Worthless wood and wax?!

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dl351

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Feb 18, 2010
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Livermore, CA
Hello all. I have a piece of Red Mallee burl that I had plans to do some worthless wood casting with. However, it seems to be covered with wax. Is there a way to remove this wax (particularly from the "spiny" part of the burl) so that it doesn't adversely effect the bond of the resin? Thanks for any help.
 
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I remove the wax by either using a heat gun or boiling in water. For worthless wood boiling my be best since heat gun I suspect leave a small amount of residue that is not an issue with bowl, etc. Not sure, but if casting soon after boiling perhaps some time in the microwave will help with any moisture left behind. AN oven, as Snyiper mentioned, can also work, but i have found it often discolors the burl.
 
Boiling really is the best way to get the wax off. You only have to submerge the pieces of wood for a few seconds while the water is boiling. I've found that it's best to use a bigger pot because the wax tends to float on the surface of the water and can transfer back onto the piece when you lift it out. The larger surface area afforded by a bigger pot helps spread it out enough to keep that from happening too much.
 
O.k. Jason, you stumped me on ornithoid?????




babyblues said:
Boiling really is the best way to get the wax off. You only have to submerge the pieces of wood for a few seconds while the water is boiling. I've found that it's best to use a bigger pot because the wax tends to float on the surface of the water and can transfer back onto the piece when you lift it out. The larger surface area afforded by a bigger pot helps spread it out enough to keep that from happening too much.
Click to expand...
 
I do believe that any heat applied, i.e. oven, torch, etc., would cause some of the wax to penetrate the pores of the wood and thus make the wax almost impossible to remove.

I have found, as has been suggested, that boiling for just a few seconds removes ALL the wax. Of course one does have to be careful when removing the wood and avoid re-contaminating the wood.

When I do boil to remove wax, dirt, grease, etc., I just skim off what I can, and if there is anything left floating, I just put a cloth on top of the 'puddle', move it to the side, and then pluck out the wood. No problem in avoiding any residue.
 
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Thanks for all of the ideas! I never would have thought of boiling. I'll give the ideas some thought and go from there. Thanks again!
 
Fred said:
I do believe that any heat applied, i.e. oven, torch, etc., would cause some of the wax to penetrate the pores of the wood and thus make the wax almost impossible to remove.

I have found, as has been suggested, that boiling for just a few seconds removes ALL the wax. Of course one does have to be careful when removing the wood and avoid re-contaminating the wood.

When I do boil to remove wax, dirt, grease, etc., I just skim off what I can, and if there is anything left floating, I just put a cloth on top of the 'puddle', move it to the side, and then pluck out the wood. No problem in avoiding any residue.
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting method to boil it! How do you dry the timber after? As if you've just spent a year air-drying a piece, then you drench it, you don't wanna have to leave foe months again!!

Phil
 
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