Source for Beeswax?

[leeshall]

What is a good source for Beeswax for fluxing lead alloy? It certainly doesn't have to be filtered super clean for food grade or candles, after all it's just going to be burnt up. Would like to not pay a fortune for it as well. Any bee keepers out there? I've got several thousand pounds of sorted wheelweights to smelt and pour into ingots. When finished, I'll likely offer it for sale on this web site.
Thanks!!!

[Hossfly]

I found a bee keeper and what you want to get is the capping wax. Most will have it but just ask if you find one. What I use for fluxing is pine shavings and old candle wax, much cheaper than bee wax.

[Static line]

"Track of the wolf "used to sell beeswax.

[Mitch]

contact your local ag agent or law enforcement they will have a list of beekeers in you area
or do a google search for local beekeepers.i get 5 bucks a lb shiped

[Static line]

Try this for bees wax:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/547184/robert-larson-bees-wax-1-oz

[mehavey]

Hobby Lobby by the pound ($15)
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Candle-Soap-Making/Candle-Making/White-1-Pound-Beeswax-Block/p/24977
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Candle-Soap-Making/Candle-Making/Yellow-1-Pound-Beeswax-Block/p/24978

Michael's ($20/lb)
https://www.michaels.com/artminds-candle-making-natural-beeswax/10173317.html

AC Moore says $10 (!?)/lb

[Green Frog]

If you’re just talking about fluxing... I would suggest you do as I’d do and just dip in the stub of some random candle you wife or girlfriend is ready to throw away. I hold it by the wick and just dip it for a few seconds. You’ll be amazed at how many pots of lead you can treat with just one little candle stub!

Now if you are making lube, that’s another story and you’ll want the best ingredients available, including the beeswax. I do as some here have suggested and get mine from a cooperative beekeeper. My favorite lube recipes both happen to be about 50% beeswax, so I keep a good supply.

Froggie

[Kraschenbirn]

We've a forum member (RandyRat) who used to sell raw beeswax at quite reasonable prices (last time I bought from him, I got 3# for $16 + shipping). He's not listed as a Vendor, but he still posts from time to time. You might drop him a PM and see if he can help you out.

Bill

[Echo]

If you are just going to use it for fluxing, Don't! Sawdust and paraffin work just fine - the sawdust is generally free - just go down to the Loew's or Ace Hdw carrying a peanut butter jar. And the paraffin is in the canning section at the grocery store.

[webfoot10]

All I use for fluxing is candle wax. Most dollar stores sell candles cheap. Or if you
go to church and they use candles during the service, they would probley give you
the old used candles. I find mine mostly at yard sales.
webfoot10

[trapper9260]

I use the bees wax for make boolit lube, I use ground corn cobs for flux. I also use the corn cobs to tumble my brass also.for the last tumble the first one I use ground walnut shells.I get my bees wax from the bee farmer that have some hives on my place and also salvage the wax that he scraps off the cover of the hive and render it myself.

[Mal Paso]

Randy Rat was great! Lost that stash, sadly. Amazon was the best deal I found at about $10/lb.

[lightman]

I flux my scrap lead smelts with pine sawdust a few times followed by wax. I think beeswax works a little better but candles are much cheaper.

[WheelgunConvert]

Churches, daycares, schools and restaurants have more broken crayons than all of us could use in a lifetime.

My Spouse is a teacher, and she supports the shooting arts.

[WheelgunConvert]

sorry double post.

B

[Conditor22]

I get mine from a local beekeeper @ $8 per pound last I bought it (it's been a few years)

[RED BEAR]

If your looking for flux try sawdust. Every now and then i buy a framing 2x4 and cut it up blade width at a time you would be amazed how much saw dust you get from a $2 2x4. Remember wax is for recombining alloy saw dust and the like is for fluxing. I just did a quick search for beez wax i think i ended up with food grade for $8 a pound but that was a few years ago.

[Moonie]

I use sawdust and stir with wooden paint stir sticks, works very well. I used to use beeswax and parafin.

