I have a Collector's Workshop "Wristwatch Blendo." The trick uses a tilting candle that ignites a bag which holds a borrowed watch. However, when it tilts, it also drips wax over the nice, expensive prop!

So, what I am looking for is a way to conctruct a FAKE candle that can still burn. I am thinking of something along the lines of the vanishing/appearing candles (wick with lighter fluid), but it doesn't have to compress at all. It also must be able to stay lit for several minutes.

Any ideas for me?

Don't they make "dripless" candles?

They do make "dripless candles" but they still drip, just not as bad. What I use for all stage candles are oil candles, they cost a bit but look very real and will not drip wax, as they burn candle oil. You can get the oil at craft shops and I found my candles at a church supply store. They are a nice plastic case that the top unscrews, there is a wick that pokes out the top and runs to the bottom of the inside. By filling the chamber with oil it soaks up the wick, to where you light it. It looks like a normal candle. If the candle tips, just don't fill it all the way with the oil.
You can also do this by taking your candle and drill out the top the size of the inside of a vanishing candle. Just note if you are using a tapered candle that it won't work because they are to thin.
I hope this helps.

Wasn't there a magic prop that was a candle that used lighter gas so you could pass the candle under a silk and the flame would travel across the top? That would be ideal.

If you have to make one. Umm..what about a butane soldering iron with small hole in end inside some kind of heat resistant candle-like casing?

George

That was the McBride candle.

Do you live near any glass blowers? You can have one blown and put a wick with lamp oil on it.

Check with a Christian bookstore or a church supply store. They do make candles with wicks in them.

The flame across the silk actually predates McBride. We used to sell it at the shop I worked at, but I don't remember who made it. It used a butane lighter .

I have plans for a fake candle, it is cut away for a load at the back.
Will pm when I find it.

Matt

Shouldn't be too tough to make. Candle sized brass tube with a wood plug that looks like a top of a candle. Paint it all a waxy white. Small brass tube from smaller butane lighter through hole in the wood plug, painted black and protruding about a half inch or so from the top of the "candle" to look like a burned witch, oh sorry, I meant wick. A clip to hold the lighter's thumb trigger down. I'm sure you get the picture. Sounds like something that would be fun to make. I have a small butane soldering torch that would work perfectly (good idea magicgeorge) for the butane source too, but that might be over kill. Maybe I'll make one up.

-=tabman

This thing we used to carry was basically a hollow tube that would hold the old style Cricket lighters in the top. Once the lighter was lit, the butane tab could lock under a slot if it was slightly rotated... kind of like a rifle bolt.

While on the subject, there is another method with a similar effect. A silk is placed over a candle while it is lit, and the flame still burns through it. The silk is drawn back and forth over the top of the burning candle, the flame visible the whole time. This was a different method altogether. I think Fred Kaps used one in his manipulation act, too.

I have had expereince in making fake candles. Look at a store that specializes in selling chandeliers. You can get white candle tubes and some are even tapered just like a real candle. These are ment to go around a light fixture to simulate a burning candle, using a red or orange flame shaped bulb. But once you get the tube, instead of using it around the light fixture you can place in a fantasio wick system. If you contact Fantasio, I'm sure he would be more then willing to sell you just that part, if you explain to him what you are doing with it. Obviously, would cost a lot less than buying the actual collapsable candle.

P.

Would sterno be better than oil (less likely to spill) or butane (easier/safer to work with)?

If anyone wants to buy a McBride Candle, I have one for sale. Check the "tricks and effects for sale or trade" section......

Dave

Try a stage effect shop. Lots of ideas there for you!

j

Put a bic lighter in a brass tube from the hardware store. A bent wire to hold the trigger down goes across the lever. Hot wax around the edge of the top of the tube can simulate dripping wax on the tube.

Or just use a lighter instead of a candle. Use one of the tall lighters for lighting fire places and outdoor grills.