Bees Wax

[Mickalo 0]

I just ordered some bees wax, about an ounce of it, wondering what is the best way to store it when not in use? Is it best to refrigerate it or not ?

 

Thx's

 

Mike

[perchjerker 0]

Just put it in a drawer, or something similar, at your tying station. As it does not melt in the hives, it will not melt at room temperature. I have a cake in a drawer at my tying bench that I have had for quite some time and it is still hard as a rock.

 

Incidentally, here is 'Frugal Frank's Tip for the Day': beeswax is typically readily available in sewing/fabric shops. Seamstresses use it to wax some of their threads.

 

perchjerker

[Mickalo 0]

Just put it in a drawer, or something similar, at your tying station. As it does not melt in the hives, it will not melt at room temperature. I have a cake in a drawer at my tying bench that I have had for quite some time and it is still hard as a rock.

 

Incidentally, here is 'Frugal Frank's Tip for the Day': beeswax is typically readily available in sewing/fabric shops. Seamstresses use it to wax some of their threads.

 

perchjerker

 

Thanks perchjerker.

Actually that's where I found the beeswax, an Ebay store that sells all kinds of sewing materials & beeswax. I also picked up a neat tip to apply it when needed. Save your chapstick tubes, then melt a little beeswax and pour into the chapstick tube and apply as needed. Thought that was a pretty kwel idea.

 

Mike

[salmobytes 0]

I just ordered some bees wax, about an ounce of it, wondering what is the best way to store it when not in use? Is it best to refrigerate it or not ?

 

Thx's

 

Mike

 

If you cook it up with olive oil and bow rosin you get Wonderwax. Or something like it. Does anybody remember the recipe? Proportions?

[morfrost 0]

In the good old days, fly tyers made their own wax, based on bees wax, resin and other stuff. Resin was probably sap from coniferous trees, and this was melted together with the bees wax, maybe some tallow (beef fat) and other ingredients that don't come immediately to mind. I've tried doing something like this with Bees wax, some liquid Veniard's dubbing wax and a few drops of terpentine. I was trying for a wax that is just a little softer than bees wax. It was OK. This was several years ago. I now use prepared dubbing wax in the twist tube package.

 

There are recipes for this floating around in space. I'm sure a Google will unearth some for you if you feel adventurous.

 

Her's one from Global Fly Fishers

http://globalflyfisher.com/tiebetter/dubbingwax/

[perchjerker 0]

For the stickiest tying wax you could imagine, simply re-hydrate powdered resin (yes, it is dried pine sap!) with turpentine, THE solvent that evaporated out to turn it to resin). The recipe is to be found in Helen Shaw's book: Fly Tying. Some of the old recipes even had castor oil in them! For a hilarious read, at least it was for me, you need to read the story about the home-made batch of tying wax that the Darbees and the Dettes made up one night, shortly after both couples had gotten married, and they all lived in a rooming house operated by a very sweet little old lady. It is to be found in Harry's biography: Catskill Flytier by Austin Frances. Something about taffy and false teeth!

 

With respect to Helen Shaw's recipe, just knock the bark off a conifer tree, and collect the sap; let it dry to the desired consistency!

 

perchjerker

[JSzymczyk 0]

beeswax is awesome stuff, truly a multi-use gift from nature. For best results while tying, keep it soft and flexible with body heat. I won't make any recommendations about the best locations for that--- you'll need to figure that out for yourself.

[Mickalo 0]

I've seen some tyers put a small dab on their finger to apply to the thread as they tie, like McPhail. I'm sure there maybe other places to put it on the body but be a bit hard to get at while your tying !!

 

Mike

[letumgo 0]

I think you guys are getting off track...

 

Mike - Bees wax makes a nice dubbing wax. I've also made some cobblers wax using the recipe posted in the link above. Great stuff. I saw Davie's trick and started keeping a small piece of cobblers wax on my index finger. It keeps the wax soft and workable. The only down side I found was, that I keep jabbing the hook point into the side of my finger when I was tying on small hooks. Once you stab your self in the finger a few times you'll remember to be careful...

[Mickalo 0]

Actually Ray I ordered the wax not so much for dubbing but to apply to thread as I've been told this is great for silk and small threads, i.e. 8/0 or 70 denier threads. Just ordered half dozen spools of this YLI Silk threads. There a 200meter spool, 100wt, and on standard spool sizes. So they'll work with your standard ceramic bobbins too. There's about 70 different colors to choose from, really great colors too. Looking forward to trying them out on a few of your patterns .... you got me hook now.

 

Mike