![Image](https://live.staticflickr.com/4918/32529056148_e77ebf8f7f_m.jpg)
Homemade Wicks-Salt Them First!
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!
![Image](https://7img.net/users/4012/74/26/49/smiles/3842181738.gif)
If you're making your own wick out of old cotton, you should salt the wick before using, to keep the amount of smoke down. Soak the wick in salt water, then put it on a tray and heavily coat both sides with salt. Let it dry and shake the excess off, then use.
(Some sources say to mix some borax in with the salt water, and to use some borax with the salt when you're drying the wick.)
I made an oil lamp out of a medium-sized squat glass salsa jar (14 oz. Taco Bell). First, I cut the bottom off an aluminum can and poked a hole in the bottom. You're going to use this to hold the wick while floating on top of the oil. The rounded part will be facing up.
I then poured oil in the jar and let the salted wick soak in the oil for about half an hour. Next, I stuffed the wick through the hole in the can bottom. I left about one-quarter inch above the rounded part of the can (the longer the wick the brighter the flame, but also the greater chance of smoking) and set the assembly floating on top of the oil.