Homemade Beeswax Paste

[CommGuy107]

While I appreciate a good trip to a woodworking or hardware store, there are few things more gratifying than doing it yourself. That's why we like woodworking anyway, isn't it?

Using just two ingredients totaling less than a dollar, I made about 12 ounces of beeswax paste for a food safe finish on some bowls. Incidentally, 12 ounces is enough for enough bowls to outfit a small army.

i tried it out on a couple of bowls, including this segmented bowl. It looks great...now all I have to do is lick it to see if I get sick!

 

[Endless Pursuit]

Mind sharing the other ingredient and proportion?

 

[CommGuy107]

Mind sharing the other ingredient and proportion?

Not at all...

-- 1-1/2 cups of 100% (pharmacy-grade) Mineral Oil
-- 2-1/2 ounces (by weight) beeswax

There are plenty methods of liquifying it. I used a glass jar, heated it in a microwave on 50-70% power until the beeswax began to dissolve. I stirred it until it was completely dissolved, and set it aside to cool.

Makes a nice batch of smooth, creamy paste. I would suggest short, wide-mouthed jars, unlike the jar I used.

 

[Endless Pursuit]

Thanks Dan!

That's a lot safer than what I've used to dissolve wax.

 

[red]

Thanks for posting. I was looking for a mix that was as easy as this. Thanks.

Red

 

[CommGuy107]

Thanks for posting. I was looking for a mix that was as easy as this. Thanks.

Red

Me, too! Now While I have the beeswax out I think I'm going to try making my own beeswax sheets to keep the glue out of the tubes while making pens.

 

[Sam Knight]

Dan,
Where could I buy these ingredients? I bought the 3 ingredients to mix up the "Shine-juice", do you know if this is food safe as well? Thanks!

Not at all...

-- 1-1/2 cups of 100% (pharmacy-grade) Mineral Oil
-- 2-1/2 ounces (by weight) beeswax

There are plenty methods of liquifying it. I used a glass jar, heated it in a microwave on 50-70% power until the beeswax began to dissolve. I stirred it until it was completely dissolved, and set it aside to cool.

Makes a nice batch of smooth, creamy paste. I would suggest short, wide-mouthed jars, unlike the jar I used.

 

[CommGuy107]

Dan,
Where could I buy these ingredients? I bought the 3 ingredients to mix up the "Shine-juice", do you know if this is food safe as well? Thanks!

First - I'm not sure what "Shine Juice" is, Sam.

For the recipe above, you can get Mineral Oil at any local pharmacy. Try calling your County Extension Office about the Beeswax. Ask about local beekeepers. Most will sell it locally before going through the trouble to sell it online. You can also get the beeswax online, but I don't know about the grade or purity.

 

[Sam Knight]

Shine juice is a mixture of equal parts denatured alcohol, bullseye clear shellac, and blo.
Thanks for the reply with the beeswax paste. Going to try and locate the beeswax to make some asap.

First - I'm not sure what "Shine Juice" is, Sam.

For the recipe above, you can get Mineral Oil at any local pharmacy. Try calling your County Extension Office about the Beeswax. Ask about local beekeepers. Most will sell it locally before going through the trouble to sell it online. You can also get the beeswax online, but I don't know about the grade or purity.

 

[CommGuy107]

Shine juice is a mixture of equal parts denatured alcohol, bullseye clear shellac, and blo.
Thanks for the reply with the beeswax paste. Going to try and locate the beeswax to make some asap.

Interesting. How do you use the shine juice?

 

[Gofor]

I make my paste the same way (bees wax + pharmaceutical grade mineral oil), but my ratio was a little higher in wax, which is not as creamy as I would like, so will try your ratio, Dan, for the next batch. It works great on all the wife's cutting boards, and I also have used it on a 2' x 3 1/2' white oak top for a kitchen island I made her. Makes a good large area food prep surface. Yes, it is food safe. The bees wax retains much of the same anti-microbial properties as are in the honey, and the mineral oil is the same that is used as a laxative. I have used this on salad bowls and cutting boards, and have never had myself or anyone else complain of any of the laxative properties coming through the minute amount that may transfer to the food. I also use it on my hand planes/tools/table saw top.

For new biscuit trays or cutting boards, I soak them in just the mineral oil first to get it well into the wood, and then apply the bees wax paste as a final sealing coat.

I get my wax from a local bee-keeper about 1 mile up the road. He takes the wax after he spins the honey out of it and puts it in a small solar kiln he made (just a small cabinet with a slanted board, and a 45 degree window pane that lets the sun shine in. The raw wax melts and drips into a cake pan. He sells the "raw" wax for about $7 a pound. This still may have a dead bee, wings, etc in it, so I melt it in a double boiler I set on a hot plate, and then strain it through a piece of clean sweat pants material. (He was the one that suggested that as the best filter medium). I then pour it into one-cup sized microwave safe plastic bowls to harden. I put these into a small ($10) crock pot that I bought at Wal-Mart that is half full with water, and let them set for about 15 minutes keeping them melted. This lets any further small particulates drop to the bottom. Each cup-sized chunk is about 8 to 9 oz. If you want smaller blocks, an ice-cube tray works quite well.

Many bee-keepers also have the wax already refined, but it costs more. Price goes by location I think.

