The words, in the order you meet them
Updated
Terms as you meet them rather than alphabetically.
The materials
Container wax. Formulated to cling to a vessel wall. Distinct from pillar wax, which releases from a mold.
Melt point. Where the wax liquefies. Not the pour temperature.
Pour temperature. The range the supplier recommends filling at, about surface finish.
Fragrance load. Grams of oil per hundred grams of finished candle, oil included.
Flash point. Where a liquid gives off enough vapor to ignite. A handling property, on the safety data sheet.
Wick series. A construction (CD, ECO, LX, HTP), each with its own numbering. Not interchangeable.
The process
Cure. One to two weeks after pouring for the fragrance to bind. A candle judged before this is not the candle you made.
Second pour. Topping up after the shrink sink has formed.
Full melt pool. Liquid wax reaching the vessel wall. The target within about four hours.
Cold throw / hot throw. The scent unlit and lit. Different failures, different causes.
The failures
Tunneling. A shaft down the middle, set by the first burn. Under-wicked.
Frosting. White crystals on natural wax. Cosmetic, and evidence of the wax you advertise.
Wet spots. Air gaps between wax and glass. Cosmetic, and unavoidable in natural wax.
Sweating. Oil on the surface. A real fault, almost always fragrance load above capacity.
Mushrooming. A carbon ball on the wick tip. Over-wicked or over-loaded.
Secondary ignition. Something other than the wick catching fire.
The standards
16 CFR 1500.17(a)(13). The lead-cored wick ban. Law. Carries a mandatory label statement for metal-cored wicks.
ASTM F2417. Fire safety for candles: flame height, stability, secondary ignition, end of useful life. Voluntary.
ASTM F2058. Fire safety labeling: alert symbol, WARNING, three statements. Voluntary.
ASTM F2179. Annealed soda-lime-silicate glass containers produced for candle use: scratch test, temper, thermal shock. Voluntary, and the reason a jar is not automatically a candle jar.