Shuck wax and pre-dubbed bodies

[tie2fish]

Bumping an old post, which discusses Shuck wax.

Here's something I dug out of my old posts ...

by tie2fish » June 3rd, 2011, 6:55 am

Ray ~ I first heard about the 7-2-2 ratio recipe from John Shaner, and he emphasized that this is based on weight, not volume. What I found out as I kept changing it to get the result I wanted is that there's probably not a single ratio combination that will work for everybody because of differences in the ingredients. There are many grades of rosin, for example, and I used natural beeswax that I got from a keeper rather than the refined stuff that's sold in stores. In addition, I used a specific brand/grade of olive oil as a softener, whereas I'm pretty sure the 7-2-2 formula is based on a lighter oil, such as castor. The one thing I would recommend for folks wanting to try making their own is to use a minimal amount of oil initially; it's much easier to add a little more oil if the cooled product is too hard than it is to crush more rosin or shave more beeswax if it's too soft.

[Bazzer69]

Bill, is there any chance of re-uploading the photos from you orginal post?
Barry

[tie2fish]

Possibly Barry, but the missing photo was of a fly -- not anything related to the wax. I have never posted any photos of my adventures in Wax World.

[Bazzer69]

Possibly Barry, but the missing photo was of a fly -- not anything related to the wax. I have never posted any photos of my adventures in Wax World.

My mistake, the post in this thread I was referring to was William Anderson’s
Barry

[wsbailey]

Wax has a shelf life. The oil in wax polymerizes. An example is linseed oil on wood. I try to reduce oxidation in wax by either minimizing the amount of oil or with antioxidants. Leisenring’s wax formula by percentage is approximately:

85% rosin
10% beeswax
5% lard

In Nolte’s 721 wax formula the percentages are:

70% beeswax
20% rosin
10% oil

With such a large percentage of beeswax this kind of wax should be very stable. I've always had trouble keeping the Leisenring type wax from going hard. That's why I don't use his exact formula.

[tie2fish]

For what it's worth, and I am certainly no expert on waxes and/or oils, I believe that the type of oil used can have a significant effect on the shelf life of a wax compound. For example, I used table grade olive oil when I made my only decent batch. I think (no proof) that this particular vegetable oil probably polymerizes at a slower rate than would an animal-based oil (lard), thereby creating a more stable result.

Despite sitting uncovered on top of a head cement bottle on my tying table in a forced air electrically heated house, one of my original cakes of the wax I made in 2011 still softens beautifully with 2 or 3 passes of thread pulled across it.

[wsbailey]

My point is simply that if an old piece of wax has hardened I don’t how it could be reversed. Since most of the 721 formula is beeswax it should last a long time.

[tie2fish]

Your point is well taken, sir, but your post does not come right out and say that. One would have to infer your conclusion about wax hardening being irreversible.

As to the original question, I once heard something about hardened wax, a plastic baggie with a little water in it, and a microwave oven, but don't remember enough of the details to recommend trying it. Perhaps someone else is familiar with such a remedy?

[wsbailey]

I'm sorry I said anything about it at all. Everyone's experience is different. Since I deal with mass quantities I don't get overly upset about replacing a piece of wax. I've tossed pounds of fails.

[zen leecher]

If my 722 can't be brought back to life I guess I need some more. Great Feathers does not have any for sale. They seem to have less and less products for sale based on the size of their website about 5 years ago.