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Looking for ideas on how to save carnauba wax.....

Odie

Odie

Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
TOTW Team
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
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I have a pile of chips and small chunks of carnauba wax that I'd like to melt back into a usable bar. I searched online, and found this graphite crucible made for metals.

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Not sure if that would be appropriate for the job.

Also found a small mini cast iron skillet.....but a bar shape would work best for reusing carnauba, I think....

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I figured I'd just use a propane torch and melt the wax in the mold.




Unless anyone has any better ideas....... :)

-----odie-----
 
Chris Lawrence said:
I use an old electric crock pot to melt wax to make my wax and oil mix. Much safer then direct heat wax has a flash point.
Click to expand...
So.....would you use some kind of mold inside the crock pot?

-o-
 
Nope melt in the crock pot then transfer to the molds. I use a plastic ladle to transfer my finishing wax to tins. The molds are very flexible the 2 inch round ones i use for extra resin when i cast stuff can be easily turned inside out to demold and there good for baking upto 500 degrees.
 
Chris Lawrence said:
Nope melt in the crock pot then transfer to the molds. I use a plastic ladle to transfer my finishing wax to tins. The molds are very flexible the 2 inch round ones i use for extra resin when i cast stuff can be easily turned inside out to demold and there good for baking upto 500 degrees.
Click to expand...

OK, thanks for the info, Chris.......I think I will be working with far smaller quantities of wax than you do, so the crock pot transferred to the mold might not work for my purposes as well as it does for you. I probably will only melt a single bar at a time......with the propane torch.

That is, unless anyone else has a better idea that fits my circumstances......

-o-
 
I use lot of raw beeswax from local beekeeper friend. Best way to melt down wax for pouring = get yourself a small double boiler - boil water in the outer pan, wax melts in inner pan, with no direct heat to burn it. Then just pour into your mold - I made do with an old 5 inch saucepan I picked up at goodwill and then a regular pot (8 inch) or skillet filled with water brought to a boil. works very nicely.
 
Odie, one of those church ladies that you bless with your seconds, could have a candy mold that you could borrow. You could melt the wax in anything that would be easy to pour from. You could melt the wax on your kitchen stove or a hot plate. Just go easy and don't over heat it. You would need to heat it well over 200 before you would start to change (oxidize) the wax. Clean up would be easy in your dishwasher.
 
Odie, you can get a single, silicone pen blank mold if you won't have the volume to fill a multiple mold like Doug showed. Simple double boiler is a soup can set in a shallow pan of water. Throw the can away when done.
 
odie said:
I have a pile of chips and small chunks of carnauba wax

I figured I'd just use a propane torch and melt the wax in the
Click to expand...

A double boiler works well. The wax can burn from direct heat.

I formed a bowl with a couple layers of heavy aluminum foil. Suspended it in a pot with wires.
Put the flakes in boiled the water to a gentle bubble. The wax melts
When it cool I had wax block in my foil.

You can make the foil rectangular for a squared off block

Need an inch or so foil out of the water.
 
odie said:
Anyone tried a microwave for melting wax?

-o-
Click to expand...
takes longer than double boiler, mainly because you can't do it "all at once" (you CAN overcook the wax) so have to zap it for 30 seconds to a minute at a time and let it melt a few seconds before zapping it again - double boiler, you just set your water, dump in wax, turn on heat and pretty much can walk away and do other stuff , and given the same volume and chunk size of wax, I'd say double boiler will be quite a bit faster once you get water hot enough - wax would melt faster if you don't count time to bring water to a boil in a double boiler Vs. microwave. My S.O. makes soap and wax melts for farmer's market, she has tried many ways of melting the wax / soap base and nothing beats the double boiler, she says. ALTHOUGH, once melted , she DOES use the microwave in between pours to *maintain* the liquid state of her melts so she can keep any particle mixes in suspension. Just my experience (and hers).
 
An important consideration with wax is the melting point and the flash point Canauba wax may melt at of 80 degrees centigrade but has a flash point of 280 degrees centigrade

Wax can hold a lot of heat and is likely to stick to your skin if spilt and cause severe burns
This is the reason it is important to use a waterbath ,so take it slowly and stir continually to ensure even heat distribution
You only need to melt the wax
So I would suggest even with an 80 degree centigrade melting point to take care wear gloves, use a water bath ,heat the wax slowly and contantly stir
Also make sure you are close to a souce of cold water incase you have an accident and if you do keep the burn area under cold runnig water for a number of minutes
Using a microwave would not be safe

Please note I am a retired pharmacist and this is the method we were taught to melt wax
 
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odie said:
Anyone tried a microwave for melting wax?

-o-
Click to expand...
Microwave ovens heat by vibrating the water molecules, which increases their motion. This motion creates heat, increasing the heat of the materials adjacent to the water molecules.

Materials with little water (like wax) don’t heat well in microwave ovens. This is why I cover the items I am reheating with a moist paper towel.

I too recommend using a double boiler.
 
I picked a set of 3 mini crock pots with no knobs or switches. Maybe they are for cheese dip or something. They hold about half a quart. Set of 3 was $15, gave one to my wife for warming her resin, one me to warm bottles or cups of resin or glue and the third I use to melt wax in. Plug it in with the plastic lid on, check back in a bit and whatever wax I put in it is liquid.

