Bees wax

[rusticbob]

A local bee keeper sold me a piece of raw pure beeswax. Now what do I do with it? have heard of mixing with olive oil, mink oil, etc to make a patch lube. Are there any other uses? Does anyone have any recipes that they would be willing to share?
thanks, bp

 

[Woody Morgan]

Use it as flux when casting projectiles.

wm

 

[hawkeye2]

That looks pretty dirty, you might want to melt it down and strain it through some cheesecloth. Beeswax contains wings, bodies, legs and any dirt from the hive.

 

[Archer 756]

Nice photo of wax but, the interesting item is ruler, have you lately priced one $$$$ they are now collectable.

 

[andy52]

Candles?

 

[stikshooter]

I use it for lubing conicals 4-5 parts BW depending on time of year (Temp)and balance with bear oil ,for those less fortunate that don't eat bear , try unsalted crisco/lamb tallow/peanut oil or olive/Ed

 

[ohio ramrod]

I use 20% beeswax and 80% salt free lard for lube. I use a lot of bees wax as a tool lube for drilling in wood and as a bedding compound for barrels. It also is a good mold release agent

 

[Ames]

Clean it and use it to seal the end of your powder horn.

 

[SDSmlf]

Nice photo of wax but, the interesting item is ruler, have you lately priced one $$$$ they are now collectable.

Must live a sheltered life. I still use folding rulers of various vintages on a regular basis. Learned some unique measurement techniques using them when I was a kid - creating arcs, setting angles, etc. And as an FYI, believe it was at the local Lowe’s last week that I saw them on the shelf for maybe $15 while I was looking for something else.

 

[Archer 756]

used to buy for 5 bucks here in NY have seem them as much as $25 That was all I had 70 years ago no tape measure

 

[hawkeye2]

Nice photo of wax but, the interesting item is ruler, have you lately priced one $$$$ they are now collectable.

When I was young I broke 2 of my fathers playing with them. I don't ever remember them being inexpensive considering the value of the dollar at the time.

 

[Lonewalker]

I get beeswax from friend with hives I mix with fresh rendered tallow. I use it for all kinds of stuff from patch lube to lip balm leather conditioner gun grease etc... it's a treasure to me. I make enough to almost fill a quart jar then put some in old kiwi cans for portability. Expirement with ya mixture rates.

 

[Piquant]

I use auto paint filter/funnels for filtering out trash in bees wax. They are usually given away at the auto paint. Works very well.

 

[Woody Morgan]

I use auto paint filter/funnels for filtering out trash in bees wax. They are usually given away at the auto paint. Works very well.

Ooo! What year?

wm

 

[garypl]

I use beeswax mostly for creating a leather balm. I melt the following products in a double boiler:
Beeswax - 50%
Neetsfoot oil - 35%
Lanolin - 10%
Carnuba wax - 5%

If you want a softer balm add more neetsfoot oil to the mixture. Works great to seal and soften leather and will darken it. I rub it in the leather and heat it a bit with a heat gun (or you can use a hair dryer or just leave it in hot sun for a few minutes). The mixture soaks right into veg tan leather.

 

[oldwood]

Bee's wax is a natural wood screw lubricant for building guns made of hard wood. Hate to use bar soap as it rusts steel screws. Bwax seals the screw hole . too.

 

[necchi]

Use it as flux when casting projectiles.

last the last thing ya need to waste bees wax on

 

[rusticbob]

Must live a sheltered life. I still use folding rulers of various vintages on a regular basis. Learned some unique measurement techniques using them when I was a kid - creating arcs, setting angles, etc. And as an FYI, believe it was at the local Lowe’s last week that I saw them on the shelf for maybe $15 while I was looking for something else.
View attachment 129134

My father who is long dead was a plumber all his adult life. These were the only measuring device he ever used. He was able to span distances between fittings easier with the stiff ruler, and cut his copper tube very accurately. I worked in the trade for over 40 years and cannot remember any other trade who use this type ruler. Now I use this rule in my workshop, and it is a permanent resident of my workbench.

 

[nchawkeye]

Surprised nobody has mentioned making Moose Snot for a patch lube...
2 oz Beeswax
8 oz Castor Oil
1 oz Murphy's Oil Soap

Heat the beeswax in a double boiler until it's a liquid and mix the Castor Oil and Murphy's Oil Soap, let cool, excellent patch lube...If you want it a bit softer, just add more Castor Oil...

 

[David Veale]

I use beeswax mostly for creating a leather balm. I melt the following products in a double boiler:
Beeswax - 50%
Neetsfoot oil - 35%
Lanolin - 10%
Carnuba wax - 5%

If you want a softer balm add more neetsfoot oil to the mixture. Works great to seal and soften leather and will darken it. I rub it in the leather and heat it a bit with a heat gun (or you can use a hair dryer or just leave it in hot sun for a few minutes). The mixture soaks right into veg tan leather.

I make a similar mixture though only go to about 25% on the beeswax, but have found that a small amout (roughly 5%) of pine tar (available in the horse section at any feed store) will prevent molding of the leather if you are in a warm/humid environment (anywhere east of the mississippi during the summer!). Your formula got me thinking... and I just realized that the lanolin also has antifungal properties -- good idea!