Using Bee's Wax

[TNTreeHugger]

... on lot's of stuff!

What I have are two antique walking sticks I rescued from the barn along with a wood carving I did about 25 years ago, but never "finished" and a few others my boyfriend made.

What I'm using is called Master Paste Original and it's a wax based medium used with encaustic painting.
This is the creator of the stuff and his Pinterest page.
https://www.pinterest.ca/antoninsedlacik/antonin-sedlacik/
Not sure what's in it besides "bee's wax and other natural ingredients" but it does have citrus in it and smells wonderful.

I applied it with a small pallet knife then slowly melted it into the wood with a heat gun.

Anyone else use wax to seal/preserve their wood carvings?
How well does it hold up? Any issues with it?

I've already posted pics of the walking sticks in another thread.
here's the carving I did before and after wax

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Got another one finished...

 

[Woodslasher]

A few years ago I rubbed bee's wax on a tomahawk head and haft and melted it in to both with a mini torch. The head is still slightly waxy and water repellent but I replaced the haft for some reason so I don't know how it held up. I do know this, waxed items will have dust kinda stick to them, so if there's cracks and crevasses it'll be hard to get them clean.

 

[pdqdl]

If your goal is a natural finish of some sort, I'd consider linseed oil. Tung oil is more popular and a bit higher priced.

I think wax of sorts is preferred on wood finishes, but I'm pretty sure that is a very thin wax film on a harder finish done first.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

If your goal is a natural finish of some sort, I'd consider linseed oil. Tung oil is more popular and a bit higher priced.

I think wax of sorts is preferred on wood finishes, but I'm pretty sure that is a very thin wax film on a harder finish done first.

Have you used any of those?

 

[pdqdl]

Linseed oil, yes. It used to be the treatment of preference for rifle stocks. Polyurethane furniture varnish came out many years ago, and other modern varnishes have largely replaced the oil finishes. Still, the old finishes are believed by many to provide a superior appearance of the wood grain.

You might also end up unhappy with the finish, since the oil finishes need to dry for an extended time, and they also rely on a bit of buffing to shine up well. #600 steel wool, as I recall, to smooth them out and allow a mirror finish. Your carving probably wouldn't work out too well with that effort.

I'd experiment. There's a lot to be said for polyurethane varnish, too. Your wax treatment will probably foul a polyurethane varnish, and maybe the oil finishes. Polyurethane doesn't like oily wood, and I'll bet wax treatments really screw it up.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Linseed oil, yes. It used to be the treatment of preference for rifle stocks. Polyurethane furniture varnish came out many years ago, and other modern varnishes have largely replaced the oil finishes. Still, the old finishes are believed by many to provide a superior appearance of the wood grain.

You might also end up unhappy with the finish, since the oil finishes need to dry for an extended time, and they also rely on a bit of buffing to shine up well. #600 steel wool, as I recall, to smooth them out and allow a mirror finish. Your carving probably wouldn't work out too well with that effort.

I'd experiment. There's a lot to be said for polyurethane varnish, too. Your wax treatment will probably foul a polyurethane varnish, and maybe the oil finishes. Polyurethane doesn't like oily wood, and I'll bet wax treatments really screw it up.

I appreciate the suggestions for alternatives to the bee's wax, but that's not what I was looking for.
I'm familiar with polyurethane, linseed oil, and others I've used before.
I was just wondering if anyone else likes to use the bee's wax. Guess not-so-much.

I'm real happy with how my woodcarvings finished up.
I literally boiled the wax into the wood with the heat, so there is zero residue on the surface.
LOVE the way it feels - so warm, smooth, soft and silky. Feels alive - and smells delicious.

I have the canes listed on ebay. Found another old bamboo cane yesterday. Looking forward to seeing how that finished up.

I would love to see photos of the wood gun stocks you made.

 

[pdqdl]

Never took pictures of them. That was before there was a such thing as a digital camera, anyway.
Well... Maybe not if you include NASA and their lunar pictures. I don't know when they started digitizing.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Never took pictures of them. That was before there was a such thing as a digital camera, anyway.
Well... Maybe not if you include NASA and their lunar pictures. I don't know when they started digitizing.

