Removing wax

[follow3]

Hello All,

I got some awesome burl caps this weekend and hope to cast some hybrid blanks with them. Problem is, they are coated in wax.

How can I remove the wax before casting them?
I already tried the oven, but that doesn't get it all off. They are caps with lots of points and such, so scraping or sanding is not an option.

Is there any type of chemical that will dissolve wax?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,
Steve

 

[helgi]

In the papermill we as painters removed wax etc with xylene thinner.
it leaves no residue and dries quickly, don't use this stuff inside as you will get a buzz from it and a good headache.
So outside and away from the house.
Helgi.

 

[karlkuehn]

Here's a couple of search results from two of our resident experts. I plan to try these methods when my shipment from Nolan gets here.

(I did a search with the 'Standard' search tool and used 'remove burl wax torch' and 'remove burl wax brush sawdust', because I remembered this question coming up before. Took a minute to find them, but here they are!

Nolan's (n4631x) way: http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=32381

Eugenio's (ElMostro) way: (quote)I do it several ways. If the burl is whole I hang it upside down and put a blow torch close enough to melt the wax but not too close as to not burn it. If its in pieces a carfully melt off the wax from the cap then run the piece through the jointer or sander to remove any wax that might have gotten on the blank. Following this I have an 8" wire-brush disk mounted on the drill press and run the burl through that while at the same time dropping fine sawdust on the wheel. The sawdust absorbs the wax as it is pulled off the burl. If I do not use the sawdust, the brush alone heats the wax and distributes it to another part of the burl. If this sounds messy it's because it is VERY messy and you also need 3.5 hands. Hope this helps. Eugene(/quote)