If you are interested in processing your own, you will probably find the most information on candle-making sites than on wood-working ones.

Go

PS. Although some wood finishing sites offer food safe mineral oil, it is not as well tested as the laxative type in the pharmaceutical aisle at Wal-mart, CVS, etc, but it will set you back 5 times as many $$$.

 

[CommGuy107]

Thanks for filling in so many blanks, Mark. That's great (and affirming) information. I was afraid mine would be "too" creamy, but it's just about right.

 

[sawman101]

Thanks for the great tip Dan

 

[Sam Knight]

I haven't tried it out yet. From what I seen on youtube you just wipe it on with a dry rag or paper towel while on the lathe still at a low speed. Let it dry and do it again. Maybe several coats. Will let you know when I try it out.
Just found and watched this video on shine juice. Pretty interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taJbBmcaAZQ

Interesting. How do you use the shine juice?

 

[Jeff]

No hijacking of Dan's thread intended but there's a lot of interest in the topic so I'll add a few cents worth.

I refinished several sticky, over abused, and old salad bowls awhile back with a similar home made concoction. All of the ingredients are food safe.

1. Beeswax prills.

http://www.bulkapothecary.com/product/raw-ingredients/waxes-and-butters/beeswax-white-and-yellow/

2. Added about 20% by weight of carnauba wax (often used as a pill coating in pharmaceuticals). It's hard and durable.

http://www.amazon.com/Beall-Tools-Carnauba-Wax-5-1/dp/B0037MM4PC

3. Citrus solvent: Extracted from orange peels.

http://www.realmilkpaint.com/products/oils/citrus-solvent/

 

[CommGuy107]

No hijacking of Dan's thread intended but there's a lot of interest in the topic so I'll add a few cents worth.

I refinished several sticky, over abused, and old salad bowls awhile back with a similar home made concoction. All of the ingredients are food safe.

1. Beeswax prills.

http://www.bulkapothecary.com/product/raw-ingredients/waxes-and-butters/beeswax-white-and-yellow/

2. Added about 20% by weight of carnauba wax (often used as a pill coating in pharmaceuticals). It's hard and durable.

http://www.amazon.com/Beall-Tools-Carnauba-Wax-5-1/dp/B0037MM4PC

3. Citrus solvent: Extracted from orange peels.

http://www.realmilkpaint.com/products/oils/citrus-solvent/

Thanks for more useful resources, Jeff.

 

[CrealBilly]

Thanks for more useful resources, Jeff.

Jeff is a internet topic search subject matter expert (ITS SME). He's much better than google and a lot like IBM Watson and Google combined, but better. Because he filters out all the bull #### before he gives you something to read.

If I were google I would hire Jeff and hook a bunch of electrodes up to his noggin. Then sit him in front of a computer and ask him a bunch of questions so i could record how he researches the answers.

BTW Jeff my wife makes orange peel cleaner by combining orange peels and vinegar. Its some of the best cleaner there is smells good and cleans like the dickens.

Support your local musicians

 

[Jeff]

I'm a curious chemist, not a woodturner so I started nosing around about the mysterious "Shine Juice" and watched the video as well. Here's my take as a chemist.

1. It's basically a heat friction polish with the BLO being a lubricant for the shellac/DNA. It's very similar to a French polish finish but used on the lathe which generates the heat.

2. The Zinnser shellac from the local BORG (and in the video) contains the natural wax from the lac bug-not a good thing to have in a durable finish! I'd substitute Zinnser Seal Coat (100% dewaxed shellac, it's a 2 # cut in the can).

3. BLO and DNA/shellac are not miscible in one another. Like oil and water.

A similar product is Shellawax for woodturning. What's this stuff?

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=54188&cat=1,190,42942,54188

1. 100% dewaxed shellac, beeswax, and carnauba wax along with DNA and gum spirits turpentine.

 

[CommGuy107]

I'm a curious chemist, not a woodturner so I started nosing around about the mysterious "Shine Juice" and watched the video as well. Here's my take as a chemist.

1. It's basically a heat friction polish with the BLO being a lubricant for the shellac/DNA. It's very similar to a French polish finish but used on the lathe which generates the heat.

2. The Zinnser shellac from the local BORG (and in the video) contains the natural wax from the lac bug-not a good thing to have in a durable finish! I'd substitute Zinnser Seal Coat (100% dewaxed shellac, it's a 2 # cut in the can).

3. BLO and DNA/shellac are not miscible in one another. Like oil and water.

A similar product is Shellawax for woodturning. What's this stuff?

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=54188&cat=1,190,42942,54188

1. 100% dewaxed shellac, beeswax, and carnauba wax along with DNA and gum spirits turpentine.

Sounds like you should request a "People interested in Chemistry" forum.

 

[Jeff]

Sounds like you should request a "People interested in Chemistry" forum.

Not really. I hope you're not bored with such detail but if you want to use any of the marketed products or home-made concoctions then it's important to understand how they work, what's in them, and why.

My new smoke in mirrors, flavor of the day mix for finishing: Any and all proportions; water, beeswax, turpentine, BLO, DNA, and MS. Call now! Operators are standing by to take your order. Buy one and get a second absolutely FREE!