heating beeswax

I’d stay away from the microwave. It’s uneven and hard to control. A double boiler using a mason jar set in a pot of water will work well. Use something to raise the jar off of the bottom of the pot so it doesn’t get too hot.

Actually any old jar will do, like an empty pickle jar or one from some spaghetti sauce. It’s a nice way to do it though since you can put the lid on for storage.

-- Half of what we read or hear about finishing is right. We just don’t know which half! — Bob Flexner

Like Rich says, you need to use a double
boiler. If you heat wax too fast it develops
air bubbles that pop and squirt hot wax
out of your jar, making a mess and possibly
burning you.

It’s quite difficult to get wax mixtures fully
cleaned out of any vessel you use to heat
it in.

I use one of these for the job

-- Live to tell the stories, they sound better that way.

thanks, I skip the micro

I have a batch always in a jar in the garage and I have the wife make it for me with her double boiler. She came stuff so I just put in an order. She still puts in more orders for shop stuff than I do for her stuff.

-- Dave - http://kelleycrafts.com/ - pen blanks - knife scales - turning tools

I use a mini crock pot. It’s a small one for chip dip it works very well and was $8.

I use a mini crock pot. It s a small one for chip dip it works very well and was $8.

- diverlloyd

That would be a good choice, and you wouldn’t need to worry about the jar sitting on the bottom of the crock. Like Loren said, it’s tough to clean out, so you still want to do a jar in a water bath, unless you plan to dedicate the crock pot to that and nothing else.

-- Half of what we read or hear about finishing is right. We just don’t know which half! — Bob Flexner

Here’s a photo from a post I did the other day about making liquid hide glue (that’s a mason jar of LHG in it in the photo). It’s a sous vide circulator that can maintain a water bath at a precise temperature for an indefinite period of time. I use it for cooking, but it’s awesome for making LHG too.

I’m not suggesting it for your application, however, it can not only make LHG and beeswax, but you can also use it to make 72 hour beef short ribs :)

-- Half of what we read or hear about finishing is right. We just don’t know which half! — Bob Flexner

I have been looking fir rummage sales but we have been having bad weather, As luck would have it we gave away an electric skilit we have had for 30 years and never used. story of my life. What I would like to get is a small potpourri pot

I made some up years ago but very seldom use it.
As the devil’s advocate I would suggest turning up the speed to about 3,000 and rubbing with the mineral oil.
Burnish with 0000 then apply the bees wax on the lathe. Tools handles and a few other spindle type projects are good but I just don’t like the finish for most items. As always, JMHO which isn’t worth much.

-- We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. Albert Einstein

If you’re looking for pre-made, I’ve bought soft wax from the anarchist's daughter and been happy with that. Not as cheap as making it yourself, but it’s all cooked up and ready to go.

If you want to make the mix yourself, Lee Valley sells a glue pot and warmer that work nicely. Got one sitting on my bench at the moment.

-- Dave - Minneapolis

ok thanks

You don’t have a stove and pots/pans? Pot of water and an old jar works fine. Beeswax has a pretty low melting point (around 150F IIRC).

Cheers,
Brad

-- Brad in FL - In Dog I trust... everything else is questionable

yea I have a stove but I want to keep it out of the kitchen, I am very clumsy and don’t need a wax and oil spill but it will have to be kitchen

Some notes on beeswax:

- It can be very hard in cake form. I have
some I have had for many years and perhaps
it is dried out, but cutting it with a knife
isn’t really possible. I found I had to grate
it with a microplane, surform, or cheese
grater.

- you want to stir it. It will wash off metal
utensils with very hot water I think, but if
wax gets into the water of your double boiler
it may be difficulty to get residue off the
sides of the outer pan, so plan out carefully
how you’re going to get the wax flakes into
the jar. A funnel made of paper might be
useful.

- You’ll probably want to keep the stirring
utensil in the jar for the duration of the melt
process, so use something that isn’t so long
or end-heavy its weight will tip it out of the
jar. A plastic spoon might be good.

- Pouring hot wax mixtures from one vessel
to another can get really messy.

-depending on how your double boiler is
set up, the jar may be free to move around
and this could be an annoyance, so have
some tongs handy to hold the jar rim when
stirring.