Bee's Wax

[Eutycus]

I can grow a few things but canning is not my thing.

 

[Doc Z]

The toilet bowl wax rings originally(40-50 yrs. ago?) were beeswax. the wax rings are still readily available but today are made from recycled used lubricating oil. I know some smokeless cast bullet shooters that use and like this product in their lube concoctions, but am told that it makes a 'mell of a hess' with BP - ML & cartridge ? Myself and none any of my ML shooting friends have ever used it.

 

[Enfieldguy]

Look in your local directory for an Apiary. Mine has a outlet store that sells their excess beeswax in ingot form already cleaned and processed. Not dirt cheap but cheaper then the craft stores and I know it's pure. I use straight beeswax for my Pritchet cartridges and a 70:30 wax/mutton tallow blend for my combustible revolver cartridges.

 

[Eric Krewson]

Hobby Lobby has a 40% off coupon in the paper almost every week which takes the sting out of their beeswax price.

Lots of it on eBay but at about the same as you can buy it a Hobby Lobby with the coupon.

I bought my last from a beekeeper, I think he charged me $2 a pound for the unfiltered stuff which was very clean.

 

[Black Hand]

Not really economics but more of a "what -do-I-do-with-it" sort of thing.I was recently given several packages of Gulf Paraffin, the canning stuff. I was kind of wondering what to do with it.

Make candles...

 

[nkbj]

Last time I bought beeswax was from Rudy's Honey in Livingston, TX.
He was plum reasonable.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Not really economics but more of a "what -do-I-do-with-it" sort of thing.I was recently given several packages of Gulf Paraffin, the canning stuff. I was kind of wondering what to do with it.

Sure you can, but you will want a pretty low ratio of Gulf Wax to the Beeswax. Otherwise you defeat the advantages of the beeswax. Even if I was making candles, I'd add the stuff to beeswax, and no less than 75% beeswax in the mix, since Gulf Wax has a pretty low melting point, and you can find on a hot day, that the paraffin candles in your camp box have melted into a mess.

LD

 

[Artie Peltier]

Where can I find beeswax? I looked in a few nests in the barn but they were empty or the bees had moved it.

Hopes this helps. There is a member selling it in the “general merchandise section” of the forum. He is selling it in a small cake form. Art

 

[Eutycus]

Okay heres another dumb question. The word "Candles" have appeared several times in this discussion. Instead of clear clean paraffin/beeswax what if a person used old candles? Would the coloring (or scent if present) interfere in any way?

 

[Black Hand]

Okay heres another dumb question. The word "Candles" have appeared several times in this discussion. Instead of clear clean paraffin/beeswax what if a person used old candles? Would the coloring (or scent if present) interfere in any way?

From what I remember, there were 3 types of candles available in the 18th century.
Tallow - likely the most common, but gave less light, burned dirty and the wick required trimming. Color - tan-ish/cream/off-white.
Beeswax - less common and far more expensive, likely imported and available to the wealthy. Color - Gold/yellow depending on the wax.
Candleberry - Even less common and likely far more expensive. Color - white to off-white(?)

If I use candles, I find white/off-white/cream/ivory paraffin candles with NO scent (I buy candles at Pier 1, come 12-18/pack at a somewhat reasonable price). Column or taper.

Left to Right: Deer tallow, Beeswax, Paraffin

 

[necchi]

Okay heres another dumb question. The word "Candles" have appeared several times in this discussion. Instead of clear clean paraffin/beeswax what if a person used old candles? Would the coloring (or scent if present) interfere in any way?

Ok,, you keep questioning wax sources, I get that.
But what answer do you seek about waxes? What is your goal? What's need do you have for a wax?

 

[Eutycus]

I just happened to have some on hand and was wondering how to get rid of it in a fun way. I have both paraffin + candles and I'd rather just not throw it away, I think it would be more fun to shoot it away.

 

[Carbon 6]

I just happened to have some on hand and was wondering how to get rid of it in a fun way. I have both paraffin + candles and I'd rather just not throw it away, I think it would be more fun to shoot it away.

I wouldn't use candles or paraffin for lube making, ever.
Instead I use candles and paraffin for things like, making fire starters and waxing my snow plow blade.

 

[Carbon 6]

Left to Right: Deer tallow, Beeswax, Paraffin
View attachment 3218

You made candles out of deer tallow ?
I'm impressed. How do they work/compare ?

 

[Black Hand]

You made candles out of deer tallow ?
I'm impressed. How do they work/compare ?

They don't dip well and it takes a long time to get the candles to a reasonable size. I haven't burned any yet but I've been purifying and collecting deer tallow from my successful hunts for years. I must have close to 10 pounds of rendered tallow ready to go. I suspect that molding might be a better way to go.

To give scale, the base of the tallow candles are ~1 inch in diameter and took about an hour of dipping to get them to that point (wax temperature was key, too cold - lumpy, too warm and it melted the previous layers. By comparison, a similar sized candle from Paraffin or Beeswax would take approximately 5-10 minutes of dipping.

 

[Carbon 6]

Well, light one up.
Are they pure or did you add a stiffener.
How do they handle room temps ?

 

[Black Hand]

Well, light one up.
Are they pure or did you add a stiffener.
How do they handle room temps ?

They are pure deer tallow. At RT, they are solid with a slight greasy feel to the exterior.
I made the tallow candles for an upcoming talk/demo to a L&C group so they could see/feel/smell what those men ate going over Lolo Pass in winter. I believe beef tallow might be more waxy and likely more common than deer tallow for candles, but the candles should do the job regardless.

I'd make & post a side-by-side video of paraffin vs. tallow, but I would need to figure out how.

 

[Carbon 6]

I made the tallow candles for an upcoming talk/demo to a L&C group so they could see/feel/smell what those men ate going over Lolo Pass in winter. .

Yum!
I'd melt the candles into oil and take thin slices of pine tree inner bark and fry them. Making pine "potato" chips.

 

[Black Hand]

Yum!
I'd melt the candles into oil and take thin slices of pine tree inner bark and fry them. Making pine "potato" chips.

I've eaten conifer inner bark - not one of my favorites, but certainly not terrible (Cattails are far more tasty). Better than going hungry.
I'd still rather eat rabbit or squirrel or deer or ants or muskrat or snake or grouse.....

 

[Cowboy]

You can go to the Walmart main website and order it to be sent to your nearest store my friend.

Respectfully, Cowboy