How do you render it down to a usable paste? Such as a Patch Lube or pan sealer. Thanks for the anticipated help.
I acquired Beeswax.
- Thread starter sussexmuzllodr
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Is it raw as in full of dead bees or just chewed?
Basically boil to free the impurities and filter depending on impurities.
If just chewed melt in water to dissolve the honey.
As it cools the wax will solidify on the top of the water.
Rinse and repeat if required.
Basically boil to free the impurities and filter depending on impurities.
If just chewed melt in water to dissolve the honey.
As it cools the wax will solidify on the top of the water.
Rinse and repeat if required.
It is a solidified block. No honey involved at all. A cake the dimensions of a bread pan. I guess my question is how you would make a usable lube out of it. What would you blend it with? Thanks SM
You need a double boiler. Two sauce pans. One larger than the other. You put water in the larger and place the smaller in that. A useable lube can be made from 4 parts of olive oil and one part of bee's wax. In a one cup measure pour 4 ounces of olive oil. Cut off enough of the bee's wax to raise the level to 5 ounces. Put this in the smaller saucepan. Bring the water to a low simmer. the wax and oil will mix as the wax melts. Put the mixture into a suitable container.
Now you have the basic components to make EVO Oyle's Bullet Lubricant, Lip Wax and Stock polish.
Now you have the basic components to make EVO Oyle's Bullet Lubricant, Lip Wax and Stock polish.
Here is where it gets personal.
Basically mix the beeswax with a natural oil or fat to get a usable consistancy.
I have found that olive oil works but ypu cannot leave it on conicals for too long.
Also the mix will depend pn the weather.
Its very hot here so i use 80% wax to 20% olive oil.
Try 50 to 50 and see. This is a good starting point then adjust to suit.
For blending i am a lazy blighter and could never be botheted to use a double boiler even if this is the best eay.
I use short blasts in the microwave then stir it all together.
Basically mix the beeswax with a natural oil or fat to get a usable consistancy.
I have found that olive oil works but ypu cannot leave it on conicals for too long.
Also the mix will depend pn the weather.
Its very hot here so i use 80% wax to 20% olive oil.
Try 50 to 50 and see. This is a good starting point then adjust to suit.
For blending i am a lazy blighter and could never be botheted to use a double boiler even if this is the best eay.
I use short blasts in the microwave then stir it all together.
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Thanks to all. This is what makes this forum great!
I just mixed 50/50 lamb tallow and beeswax tonight for bullet lube. I started melting down the tallow, then added a couple bars of wax. All seemed to work just fine.
So what is the purpose of doing a double boiler?
You don't want to overheat the wax or the oil. Using a double boiler helps you to maintain a guaranteed temperature that doesn't get above 212 degrees F.
What happens when it over heats? Burns? I’ll do the that next time, I’m just wondering if my mix is any good, or did the wax burn off. Nothing was burnt in the pot...maybe I kept it under that temp you said
I have used my Lee melter filled with water and a aluminum pan on top as a double boiler. The top screws spacing allows steam to escape. I keep it on the lowest setting. Use it to melt canning wax. Thanks for the advise in regards to the beeswax. I was unaware of what you could use to thin it down
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The oil and wax lubes can be altered by the proportion of wax to oil. A lube of half oil and wax will be quite stiff for summer use. A lube of 1 part wax to 7 parts of oil will result in a soft lube that works fine when the weather is cold. It can be too soft for use in the heat of summer.
As you have seen there are a number of different things you can ad to the beeswax to make a decent lube and you probably have some of them around the kitchen. Costly ingredients don't necessarily make a better lube. I never felt anyone needed more than two ingredients but there are folks who mix up lube using 3 or even more ingredients. There are as many different recipes as there are shooters and there are those who swear their mix is the absolute best and that you shouldn't use anything but. Really it's what works for you and you feel comfortable with. If you are using it for a patch lube it should be soft enough that you can wipe a patch on it and pick up lube. It needs to be stiffer to use in the grease grooves of bullets so that it will stay in place but can still be the same components. Vary the proportion of whatever you ad to the beeswax to give you summer or winter lube. Mix a batch and write down how much, by weight or volume, of each you put in, let it cool and see if it has the desired consistency. If not remelt and ad one or the other to adjust. It's not rocket surgery.
I mix beeswax with either tallow or just Crisco to get a stiff waxy paste. Use a deep fry pan or dutch oven with water and a soup can or similar to hold the mixture. Pour the melt into muffin papers in a muffin tin to get pouch-sized cakes. Never measured the stuff but mix it roughly 50-50. If the first pouring doesn't suit me, it's easy to re-melt and add wax or tallow. One buddy of mine used to pour his into an old shoe polish tin and carried that in his pouch. Another poured the hot mix directly into the patch box on his rifle and just wiped his patches on that. Here in Texas that's a bad idea. I use a small japanned tin box with a screw lid in hot weather. For my hunting pouch, I grease strips of patch material then roll `em up and store 2 or 3 in a small horn box in the pouch, take a fresh one out and tie it to the pouch strap as needed and cut my patches on the muzzle. Like Hawkeye said, and it ain't brain science either.
First - don't mix all your beeswax up all at once. Start off with a "proof mix" (a small batch) and keep track of what you put in the blend. Go try it and if you don't think it performs then change the mix retry until you get it to perform the way you want. Make up a batch - label it - shoot it - when all is gone make more. This blend will change when the seasons change so be flexible on changing the proportions and even the components.
I used to use a double boiler over a hot plate to make a beeswax leather balm and it worked well, but took too much attention. I bought a 1 quart crock pot with removable inner pot for @$12 and now I put the wax and other ingredients in on low heat and let it gently melt while I am working in the shop. No worries about overheating or having water boil out. Whatever works best for you is what you should use. I pour the mixture into small screw cap tins and give a tin of the balm to the buyer of my leather project.
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You can always go to a hardware store and buy a bees wax toilet ring. That's if you really need wax quickly.
There hasn't been any beeswax in toilet rings for years though some still use them and don't seem to have any problems.
