Bee's Wax on PIne

[colinj]

I have a lump of Bee's Wax and wondered if it can be used for putting onto Spindles after turning wood on a lathe or onto bare Pine say after completing a Pine Coffee table top (When I have much more experience)

Is the preparation of this medium easy to make and bottle up for further use?
MTIA
Colinj
Beginner

 

[PowerTool]

Beeswax is quite soft,so can just be rubbed on and polished to produce a finish.
Carnauba wax is harder wearing - most tinned waxes are a mixture of beeswax and carnauba.

Andrew (enthusiastic amateur)

 

[Paul Barrett]

You will need to dissolve the beeswax in a little heated turpentine (with care) to create a paste.

Lots of potential for accidents here so BEWARE.

The way I do it is to use a small, empty, clean varnish tin. Place the tin in a saucepan of hot water so you are not directly heating the turps. Shave the bees wax before you put it in the tin - it will melt faster. Add the turps a little at a time, allowing it to cool to see what consistency you get. You are looking for a thick paste. The key is, keep the heat low so that the stuff is softened not melted, and add the turps in small amounts so that you don't over dilute it.

You'll soon get the hang of it and have a much better idea of the proportion of wax to turps for next time.

I store the finished paste in the same tin that I used to make it, together wit the applciator ( a bit of lint free cloth) - and it will store for years if the tin is airtight.

BTW - it's best to do this when mother / wife / girlfiend is not around, and choose the oldest saucepan you can find unless you want to be emasculated when she gets back

Not sure beeswax is necessarily the best finish for pine - there are plenty of experts on here who will talk to that.

 

[wood-finishes-direct]

Hi I'm new to the forum - looks like there's some really knowledgable guys here. Out of curiousity I'm wondering why would somebody want to make their own Bees/Carnuba Wax with Turpentine Oil in small quantities? This must take a lot of time and has risk attached. Pre-made waxes of this kind are available for around a fiver so why go thru the trouble?

 

[mr]

Because they keep bees? As Adam does I recall.
Mike

 

[wood-finishes-direct]

Oh I see - fair enough! I thought they were just looking to use up a small amount of Bees Wax.

 

[Paul Barrett]

Hi I'm new to the forum - looks like there's some really knowledgable guys here. Out of curiousity I'm wondering why would somebody want to make their own Bees/Carnuba Wax with Turpentine Oil in small quantities? This must take a lot of time and has risk attached. Pre-made waxes of this kind are available for around a fiver so why go thru the trouble?

Because it's more satisfying. Otherwise why do woodwork when you can buy from a shop?

 

[woodbloke]

Hi I'm new to the forum - looks like there's some really knowledgable guys here. Out of curiousity I'm wondering why would somebody want to make their own Bees/Carnuba Wax with Turpentine Oil in small quantities? This must take a lot of time and has risk attached. Pre-made waxes of this kind are available for around a fiver so why go thru the trouble?

As I was told many years ago ....'cos its 'good for the soul', and that from a master cabinet maker (ex Barnsley) - Rob

 

[Chris Knight]

By making your own wax blends using Beeswax and Carnauba, you can tailor the hardness and by using pigments you can make handy coloured sticks of wax for filling small imperfections.

I melt the waxes in a tin can in a saucepan of water. As has been said, turps (or white spirit) can be used to soften the mixture into a paste that is easier to apply although I tend to use the hard wax, softened at the time of application with just enough solvent on a stiff brush to get it onto the workpiece.

 

[Alf]

I've yet to come across a commercial wax that smells as nice as Adam's, so don't put him off!

Cheers, Alf

 

[wood-finishes-direct]

Am really pleased I found this forum - love the enthusiasm. Many thanks for your replies guys - please excuse me - who is Adam I thought my response was to another newbie called colinj?

 

[Adam]

I'm Adam. I keep bees as well as woodworking. I like making my own polish as A) I can use fresh beeswax - not stuff thats been sitting around for ages and has lost all its aroma. E.g. each time you heat bees wax to melting (for example to change into more convenient blocks for transportation more of the aroma is lost). In large industrial processing you A) get wax that is shipped in from abroad, B) has been heated or molten for long periods. So, by using fresh local beeswax you get a product that has a far superior smell - it gives a wonderful aroma that lasts a long time, not like some of the stuff that smells of artificial perfumes and solvent. I can also control the actual wax type used - from brood comb or from honey supers - as these have different colours, and beeswax has a different colour according to the plant in flower at the time of production. E.g. wax built from oil seed rape is much yellower.

B) as someone said - its fun. I like to give it away as gifts, and friends and family seem to really appreciate it. 10 tins at a fiver is fifty quid and I can reasonably quickly knock out a batch of 10 tins.

C) I like the fact its my own stuff.

Adam

 

[Shivers]

Hi I'm new to the forum - looks like there's some really knowledgable guys here. Out of curiousity I'm wondering why would somebody want to make their own Bees/Carnuba Wax with Turpentine Oil in small quantities? This must take a lot of time and has risk attached. Pre-made waxes of this kind are available for around a fiver so why go thru the trouble?

because off the shelf finishes only cover basic situations,home made waxes or any finish for that matter can be blended for colour adding dyes or pigments ect,thats why theres a few hundred books on the subject.

regards.

 

[Anonymous]

Personally I still favour the old original Briwax.

Half an hour working with that in an enclosed space and you're as high as a kite!

Great stuff! :lol:

Cheers
Brad

 

[wood-finishes-direct]

Many thanks to every one - now I understand why some people prefer to make their own wax polish. My initial post was thinking purely from a commercial point of view and as Adam keeps Bees and appears to have some commercial interest, it makes sense to make a wax polish himself. Thanks for the 'it's good for your soul' comment, obviously coming from an enjoyment angle rather than how to produce a product that is cost effective. I guess it's a question of business or pleasure. Another question for you all . . . Are you mainly finishing as a hobby or is woodworking/finishing your bread and butter?

 

[Paul Barrett]

Hobby

 

[edmund]

I think wax is quite a difficult and probably not a very satisfactory finish on its own for pine. Quoting from Frederick Oughton's comprehensive wood finishing manual "Natural pine may stubbornly refuse to be improved by wax, and it is best stained or varnished and given several thin coats of shellac". (NB. the references to varnishes here are not to modern synthetic types).

On the making polishes, I love making my own. The main reason why I think homemade wax polishes are preferable to commercially produced ones are that commercial polishes will virtually always include chemicals to keep the waxes soft in the tin. The downside of this is that the durability of the finish of the wax in diminished after it has been applied. I have a preferred recipe which is a blend of bees, carnuba and paraffin waxes (obtained from an excellent antique restoration book). Apart from smelling fantastic it produces a good general use very durable goodlooking finish.