Tried my best to find a link and can’t. Thinking I may have picked them up at Menards, SAMs club or the like. Maybe even a dollar store.
 
Lots of silicone molds at the baking supply places to make you wax into interesting shapes (or boring bars). Or you can just form a boat out of heavy duty aluminum foil, or pour it into a plastic bottle from the recycling that you cut off after the wax hardens. I put it in a tin can (remember those?) on a thermostated electric hot plate from the lab, which I find easier and less messy than rigging a double boiler.
 
I would have used a pyrex bowl in the microwave, but Rich's comment made me think it might not work. Kiwi neutral shoe polish is carnuba wax with turpentine as a solvent. Not sure if that would work for what you do or not.

robo hippy
 
Another option might be a single inductive burner. It just heats the pan and nothing else around it. I've melted wax in our kitchen a few times. I use our stainless saucepan and keep the lid handy.

It trips out guests when I make rice or oatmeal, or anything that might boil over and make a mess. I cover the burner with a paper towel and set the pan on top of it. I absolutely love our inductive cooktop.
 
According to this from Wikipedia, Carnauba wax has a relatively low melting point:

  • INCI name: Copernicia cerifera (carnauba) wax
  • Melting point: 82–86 °C (180–187 °F)
I visited a second hand store yesterday, and purchased a heavy square glass container.

Soon, I will give this a try in my oven.

-o-
 
odie said:
According to this from Wikipedia, Carnauba wax has a relatively low melting point:

  • INCI name: Copernicia cerifera (carnauba) wax
  • Melting point: 82–86 °C (180–187 °F)
I visited a second hand store yesterday, and purchased a heavy square glass container.

Soon, I will give this a try in my oven.

-o-
Click to expand...
Before putting it in an oven, I'd also recommend researching FLASH POINT on your carnauba wax as well. Typically above melt point, sometimes by only a very little, sometimes by a lot, depending on what is involved. You'd want to be able to be sure oven temp never came close to that flash point (nor exposed flame if a gas oven). Same reason that making your own boiled linseed oil is so dangerous - you have to heat it to quite close to flash point but not over - any little mistake or uneven heating , etc and you could have a massive oil fire on your hands. I'd still recommend the double boiler. :)
 
Odie, don't over think this. You are not dealing with dinamite. Although we use an open flame to light a candle, don't use your propane torch to melt your wax. Use a hot plate or your electric stove. Set the control at low, and don't run off to take a nap. Those church ladies are at far greater risk of getting burned making Christmas candy than you melting some wax. Just watch the wax melt in something with a handle; this won't take long. When it is liquid, pour it into a candy mold. Of course, this assumes that you are capable of making a bowl of soup for yourself.
 
Please accept my appologies for the following obsevations no offence is intended

Melting the Carnauba wax is a one off task which you are unlikely to repeat Surely it makes sense to use the safest method which is a waterbath
Most woodturners including myself are older people and to encourage people to use a less safe method is to say the least unwise
When advising people to do any task particularly a one off task involving risk it makes sense to use the safest method and you must always consider the least competent person performing the task
So imagine the least competent woodturner heating the wax in an oven or microwave The person will need to carry the heated liquid from the oven or microwave to the mould and there is a risk of spilling the wax during this step Then is the additional risk of over heating the wax and creating a liqiud wax which holds a lot of heat
The person could then slip on the wax and fall or spill the wax and burn themselves
Why would you put youself at risk
When I worked as a pharmacist I was charged with the legal responsibilty of ensuring the products I sold was used safely
If you told me you were going to use an oven or microwave I would have been unable to sell you the wax

As an example we had a elderly lady who wanted to purchase 2 litres of Isopropyl alcohol When I asked what she wanted it for she initially refused to answer. I then explained I needed to know to ensure she used the product safely The lady said she was going to put the Isoproplyl alcohol in a sauspan ,place Rose leaves in and boil the contents to extract Rose oil I refused the sale because effectively when the alcohol evaporated she would have created a fire bomb and an explosion
 
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I bought a potpourri/fondu crock pot to melt wax. It's about 2 cups or so. Works great. got it at Goodwill for $3. Bought a pack of little aluminum cups (~2 1/2" dia) off amazon. Use them for many things, including wax. Yields a nice palm sized puck.
 
Brian Deakin said:
A question to Oldie
Which method did you use
Click to expand...

I'm still saving up my Carnauba wax bits and pieces. Haven't decided yet, and it could be some time before I get around to it. I visit second hand stores and garage sales quite often, and am on the lookout for a used crock pot.

-o-
 
My better half acquired a double boiler from the thrift store and I have broken down both beeswax and paraffin into silicone molds just perfect for lathe application. Total investment is something like a dollar so far.
I ordered carnauba for a discount, which arrived in crumbles. I plan on melting it down and creating a few blends in addition to restoring the bar shape the order was supposed to be delivered. Sometimes I think carnauba is too high a melting point for all turning so I figured cutting it with beeswax, perhaps at 25% beeswax initially.
 
I wish the Doctor's Woodshop would make a carnuba paste wax. His 'microaggregated' carnuba wax doesn't need heat or solvent to spread. Might have to bug him about that. I would like some thing like for the bottoms of my hand planes too....

robo hippy
 
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