Chris, thanks for this video. I've been looking for this traditional finish for my lime wood carvings. Just curious; could this be what Grinling Gibbons used to finish his intricate carvings?
Great video ,thank you, is there a way i could do a wax with a good essential oil in it for a good smel ? Can i use your wax over painted furniture to?
The bottle, which I get from a DIY store but is from a well-respected supplier of finishing materials, just says 'pure turpentine'. As far as I know turpentine comes from distillation of tree resin, mostly pine. If by 'mineral turpentine' you means what we call 'white' or 'mineral spirits', this is a petroleum-based liquid used as a thinner. You could indeed substitute mineral spirits for turpentine but I ever do. My feeling - based on experience from long ago, is that it reacts with the wood, changes it's colour, possibly its nature.
Hello. Can I ask you a question. . I applicated beeswax but it been demage by heat tea glasses. It been whitening sign roughly on the surface. What can I do for avoid for this?
Yakup - Yes, heat - and also water - will damage a waxed surface; white rings are typical. Sorry to hear that! I only use it for my carvings, not for table tops etc where someone might put a wet vase of flowers of cup of hot tea. I would strip the wax off your surface and finish with something more resilient, polyurethane varnish for example. On the other hand, if you want to keep the wax and are prepared to fend off hot glasses, you could try re-waxing with very fine (0000) wire wool while warming the surface with a hair dryer.
I'm confused. Some recipes for beeswax polish use turpentine while others simply use an oil like olive oil, for blending with the beeswax. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both methods?
Turpentine is actually solvent, after you apply it to the wood, it evaporates and leaves only wax. Oil mixes with the wax, its in my opinion cleaner and more gentle to the wood. You can also mix all three - basically the turpentine just makes everything thinner so it is soaked easier by the wood and theres less of the wax residue, the oil makes all softer.
Barry - It's a fair point/question and thanks for making it - but what I do is not the exact science you might expect and I've never had a precise recipe. If you grate the beeswax into any jar as I do; add the very small amount of Carnauba (which you can estimate; we are just talking a pinch), and then add turps to cover the wax, you'll end up with a medium sort of wax thickness rather like thick yogurt. And, really, that's good/accurate enough for what we need as carvers. But here's the thing: if you want a thicker wax, say for filling, you take some of what you just made and add more wax - so you have a jar 2. If you want it thinner, say where you have intricate details in your carving, you make a jar 3 with more of the turps. Over (too) many years, I've never measured the ingredients and the wax polish that I make in this apparently cavalier way has happily done the job! Best thing is to give this method a go? (You can always weigh beforehand? Do let me know what you find.) Best wishes, Chris Pye.
I want to fill woodgrain a bit with wooden flutes that will be handled. Beeswax and oil mixtures are standard for these (as is re-application over time) but all the best formulations are sort of guarded secrets (not what but how much). Since these give a satin finish, I'm not afraid of making it too polyurethane-like. Rather, I'd like it to be as protective and hard as possible (at least the top coat) and to fill open grain as much as possible. I was wondering why you use such a small % of carnuba. If course, I'm not having to scrub it into ornate, little fiddly bits around eyeball crevasses etc. Previous to coming here, I thought 1/4 carnuba sounded soft and overkill on the beeswax. Of course it makes such a huge difference what fluid to add, and if that's turps or oil etc. On some flutes a non-oxidizing, non-polymerizing, oily was will do. But on others, like aged or torrefied woods (where the value is in the resins having dried out and crystalized over time, lending a special sound) where I want to preserve that resonant, "dry sound", I like the idea of using a solvent that will partially or fully dry out or cure over time, leaving mainly the wax, and in this sort of case the harder the better. I guess the key is in experimentation and experience, I suppose. I know some people think a heavily oiled and then sealed item seems fine, but then it starts sweating beads of oil in the sun outside, hehe. Thanks for the video!
Jeff - Carnauba make the resulting wax very shiny; the small amount adds hardness with little shine. Sorry, I can't help you with things to be handled; in my work as a carver it's been more, keep your hands off... Definitely you should experiment and build up a 'body of knowledge'. What you use must also depend on how much patination you want to happen from handling?
