I just read a fantastic article from PWW, I am ready to try this one. I love easy finishes, that's why I love the ease of wipe on finishes.

You can see it at Popular Woodworking Beeswax Finish by Don Williams

Interesting story and read. Seems like a lot of work but worth it.

 

Wayne

I like going back in time with finishing Wayne. It's amazing the simplicity in the finishes, I know the process seem lengthy with the beeswax, but the simplicity of the finish itself is what is pretty cool.

It is an interesting process, but what is the difference in this and the beeswax you can buy other than you gathered it and made it into blocks.

 

I am only asking to see if I missed something.

 

I love using beeswax and have made up some using beeswax and mineral oil to rub on cutting boards.

 

It leaves a beautiful sheen.

Probably no difference at all, but some may like to take a purest approach to it all.

Thinking about this raised a question for me. I though the toilet bowl rings were made from pure beeswax ? If so and the price they are wouldn't you get the finish with these ?

 

Wayne

Wayne, that is my assumption as well. I've actually used toilet bowl rings (new ones, of course) in my workbench finish (beeswax, turp, and BLO) and i also use them for wood screw lube. It may be (only guessing) that they have some parrifin in them but it still seems to work, and it's very hard to find beeswax that cheap.

I absolutely love finishes in beeswax. It's one of my favorite ways of finishing wood turnings. The only thing I don't use it on is my pens, unless the pen is one I am planning on keeping, then I will, simply because I like some pens without the CA finish.

I put a toilet bowl ring in a square plastic tub and use it to hold screws for a project. Keeps them handy and lubed. 

Now, I have to try that finish. Todays rings probably aren't 100% bee's wax, though. 

I put a toilet bowl ring in a square plastic tub and use it to hold screws for a project. Keeps them handy and lubed. 

Now, I have to try that finish. Todays rings probably aren't 100% bee's wax, though. 

Great idea Gene, a great way to keep the screws at the ready too during a project, just stick em in standing up and set it aside your working area.

I kept bees for 15 years (and plan to get back into it again next spring).  Cleansing the beeswax was one of the dirty jobs.  The "dirty stuff" he's talking about is known as "slum gum" that can include propolis (bee-glue that they gather from tree sap), years of accumulated larva castings, pollen, dirt, bee parts, etc.    But the process he describes was pretty much what I did, except I used a large canning pot instead of a little crock pot.

 

I may next time around build a solar melter and see how that works.

38 minutes ago, kmealy said:

I kept bees for 15 years

Brings back memories Kmealy, my dad was a bee keeper as well. Lot of fond memories helping him recover a swarm here and there. Always had honey too! He has not been a keeper for over 18 years, but we still have honey left from when he was, we have a few pounds left that we dip into now and then. We just let the sun hit it to reactivate the honey and we pour it into a smaller container for use. Been trying to get him back into it, but he lives up in the mountains where there is frost several times a year, I am not sure if that matters or not.