Break up your wax block by putting it in a plastic bag, and whacking it with a hammer. You can also just prise chunks off the main block with an old knife. Melt your wax over a medium burner in the saucepan and pitcher "double boiler" set up described above. Or, try the deep fryer to melt your wax as a correspondent suggests: "I find that using a fry daddy with adjustable heat to melt my wax works much better than the old double broiler. You just have to keep the heat very low until the wax starts to melt or the teflon coating bakes off. Once the wax goes into meltdown you just set the heat and your on your way. I then dip the wax with a plastic cup or punch ladle. I find this method much easier to control the temp of the wax, and once the power is off you just let the wax cool and it pops out in a block that fits back into the unit at a later date." For pouring wax into moulds the temperature of the melted wax should be between 85 and 95 degrees C (180 and 200 F) for blemish free candles. If you like interesting mottled patterns in your candles like I do, I don't bother taking the wax temperature. I just wait until it is fully melted and clear. If you want, you can use 3 parts paraffin wax and one part block beeswax. This will not be clear when it is melted. This mixture is harder to get out of a mould because of the sticky properties of the beeswax.  Use silicone spray in your mould to get easier releasing candles.  You can also put the mould in the refrigerator after its mostly cooled,  for half-hour to help with the releasing.  The blend of beeswax/paraffin produces lovely honey coloured candles with a lovely beeswax aroma. Other benefits of a beeswax/paraffin mixture are smoother candles without cracks or web like patterns caused by thermal shock in the cooling process.  Beeswax doesn't shrink nearly as much as paraffin, so you will notice smaller or no wells forming down the middle of your candle as it cools - this means less or no refilling as it cools.

Prepare your moulds and containers while the wax is melting. You can spray inside each plastic or metal mould with silicone spray available at candle making supply stores. I recommend doing so, the candles always release from the mould easily this way. You can also use vegetable oil to lightly coat the inside of your moulds. If your mould has a hole in the bottom, thread the wick through here and seal it on the outside with rubber putty. Stretch the wick to the open end of the mould and suspend it here wrapped around a rod or pencil or something similar.

If you are making candles that stay in the container, or if your mould cannot be perforated with a wick hole, you can wick them two different ways that I can think of. When using flat braid wicking, make sure the braid grain or nap is going from top to bottom on your candle for even burning. An upside down wick will develop a carbonized ball on it as it burns and that will smoke and cause the candle to burn unevenly, and faster without utilizing the wax of your candle efficiently.