@@woodcarvingworkshop1 Thanks... your video served as a great addition top my point of departure the day I watched it, and I've nailed a good mixture (for what I want) through experimentation and emulating handling the best I can. I need to aim for the stars and land on the moon with shine because even a little will be challenging to retain after rubbing enough to not be overly slippery, and with handling... some shine still peeks out of the deeper grain or pores when I go with more carnuba, even after extended test handling (I suppose because it's just recessed below contact surface area?). For oil I use safflower with some refined coconut, so I add E and essential oils to preserve (luckily the odor subsides sufficiently). People don't want mineral oil on their flutes and it can attack certain materials or glues, and they recoil at the mention of solvents despite how long ago they evaporated. Anway, I arrived at an initial coat of A blend: 1 part wax and 5 parts oil (with wax being 1 part carnuba to 2 parts bees). Rub in blend A, let sit, then shine with Blend B: 1 part wax to two parts oil (wax being 50/50% carnuba / bees). I rub until a little friction heated, then go over with a towel which dulls it a bit but makes it not too slippery to hold, haha. Thanks again for your post. It got me out there experimenting! And I have your wax formula for carvings, which I've begun doing a bit of, as well, purely by had with no power, with a few knives and gouges. If I want power tools I'll use a chainsaw to do Bigfoot.(honestly that looks like more fun than all the boring tree work I've done with the tool).
As you can see, I use a pan of boilng water (bain marie) for gently heating up the wax and I think this is a very safe way to proceed. Definitely, you should never heat up turpentine in a pan directly over a flame. Having said that, I'm also really mindful of what I'm doing and the dangers of a naked flame, and am always in attendance.
You can add turps to the melted mixture to make it thinner, or wax to thicken it.. But you don't even need heat: If you grate hard beeswax into a jar, cover with turpentine and just leave, the wax will eventually dissolve into the liquid by itself and you can stir it all to homogenise.
Excellent video and explanation of the process. Thank you!
Most informative video on beeswax I have seen. Thank you
that is not beeswax. it's carnauba
Awesome video
good video very informative
Interesting Gr8 job mate
EXCELLENT ! Any recommendations for finishing a walnut rifle stock ?
Chris, thanks for this video. I've been looking for this traditional finish for my lime wood carvings. Just curious; could this be what Grinling Gibbons used to finish his intricate carvings?
Edward - I'm not sure but I believe it was wither some sort of varnish or nothing at all.
Would this work on unfinished ebony?
Great video ,thank you, is there a way i could do a wax with a good essential oil in it for a good smel ? Can i use your wax over painted furniture to?
I made beeswax and mineral oil paste today and I added drops of orange essential oil and it smells lovely. Hope this helps .
Большое Вам спасибо за информацию.
Can this be applied to stained wood without messing up the color?
Does it have to be gum turpentine or will mineral turpentine do?
The bottle, which I get from a DIY store but is from a well-respected supplier of finishing materials, just says 'pure turpentine'. As far as I know turpentine comes from distillation of tree resin, mostly pine.
If by 'mineral turpentine' you means what we call 'white' or 'mineral spirits', this is a petroleum-based liquid used as a thinner. You could indeed substitute mineral spirits for turpentine but I ever do. My feeling - based on experience from long ago, is that it reacts with the wood, changes it's colour, possibly its nature.
And mineral spirit vapours are toxic. I suspect turpentine too, any solvent really.
I used coconut oil with beewax but I didn't know how much to add
Use cera de abeja y trementina para cuero y el olor a la trementina es muy fuerte, como puedo evitarlo?
La trementina se evaporará después de un tiempo y el olor desaparecerá. Todo lo que hueles es la cera de abejas.
Perfecto, gracias
Hello. Can I ask you a question. . I applicated beeswax but it been demage by heat tea glasses. It been whitening sign roughly on the surface. What can I do for avoid for this?
Yakup - Yes, heat - and also water - will damage a waxed surface; white rings are typical. Sorry to hear that! I only use it for my carvings, not for table tops etc where someone might put a wet vase of flowers of cup of hot tea.
I would strip the wax off your surface and finish with something more resilient, polyurethane varnish for example.
