Help with Bee's Wax

[montanadan]

I really do not know anything about bee'wax.I would like to make Stumpkiller's Moose Snot,I was given some bee's wax.Some of this wax is golden yellow color and some is a darker brown.Is the dark wax un-refined? Would it be O.K. to use Stumpkillers Moose snot,or does it need to be cleaned up? If it needs to be cleaned how do you do this?Thanks in advance...Respectfully Montanadan.

 

[musketman]

I really do not know anything about bee'wax.I would like to make Stumpkiller's Moose Snot,I was given some bee's wax.Some of this wax is golden yellow color and some is a darker brown.Is the dark wax un-refined? Would it be O.K. to use Stumpkillers Moose snot,or does it need to be cleaned up? If it needs to be cleaned how do you do this?Thanks in advance...Respectfully Montanadan.

I would melt it all together and strain it through a fine mesh metal sieve or a cheese cloth, the brownish color is just fodder (bees don't wipe their feet before interring the nest) and not really wax...

You may not be able to get it all out, but you can extract most of it...

I wonder if molten wax will flow through a coffee filter? :hmm:

 

[vradin]

I wonder if molten wax will flow through a
coffee filter? :hmm:

It didn't the one time I tried it. As soon as the liquid wax hit the filter it soaked in and sealed the pores too well to let anything else thru. :results:

If you do try, save the wax-soaked filter and roll it very tightly to form a sort-of candle. Keep in your tinder box as it makes a great fire starter helper.

vic

 

[jtmattison]

Strain it through several layers of cheese cloth and you'll be okay. Melt over a double boiler so you don't scorch it. Several filterings will clean it up even more. You lose very little wax when straining it through cheesecloth. Good luck.

Huntin

 

[riarcher]

A few layers of the wife's panty hose draped over a large coffee can, held with elastic bands works well too. Set this can inside a pan of simmering water to keep hot. A few nails or something to keep the can off the bottom is a good idea as well.
I tried the coffee filter too, clogged too fast to be useful.
Anouther (easier) method is to get it melted and keep it melted for an hour or so. Most of the bigger "crap" will settle out. Pour off the top slowly as to not disturb the sediment. This is usually clear enough for our use. :m2c:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Beeswax is a natural product and it depends a lot on what ths bees had available for the wax/pollen source. I think it also darkens with age. I do know that the darker & older wax I had made a lot more scum in my batches, so I expect it had more impurities; or something else changes over time that degrades it somewhat. Still seems to work as well. It's just that the final results look darker.

 

[montanadan]

Stumpkiller-Again, thanks.I am going to make some 'Moose Snot'both ways re-fined and un-refined see what happens,some of this will be for patch lube and some is goung to be tested as warm weather revolver lube(cap-n-ball).Stumkiller products as always are the BEE's KNEE's(borrowed this from Noah Mercy).Respectfully Montanadan

 

[Twisted_1in66]

I really do not know anything about bee'wax.I would like to make Stumpkiller's Moose Snot,I was given some bee's wax.Some of this wax is golden yellow color and some is a darker brown.Is the dark wax un-refined? Would it be O.K. to use Stumpkillers Moose snot,or does it need to be cleaned up? If it needs to be cleaned how do you do this?Thanks in advance...Respectfully Montanadan.

Hey Montanadan,

Here's a link to the instructions on How To Filter Beeswax from the "Beeswax from Beekeepers" site.

They sell non-filtered, filtered, and double-filtered beeswax (very light in color).

 

[tg]

I have never bothered to filter my wax and have had no ill results, I would try some of both and see if you feel it is worth the trouble.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

I have never bothered to filter my wax and have had no ill results, I would try some of both and see if you feel it is worth the trouble.

Hey TG,

You should probably check out the link on my other post. The junk that's in the unfiltered stuff can be pretty significant. They posted filtering instructions on the site so you could save yourself a chunk of money and just filter the stuff yourself.

They were located about 30 miles from where I used to live in Vermont, and I picked up a 3 lb. slug of the "once filtered" beeswax from them before I moved to Virginia. Nice folks.