high standard 40
03-24-2009, 05:02 PM
I'd like to get some advice on purifying beeswax.
I've decided to have a go at lube making and the first step was to get some beeswax. I know a local beekeeper and paid him a visit. He gave me a chunk if very old wax he had laying around. Quite ugly, full of worm holes, trash, and bug parts. After reading here and elsewhere about purifying methods, this is how I proceeded.
I started boiling some water in an old pot and added the wax. After it melted, I ladled the liquid wax out and filtered it through an old t-shirt into another container. When I approached the water level in the boiling pot I removed it from heat and let it harden. I removed the floating cake and scraped most of the trash from the bottom & cleaned the pot. I then remelted the remaining cake and filtered it through a fresh cloth. The results appear to be pure with no sign of trash. I had weighed the block before and after and have very little loss. Most loss appears to be soaked into the t-shirt filter, but is very little.
Any suggestions or advice. Am I doing anything wrong?
I've decided to have a go at lube making and the first step was to get some beeswax. I know a local beekeeper and paid him a visit. He gave me a chunk if very old wax he had laying around. Quite ugly, full of worm holes, trash, and bug parts. After reading here and elsewhere about purifying methods, this is how I proceeded.
I started boiling some water in an old pot and added the wax. After it melted, I ladled the liquid wax out and filtered it through an old t-shirt into another container. When I approached the water level in the boiling pot I removed it from heat and let it harden. I removed the floating cake and scraped most of the trash from the bottom & cleaned the pot. I then remelted the remaining cake and filtered it through a fresh cloth. The results appear to be pure with no sign of trash. I had weighed the block before and after and have very little loss. Most loss appears to be soaked into the t-shirt filter, but is very little.
Any suggestions or advice. Am I doing anything wrong?