Found a BIG hunk of bees' wax while cleaning the shop today and was thinking of making a bunch of string makers wax. I do sometimes use straight bees' wax but have also used some mixes that included stickiness additives or softeners.
Any not so secret formulas out there?
Shaun, here are three links that give different recipes, though most of them mix the bee's wax with a toilet ring wax.
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=076127
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=070628
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=056665
Shaun, As walt stated I made about 75 little tubs of it last year and use a toilet bowl ring to about a pound of bees wax if you like it soft...I also went to McDonalds and a lady dropped about 100 or so of those kethup containers and lids and was cleaning them up to throw away so I said "I'll clean them up for you"...She let me have them...If you melt them in an old pot I used an old turkey baster and believe it or not a straw to suck it up and put it in the containers...You get a feel for the straw teckneque when it touch's the tongue...Hey it worked for me and the numbness did go away...Better use the Baster if you like talking... :scared:
Bees wax with a little pine tar or rosin. Have used the rosin powder from pitchers bag. Oh yes, dedicated old pot. I have heard of folks adding a little turpentine, to soften.
Thanks guys. Looks like bowl wax and maybe some rosin for stickiness. Walt, I should have known that with 20+k members there would have been a search data base on this. Thanks for finding it for me. That last one is quite funny.
Doug Hill helped me make some with bee's wax and lanolin(spelling) 3 to 1 mix. It worked great.
Bee's wax and a toilet bowl ring make a nice, soft, tacky string-maker's wax. I used a disposable roasting pan to melt it in. Don't use a pot that you plan to re-use for anything else. Outdoors is best, if you have a camp stove. It can be real messy, and clean-up is a pain. If you work inside, newspaper drop-cloths help.
Chad
i've used toilet wax and pine tar, both work well. toilet wax is cheaper.