You got rid of the guns?

 

[pdqdl]

That was about 45 years ago.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

That was about 45 years ago.

And...?

I still have this oil (using boiled linseed oil) on distressed wood I made 55 years ago.
A friends grandmother gave us girls art lessons during the summer.
I remember it like it was yesterday.
So much fun smacking that wood with a hammer. I need to make another one.

 

[pdqdl]

I prefer to leave such personal content unpublished.

You'll probably never be able to find me espousing my personal views on religion, firearms, and not really too much on my personal politics, despite my frequent visits into the P&R forum. I also don't relate very many details about my personal life.

Here's a pic or two, as close as I can come right now to woodworking and finishing. This is old stuff I did a long time ago.



I never had any patience for carving, nor any desire, either. I did hand carve the marquetry on the ends of the hourglass, but that's pretty much 2 dimensional. I was a decent hand at machining in wood, however.

There are no stains on any of that wood, by the way. The walnut came from a Missouri tree, and these pieces were made from the lumber I generated. I bought the maple and ebony, though.
That polyurethane is standing up pretty good for being over 40 years old, eh?

 

[pdqdl]

...
I was just wondering if anyone else likes to use the bee's wax. Guess not-so-much.

I've never tried beeswax as a finish. I have a more than ample supply, however. My beehive got started late last summer, and it is doing great now. Damn... Need to check for mites 'n other problems. Haven't checked them for a while.

...LOVE the way it feels - so warm, smooth, soft and silky. Feels alive - and smells delicious.

Real beeswax does smell marvelous and it does keep it's scent for a long time. I don't think it will last more than a few months on the walking stick, but it sure will be easy to freshen the coating.

 

[FabianRW]

Use boiled linseed for handles. With beeswax use pure turpentine to thin. My favourite mix for woodworking is beeswax with a little boiled linseed added to create a vaseline-consistency paste.
Raw linseed is good for food items but not for exterior use, it forms a peeling black layer in full sunlight but boiled does not.

The strength of the handle is going to be lowered in time if it ever gets too dry, beetle holes are a sign an old handle could break because it has dry rot. The wax needs to be quite thin to soak right in whereas boiled linseed just goes in and stays in better, so you'd ideally put that on first and maintain say once a year with that.
Or use thinner wax first and then use a thicker wax mix over to repel water, which would need to be maintained with thinned wax every few years and then thick wax added again. Blo is just quicker and simpler because making up batches of suitable beeswax just right is time consuming and has an element of extreme danger when melting the highly flammable wax and pouring thin into trays to make flakes for thinning (turpentine obviously should never be heated).

You can use oil then thick wax at first but for maintenance you'd have to use thinned wax then only wax, so just oil is easier.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Use boiled linseed for handles. With beeswax use pure turpentine to thin. My favourite mix for woodworking is beeswax with a little boiled linseed added to create a vaseline-consistency paste.
Raw linseed is good for food items but not for exterior use, it forms a peeling black layer in full sunlight but boiled does not.

The strength of the handle is going to be lowered in time if it ever gets too dry, beetle holes are a sign an old handle could break because it has dry rot. The wax needs to be quite thin to soak right in whereas boiled linseed just goes in and stays in better, so you'd ideally put that on first and maintain say once a year with that.
Or use thinner wax first and then use a thicker wax mix over to repel water, which would need to be maintained with thinned wax every few years and then thick wax added again. Blo is just quicker and simpler because making up batches of suitable beeswax just right is time consuming and has an element of extreme danger when melting the highly flammable wax and pouring thin into trays to make flakes for thinning (turpentine obviously should never be heated).

You can use oil then thick wax at first but for maintenance you'd have to use thinned wax then only wax, so just oil is easier.

Exactly the kind of reply I was hoping for, Thank You so much for that information.
The beeswax I have comes in tins already in a paste consistency, so it's easy to apply.
I also have solid cakes of beeswax - If I understand your instructions correctly, I can slice off small pieces, heat-soften those, and then make a spreadable paste by adding turpentine?
I have a warming tray I bought to use with my encaustic painting, and I have lots of beeswax on hand... that's why I'm using that ant not the linseed oil, which I don't have.