[Blammer]

I'd talk to a beekeeper, they have some "slag" beeswax that is very unclean bees wax they can't do anything with. It works very well for flux. Most will give you enough to last a lifetime.

I keep bees and used to have a bunch of it. When I get more (mostly from the crush and strain method of gathering honey) I'll post some up for the cost of shipping.

[Tom W.]

I have some wild beeswax that my sons brought home once. At the time I wasn't too informed on how to clean it, so I put it through a strainer to get the insects out and made cylinders that I thought I could use for bullet lube. I think I have two or three left that I use for fluxing now. I just slice a small chunk off and throw it into the pot along with a kitchen match and stir thoroughly.

[Dusty Bannister]

Let's just give some thought to the use of capping wax before this thread gets too far along. Remember that any moisture you press under the surface of melted alloy will turn to steam very quickly. So use some care when adding this trashy wax with bee parts and whatever else the girls might have drug into the hive. If it is hissing and popping, you do not want to stir things up but step back and look away, quickly! I have had one experience with "caps" and there was a lot of living stuff still in the mix since it was fresh. At that point I was not using it for flux, but trying to refine it to use the beeswax for mixing as a bullet lube. It was a "learning experience", but worth the time and effort. Just stressing that you do need to use some caution when using caps as a flux in melted alloy. Dusty

[GregLaROCHE]

Beeswax is getting harder to find and more expensive. When I melt lead scrap to make ingots, I don’t add beeswax. Normally sawdust or anything that turns to carbon will work. Once when my sawdust got wet, I used Quaker Oats. I save beeswax for the casting pot or boolit lubes.

[brewer12345]

Bulk apothecary is about as cheap as I have seen: https://www.bulkapothecary.com/product/raw-ingredients/waxes-and-butters/beeswax-white-and-yellow/?msclkid=341fdcbef6901840b2a680e88e396a0f&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Raw%20Ingredients%20-%20Waxes%20-%20Beeswax&utm_term=%2Bbeeswax%20%2Bin%20%2Bbulk&utm_content=Bulk%20Beeswax%20-%20Broad

Find a local beekeeper. I am a hobbyist beekeeper and I can tell you that I don't usually get more than 3 or 4 pounds a year.

[sagebrush rebel]

Isn't the wax sealing ring you buy for setting toilets made of bees wax? Pretty cheap at Home Depot

[mehavey]

"Modern wax rings are made of vegetable and petroleum waxes, with polyurethane additives."
http://www.woodcentral.com/woodworking/forum/archives_turning.pl/bid/2107/md/read/id/168172/sbj/beeswax-toilet-ring/
:coffee:



BREAK BREAK
is RandyRat (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?2594-randyrat) still available as a source of beeswax ?

[Rcmaveric]

I googled a local bee keeper. Apiary is what what a bee keeper is called. Gave them a call and un refined is 5 bucks a pound.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[jonp]

RandyRat was where I got mine. I saved a few pounds out and gave the rest to the Mrs. for candles and homemade wood polish. Randy had great prices and was a good guy to deal with

[Beagle333]

I googled a local bee keeper. Apiary is what what a bee keeper is called. Gave them a call and un refined is 5 bucks a pound.


It depends on the area. Some folks will give it to you and some folks think a box of fresh cut cappings is worth $10/lb.

[jsizemore]

A handful of old candles can be had at the flea market or thrift store for a couple bucks. I use the real beeswax candles for getting rid of stink from rotting wood or critters. They're antiviral and antibacterial which makes the stink.

[GregLaROCHE]

RandyRat was where I got mine. I saved a few pounds out and gave the rest to the Mrs. for candles and homemade wood polish. Randy had great prices and was a good guy to deal with

If your Mrs. is making candles, she can add rendered fat. Lamb fat was considered the best, but all other fats were used in the past. Beeswax was added to harden the fat so it would stand up straight at normal temperatures. With the price of beeswax going up, it can help make candle making less expensive, just as it did centuries ago.

[ScotMc]

A good source of Beeswax for me has been local farmers Markets
My preference for fluxing has been dry sawdust.