We can move on to making the fat burning lamp.Last time, our talked about the step of preparing the wax molds. After you pour the plaster into the box, it will take some time to wait for the plaster to cool completely. This brings us to step four.
Step 4: Wait for the plaster to fully form
In order to make sure that the shape of the plaster is completely set, you should ideally leave the plaster to sit for a week. You may feel confused, when you first buy the plaster, the instructions usually state how long you need to leave the plaster to sit. But in reality, we may need to take more time. There are two reasons for this, one is that we may have added more water than the standard ratio in the process of mixing the plaster. The second is that this plaster may be a little bit larger in volume, so it's always right that it may take a little bit longer as well. You may want to keep it in a warmer place so that the plaster may dry a bit more chunky. After a week, you can cut off the outer plastic container.
Step 5: Melt the wax
This step is actually very simple. You just need to heat the plaster that is wrapped around the wax mold at a high temperature. Here you can use an oven for heating. You just need to follow the steps below. Prepare a baking sheet wrapped in tinfoil, place a rack on the baking sheet and finally place the plaster on the baking sheet. What you need to do next is to preheat the oven to 100 degrees Celsius beforehand, then place the plaster body and wait for half an hour. Afterwards, heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and place the plaster in the oven for another half an hour. Maybe you won't see any wax coming out of the plaster during this process, this is all quite normal as the wax could have fused directly with the plaster. Also, during the reheating process, you can start preparing the metal for melting. This not only saves time and cost, but also prevents the room temperature plaster from cracking when it comes into contact with the hot metal.
Step 6: Melt the metal
Next, let's move on to the melting metal step! Take the metal you prepared earlier, cut it into small pieces and place it into a small metal can, then heat the metal with a small fire source. Once the metal is completely heated, you can take out the plaster mold you just prepared (it should still be somewhat warm at this point, so you may want to use a professional oven mitt, or a slightly thicker cloth to remove the plaster). Remember to place the perforated side up, and into a dish you're not using. Next, use tongs to hold the jar containing the melted metal and slowly pour the metal into it. It's best that you stay away from this plaster at this time, and if you're able to, it's also a good idea to wear some thicker clothing so that the metal doesn't splash out and hurt your arms. Although this may have redundant advantages, I suggest you do it for safety.
You can also tap the outside of the plaster with a small hammer as you pour in the metal to reduce the possibility of air bubbles inside the metal. After you have completed these steps above, you can leave the plaster with the metal inside for an hour. Remember to keep pets and children away from this dangerous item.
Step 7: Remove the metal casting
You can choose a tool that you are comfortable with, such as a hammer or a chisel. But you'd better be careful in the process to avoid scratching the metal casting. If you find a lot of small burrs on the metal, you can take out the abrasive tools that you have around for sanding, such as abrasive paper, a file or a professional sander.
Step 8: You can start using this little oil lamp
Cut a length of cotton fabric and thread it through the wick. Place the wick in a ceramic bowl and pour in some melted lard or some other kind of fat (like I mentioned earlier). You don't want to rush to light this oil lamp at this time, though. You'd better wait until the grease has completely solidified before you light the wick. When you light the wick, it will burn very slowly at first. Don't worry, this is quite normal. Once the temperature of the flame has melted the tallow, the fat lamp will burn very fast and will generally last for hours. However, it's always better to have someone watch over the fat lamp while it burns. And never place it in a place where it can easily be knocked over, as this can very easily start a fire.
Well, by now you have finished making a small oil lamp. If you are interested, take action now.
