Beeswax

[devonwoody]

Adam kindly gave me some beeswax some years ago after a heart fart,
the block of wax has gone very hard/solid and doesn't spread very well this time of year, any suggestions haw to make things slide a bit better?

 

[mr]

I used to use beeswax in block form for waxing bow strings, sometimes it went hard but all it usually needed was a bit of handling to make it piable again.

Cheers Mike

 

[devonwoody]

I used to use beeswax in block form for waxing bow strings, sometimes it went hard but all it usually needed was a bit of handling to make it piable again.

Cheers Mike

Thanks Mr.


Bow strings? You dont mind a bit of action then?

 

[Pekka Huhta]

I've made soft wax by putting chips of beeswax on a glass jar and the glass jar to boiling water. After the wax melts I have added a dash of linseed oil, some turpentine and a dash of pine tar. The more you add "extras" the softer it gets, so adding just a little would just soften the wax a bit, adding more gives you paste wax, about the same consistency as soft shoe polish.

You can use turpentine, linseed (raw or boiled) or tung oil, add harder waxes (Karnauba for instance) or even colour pigments on the wax. Just experiment.

Pekka

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks Pekka,

BTW, a serious accident has been brought to my notice, an Austrailian added some meths to a wax mixture (industrial) and there was an ignition with some very serious consequences.
It appears the meths has a low boiling point expanded to gas and hit a spark or flame and whoosh!.

He meant to add mineral oil, (turps).

 

[Adam]

Devon,

You can add some Turpentine (pure stuff not substitute) and/or White Spirit.

Have you left the lid off at all? Or slightly open? This would allow the solvent to evaporate and make it go hard

Alternatively, use it quicker! I get through them far faster than that - do you not rewax your funiture / items once you get them back in the house?

Adam

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks Adam, got some pure turps, so do I just splash a little liquid about? , The wax block is as solid as a piece of chocolate. It has been in a jamjar in the workshop over winter and its got a bit cold.

 

[head clansman]

hi devonwoody

just gentle gentle warm it up as other have said use a jar and hot water , I've found that if a flame is use to heat a Pan it tend to get to hot and then go's much darker in color as well which is probably not what you want .

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks, as soon as it warms up again I will take a jar of hot water out into the workshop, but it looks like its going tobe another 7 days before I make another start up.
Temperature back to 5C again today,high winds and then damp as well.