Wax and a high content of Paraffin and in some instances, have been "whipped" e.g. the wax mixture isn't actually as solid as most would assume, but more akin to that fluffy nougat inside a candle bar (ok... a bit more firm than that, but you get the picture) with a hardened outer shell. Again, these are things you will want to do some R&D on so you find the right kind of candles for the work you want to do as well as how to combine which wick with which wax base so as to optimize things.

Getting Back to that Pillar Candle I'd Mentioned... You will want to figure out the gauge of the wick it has and then find a wire that's just slightly larger... I typically use an old steel coat-hanger that's been straightened out. Then, with my trusty butane torch set to go, you heat up the tip of the wire and proceed to give the candle a very direct sense of penetration up from the back-end and out the top. All going well you will actually push the original wick out. The more important result is that you now have a nice waxen tube running up through the candle into which you can thread a new wick; one that moves somewhat freely up and down in the core.

When I've used this method I will typically have things set into a special candle holder. Though it was purchased from the local Wal*Mart for $10.00 and appears to be quite solid, there is a very small hole drilled through the center that a length of 30 lb test fishing line is run through; up and (eventually) into the candle. Before you do so however, you attach this line to the new wick at the bottom, the wick being about an inch shorter than the full length of the candle itself.

When assembled, the fishing line is run beneath the table cloth or, if you are using a more contemporary table with no covering, let it move down through the crack created by the table leaf extension and then back to your seating position... when you're ready, pull gently on the string; this will cause the wick to lower into the wax and voila! Extinguished candle.

HOWEVER... you may want to consider using a stiff wire control rather than the fishing line.

I'll not go into the set-up (allowing those that want to work on it, have all the fun), but you can lever this wire so that it causes the wick to raise and lower into and out of the wax.

Now, think of how this advantage affects the effect while you tinker with an old styled oil lamp moving its wick in and out of the mantel


I'll give you two more kernels to chew on...

The old Cigarette loads... you can set these into your wick, about an inch from the top and when the time is ripe -- BANG! Not only will the candle extinguish, it shatters!

Needless to say, this is a messy and potentially dangerous bit of business e.g. the candle should be kept in a clear pyrex type hurricane chamber and I'd keep it off to the side so that it just happens when no one (including yourself) is expecting it in that no attention is being drawn towards that item.

For those willing to study how to safely work with chemical, you can treat the wick in a way that allows the flame colors to change to green, blue, white and red without much effort. I've used this in my side-effects arsenal for years and it proves to be one of those "little things" people recall more than what we focus on in the show, and sometimes that's far more valuable.

Have fun!