Coconut Candle

Making a candle from a coconut is pretty and simple.

NEEDED ITEMS:

• Coconut halves
• Wax (soy, paraffin, beeswax, etc)
• Scent cubes
• Wicks
• Belt sander (optional)
• Sand paper
• Aluminum soup can
• Pot for boiling water
• Stove
• Stirring device (like a knife, etc)
• Oven mitts
• Coconut stabilizers (I used plastic butter bowls)

Step 1: Prepping Your Coconut

You have a choice. You can either leave the fiber on your coconut halve, or sand it down. I choose to sand mine down using a belt sander and strip the fiber away, and then use sand paper to really smooth it out.

Clean the outside of the coconut with warm water.

Once dry, rub a little piece of your wax on the outside of the coconut. Use your fingers to rub the wax in and evenly. Your coconut should now be a pretty dark brown.

Set your wicks at the bottom of your coconuts. Don't worry if your coconuts are at an angle.

Comments

[hitachi8]

nice, what kind of wax is that? look coconutty!

[shazni]

how did you clean the inside of the coconut with a belt sander?
I really like to do this...but cleaning up the coconut inside by hand is not such an easy task !

[Someguy44]

Where do I find wax?

[mstark77]

I purchased my wax at Michael's (craft store). Any craft store that sells material for making candles will have wax, and will have scent cubes should you want to scent your candle. Hope this helps.

[Onkei]

Good idea, I think it would be best to sand it down too. Because it looks cool, and the fibers may present a little fire danger. Anyway good ible I need to buy some coconuts now.

[MrLouque]

 Don't fall asleep while its on fire. I know someone who did and lit her drapes on fire. Lucky the house didn't burn down

[Browncoat]

Do you NEED to rub the wax on the outside, or is that just for visual appeal? Neat idea!

[mstark77]

Thank you. No, you do not NEED to rub wax on the outside, but I like the look of darker "wood." There are other substances you could use - like poly or clear enamel - but they are flammable, and it's a candle. I have not been able to get the "wood" as dark just by using sandpaper.

[thartaros]

what did you use to rub the wax on the cononut? Or did you just pour wax directly on the coconut?

[mstark77]

I took a small piece of leftover solid wax (the same as for the candle) and generally rubbed it on the outside of the coconut. I then used my fingers to rub the wax in and spread it all over. The wax was at room temperature. Hope this helps.

[Gman2005cs]

Never leave a coconut candle unattended! When the wax gets down to the bottom the coconut can and probably will catch on fire. I've had it happen to me.

[LemonLily]

Cool. Thanks for sharing!

[lesrebnav]

very nice idea, congratulations. i like every instrustables make with coconuts

[SinAmos]

Okay, I gave you the love on the birdhouse, but this is pretty lazy-style. If the next one is a coconut pencil holder or a toilet, I wouldn't be surprised. You've gone too far.

[mstark77]

You can never go too far. When you have a lot of coconuts you tend to make as much as possible from them.

[hominid]

Very artsy. This is a nice 'tructable.
To hold the coconut level, I would suggest a 5 cm (2) diameter coil of natural raffia with the ends wound round the perimeter.
CU regards Steve

[mstark77]

Thank you. The raffia is a good idea.