Thanks again for your info.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I've never tried beeswax as a finish. I have a more than ample supply, however. My beehive got started late last summer, and it is doing great now. Damn... Need to check for mites 'n other problems. Haven't checked them for a while.



Real beeswax does smell marvelous and it does keep it's scent for a long time. I don't think it will last more than a few months on the walking stick, but it sure will be easy to freshen the coating.

You should start a thread on beekeeping. I don't think I've seen that topic posted before.
I, for one, would be interested.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I prefer to leave such personal content unpublished.

You'll probably never be able to find me espousing my personal views on religion, firearms, and not really too much on my personal politics, despite my frequent visits into the P&R forum. I also don't relate very many details about my personal life.

Idk why that statement was necessary - all I was asking was to see your woodworking projects... which you "published." I didn't ask for your religious, political views, or details about your personal life...
Sharing your personal interests and hobbies isn't the same as sharing intimate secrets.
You're generous with producing helpful information to other members, but if you can't also produce evidence of personal practical experience of obtaining that information, it's no more useful, or verifiable, than a google search.

Btw, your woodworking projects are very nice. Thanks for sharing.

 

[FabianRW]

Exactly the kind of reply I was hoping for, Thank You so much for that information.
The beeswax I have comes in tins already in a paste consistency, so it's easy to apply.
I also have solid cakes of beeswax - If I understand your instructions correctly, I can slice off small pieces, heat-soften those, and then make a spreadable paste by adding turpentine?
I have a warming tray I bought to use with my encaustic painting, and I have lots of beeswax on hand... that's why I'm using that ant not the linseed oil, which I don't have.

Thanks again for your info.

No problem, yes you can heat the wax till it just melts, with constant attendance as it can easily get too hot. After it melts you just pour it no more than 1/8" thick into a tray and wait for it to cool.
Then when completely cooled you just break it into flakes by hand into a jar and fill that jar up to the level of the wax with pure turpentine then put the lid on and leave somewhere out of direct sunlight, after between two days and a week it will tend to be ready to stir into an even consistency and you can keep it in the jar ready for use.

If the wax ever dries you can pour a little turpentine on-top and stir wish a brush to mix the wax, after around 5 minutes you get a nice layer on-top of thinned wax ready to apply.
In terms of thicker wax you just use less turps to begin with.

Wish you all the best in your endeavours, it's best to do it all outdoors if you can, for health and safety, it's a lovely smell but is the equiv to bad moonshine so shouldn't be breathed in too much.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

No problem, yes you can heat the wax till it just melts, with constant attendance as it can easily get too hot. After it melts you just pour it no more than 1/8" thick into a tray and wait for it to cool.
Then when completely cooled you just break it into flakes by hand into a jar and fill that jar up to the level of the wax with pure turpentine then put the lid on and leave somewhere out of direct sunlight, after between two days and a week it will tend to be ready to stir into an even consistency and you can keep it in the jar ready for use.

If the wax ever dries you can pour a little turpentine on-top and stir wish a brush to mix the wax, after around 5 minutes you get a nice layer on-top of thinned wax ready to apply.
In terms of thicker wax you just use less turps to begin with.

Wish you all the best in your endeavours, it's best to do it all outdoors if you can, for health and safety, it's a lovely smell but is the equiv to bad moonshine so shouldn't be breathed in too much.

Thanks! Going to get some turpentine today and give it a try.
And, Yes, definitely an outside project... that's why I can't do my encaustic painting in the mobile home - sets off the smoke alarms.

How long do you think it will it keep in the jar?

 

[pdqdl]

Idk why that statement was necessary - all I was asking was to see your woodworking projects... which you "published." I didn't ask for your religious, political views, or details about your personal life...
Sharing your personal interests and hobbies isn't the same as sharing intimate secrets.
You're generous with producing helpful information to other members, but if you can't also produce evidence of personal practical experience of obtaining that information, it's no more useful, or verifiable, than a google search.

Btw, your woodworking projects are very nice. Thanks for sharing.

You were asking me about firearms, and pictures of them. I didn't comment, then you pressed for an answer. I gave you an answer, and it seems that isn't good enough, either.