Nice work, Angy! I did a smaller scale of this process on just the most crooked combs and some of the honey stores of my dead colony (varroa 
) It sure was a lot of work, but interesting too.
Just curious, what is your purpose for rendering the wax?
In this case, I had two boxes of old comb from a dead colony. That’s why you can see dead bees in some pictures. The colony died in december and the bees were frozen on the comb surfaces. I don’t make foundation because I don’t use foundation. Maybe just some starter strips to guide the bees making straight comb. But mostly I’ll try making candles or something like that. Or I’ll just sell it for crafting purposes. A lady in a neigboring village makes soap, maybe she can use the wax and make some soap for me.
Wow. What a fantastic thread! I was just stressing over what looks like mould on burr comb I had stored in a coffee can, and after getting great advice from that, I stumbled on this thread. All you experienced beekeepers are so generous with information - I love it. Thank you from a newbee.
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I just started this Spring so am in early keener learning stage. Just curious why you all decided on using wire? My bee place set me up with plastic foundation which the bees have taken to, but wondering if anyone has done a hive that has both types for comparison?
I have wax-coated plastic and wired foundation in my hives. The bees draw the wired much faster than the plastic. They only use the plastic when they are running out of space. Even then, they can be reluctant to draw it all on the outer frames. 
My mentor prefers plastic for its durability and resistance to sagging in hot weather. It is also a lot less work than either wiring your own, or even nailing in a wedge to hold pre-wired wax foundation. As he is a full time beekeeper, it is more efficient for him.
If you coat dryer lint with the bees wax it makes great fire starters…Just a tip from a Boy Scout!
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I use strips of foundation and wire for the brood nest frames. The strips hang vertically. I call them waxicles.
I have two reasons for doing this. Firstly it allows the bees to build cells with the dimensions they choose rather than having a standard size imposed on them. Secondly, the wire makes handling the frames much easier. Some beekeepers maintain that bees won’t build around the wires but I haven’t found this to be a problem. I run the wire over beeswax when I’m wiring th frames and so the wire gets coated as it is being installed.
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I finally did it. I made candles from my wax. It has been sitting in my mother’s kitchen for over a year now 
We made a trip to a beekeeping store at the weekend, intending to buy a larger amount of honey yars. He was fresh out of jars, but had some nice candle moulds. Yet very expensive, so we only bought one. It makes candles that look as if made from wound up foundation with a bee sitting on it.
First, we had to get a portion off of the big block. Not too easy…
My mom was stubborn and didn’t want help or find an easier way, so I let her nibble away with that knive
The wax was then melted in the old pot I used for clearing the wax before, and poured into the prepared mould. A needle holds the wick in place.
It took not too long to cool down enough to take the candle out
The mould is made from silicone, so no sticking, no fighting, no fuzz to get the candle out.
It fits beautifully in the candle holder my son made in his clay/pottery project group at school.
We also made some tea lights, reusing the aluminium cup and wick holder. The latter had to be prepared, I pushed out the rest of the old wick using a nail and hammer. This also widened the holder, as it is squeezed to hold tight onto the wick.
New wick in, squeeze again with a pair of pliers, put into cup and pour wax in - et voilá!
This also works with glass cups or anything else. And it turned out I did a well enough job cleaning the wax, it burned calmly, no spitting or smoking
And they smell oh sooooo good!
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A stubborn mother? No way! 
The candle looks awesome, well done.
Did you get the wick from the beek store?
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Nicely done Angela, your candle and your son’s holder looks fantastic.
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A very nice job with the candle stick and the holder, congratulations
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