# Removing Wax from Bell forest lumber?



## Peteybadboy (Jan 23, 2013)

Recently I received some small blanks from Bell Forest.

What is the best way to remove the wax the Bell forest coats their lumber?

I don't want to run it through my Jointer or planer or sander to remove it, fearing I'd just gunk up those tools.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Depends on what you're doing. Scrape it off maybe. If it's for turning I really wouldn't worry about it.


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## John Smith_inFL (Dec 15, 2017)

I cut the ends off square and onto the lathe - not to worry about the wax.


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## Peteybadboy (Jan 23, 2013)

I should have mentioned, I will be gluing up different pieces (not turning). So far I took a hand scraper to one piece, a little wax remains. Wondering if there is a solvent that would remove the remaining?


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## John Smith_inFL (Dec 15, 2017)

wow - gluing ?
how "small" is "small" ??
I am thinking that the factory that waxes the blanks dunk them head first
into a HOT tub of wax - - - it depends on the porosity of the wood just
how deep that wax soaks into the pores and fibers.
for me - I would not glue anything to it that will experience any kind of stress.
you would have to run it through the table saw to shave off at least a 1/4" to experiment with.
again - it depends on the species of wood you have of how deep the wax goes.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

I'd dimension it first. I wouldn't trust any of those surfaces to be glue ready.


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## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

Pete - I just made a bunch of mallets with wood from Bell Forest Products. I scraped the wax then took off just enough wood to get the faces square (~1/16"). You should also be aware the wood is probably high in moisture and will probably start showing cracks pretty quick. After getting the wax off, I put some lacquer sealer on to slow down the moisture loss and then sanded it off when it came time to glue and finish the project.

How big are the pieces and what species?


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## Peteybadboy (Jan 23, 2013)

All good advice. Earl, I bought African Black wood, bloodwood, yellow heart, Gaboon Ebony all 2"x2"x18".

What I plan to do with it is veneer a celtic knot in the lid of a Humidor. You can see one in my project list. (can't figure how to add that photo here.) So the lamination will be bloodwood, yellow heard, and blackwood, then resaw that in to (thin 1/8" ) strips. Then piece it together into a celtic knot. The yellow heart is 6%, but the other 3 range from 35%! to 20%.

My mistake should have bought kiln dry. I'm going to watch it and hope for the best. I scraped 95% of the wax off.


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## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

Pete - I've recently bought and used all of those species from Bell Forest Products. The yellowheart wasn't too bad as far as checking and cracks developing. Knowing that the other species can be troublesome should help since you can plan your work accordingly.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Assuming that you are just going to be slicing the blanks into veneer anyway, I think that I would just slice off the wax on the table or band saw and then proceed immediately to slicing your veneer. The cracking of the wet blanks will be less of an issue once it is sliced. Probably the biggest reason that wood cracks as it dries is because it shrinks in different proportions radially versus tangentially so slicing it now will mostly eliminate the internal stresses that cause the cracking. It will also dry much more quickly. Of course you may get some waviness or curling in the slices but that can usually be dealt with.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

I've started with a little scrapping to remove the bulk of the wax then jointing two sides, then planing to dimension. I wouldn't worry about wax on/in the jointer and planer, at most you might have a few lines that just need to be buffed but gunking up shouldn't be a concern.


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## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

Nathan - I had some katalox that cupped about 3/8" after I cut it down to 1/2" thick, but there were other pieces off the same hunk of wood that didn't do a thing. I think the key is to use the wood as soon as possible after the initial cut.


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## Peteybadboy (Jan 23, 2013)

Nathan, I did dimension the material. I then sliced some 3/16" pieces off it. I will take your advice and glue up the strips. I have let it rest for a few hours, no movement at all. I did go with a piece of bloodwood I had in the shop, that blank from Bellforst is 35%. So overall a bit less moisture content. I hope for the best.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Earl, 1/2" may still be too thick and it will depend somewhat on which direction the grain runs. Quarter sawn wood should have less of a tendency to warp for example. And of course certain woods are more likely than others to do that.

My suggestion is under the assumption that he is going to cut ~1/16th thick pieces for the inlay but even say 1/8" will be less likely to crack or warp than 1/2" for example. By cutting it that thin you reduce one of the stresses (radial or tangential) significantly relative to the other and reduce cracking. At that thickness, if he does get some warpage, heat can be used to flatten it back out, especially if it is not kiln dried.

Of course, this is all based upon my ancient memory from my wood technology course about 38 years ago (when did that happen) but I am sure that someone could verify that with a few google searches.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Good luck Petey. Lets us know how it goes. I just looked at your last project (again - I remember seeing it when you first posted) and am looking forward to seeing your next one.


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## Peteybadboy (Jan 23, 2013)

Hope you can view the glue up. So far so good.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Nice!


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## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

Looking good


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

The colors look good to me too. Nice work


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## RobbieB (Oct 14, 2017)

You can remove wax from cloth by putting a couple of layers of absorbent paper around it and ironing it - the wax melts and is pulled into the paper. Should also work for wood.


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