Beeswax

[Don Nethercott]

A mate of mine is a beekeeper. He's offered me a few kilos of beeswax.
Any suggestions on the best way to use beeswax, what it should be used for, receipes, etc.
I mainly do woodturning but and also doing some restoration (ie silky oak table) and trying to do bandsawn boxes.
Thanks
Don

[journeyman Mick]

Don,
don't know about uses for finishing (it won't go through a spray gun, so how do you apply it? :confused: ), but I do keep a lump in my nail bag. Great for lubricating screw threads to make them easier to drive in. I also use it as a drilling, cutting and tapping lubricant. Works very well and doesn't smell nasty like the tin of Rocol lubricant that's purpose made for this application (but which hasn't been opened since I scored a few kilos of beeswax).

Mick

[Dewy]

Beeswax is too hard to be used as it is.
Most paste waxes contain beeswax thinned with a little white spirit to make it easier to rub in.
It's trial and error to find the right mix for the way you work.
The thinners in the wax will help remove some of the oil based stains and dyes with constant use.
This can be overcome by using a water based stain which will not be thinned by the oil in the wax polish.