On the other hand, if you want to keep the wax and are prepared to fend off hot glasses, you could try re-waxing with very fine (0000) wire wool while warming the surface with a hair dryer.
I'm confused. Some recipes for beeswax polish use turpentine while others simply use an oil like olive oil, for blending with the beeswax. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both methods?
I've never seen olive oil used with wax. I do use olive oil (also walnut oil) on bowls etc that will be in contact with food.
Turpentine is actually solvent, after you apply it to the wood, it evaporates and leaves only wax. Oil mixes with the wax, its in my opinion cleaner and more gentle to the wood. You can also mix all three - basically the turpentine just makes everything thinner so it is soaked easier by the wood and theres less of the wax residue, the oil makes all softer.
Be careful though as olive oil can go rancid.
It would be helpful if you gave the weights of the beeswax and the carnuba and the volume of the turps
Barry - It's a fair point/question and thanks for making it - but what I do is not the exact science you might expect and I've never had a precise recipe. If you grate the beeswax into any jar as I do; add the very small amount of Carnauba (which you can estimate; we are just talking a pinch), and then add turps to cover the wax, you'll end up with a medium sort of wax thickness rather like thick yogurt. And, really, that's good/accurate enough for what we need as carvers. But here's the thing: if you want a thicker wax, say for filling, you take some of what you just made and add more wax - so you have a jar 2. If you want it thinner, say where you have intricate details in your carving, you make a jar 3 with more of the turps. Over (too) many years, I've never measured the ingredients and the wax polish that I make in this apparently cavalier way has happily done the job! Best thing is to give this method a go? (You can always weigh beforehand? Do let me know what you find.) Best wishes, Chris Pye.
I want to fill woodgrain a bit with wooden flutes that will be handled. Beeswax and oil mixtures are standard for these (as is re-application over time) but all the best formulations are sort of guarded secrets (not what but how much). Since these give a satin finish, I'm not afraid of making it too polyurethane-like. Rather, I'd like it to be as protective and hard as possible (at least the top coat) and to fill open grain as much as possible. I was wondering why you use such a small % of carnuba. If course, I'm not having to scrub it into ornate, little fiddly bits around eyeball crevasses etc. Previous to coming here, I thought 1/4 carnuba sounded soft and overkill on the beeswax. Of course it makes such a huge difference what fluid to add, and if that's turps or oil etc. On some flutes a non-oxidizing, non-polymerizing, oily was will do. But on others, like aged or torrefied woods (where the value is in the resins having dried out and crystalized over time, lending a special sound) where I want to preserve that resonant, "dry sound", I like the idea of using a solvent that will partially or fully dry out or cure over time, leaving mainly the wax, and in this sort of case the harder the better. I guess the key is in experimentation and experience, I suppose. I know some people think a heavily oiled and then sealed item seems fine, but then it starts sweating beads of oil in the sun outside, hehe. Thanks for the video!
Jeff - Carnauba make the resulting wax very shiny; the small amount adds hardness with little shine. Sorry, I can't help you with things to be handled; in my work as a carver it's been more, keep your hands off... Definitely you should experiment and build up a 'body of knowledge'. What you use must also depend on how much patination you want to happen from handling?
@@woodcarvingworkshop1 Thanks... your video served as a great addition top my point of departure the day I watched it, and I've nailed a good mixture (for what I want) through experimentation and emulating handling the best I can. I need to aim for the stars and land on the moon with shine because even a little will be challenging to retain after rubbing enough to not be overly slippery, and with handling... some shine still peeks out of the deeper grain or pores when I go with more carnuba, even after extended test handling (I suppose because it's just recessed below contact surface area?). For oil I use safflower with some refined coconut, so I add E and essential oils to preserve (luckily the odor subsides sufficiently). People don't want mineral oil on their flutes and it can attack certain materials or glues, and they recoil at the mention of solvents despite how long ago they evaporated. Anway, I arrived at an initial coat of A blend: 1 part wax and 5 parts oil (with wax being 1 part carnuba to 2 parts bees). Rub in blend A, let sit, then shine with Blend B: 1 part wax to two parts oil (wax being 50/50% carnuba / bees). I rub until a little friction heated, then go over with a towel which dulls it a bit but makes it not too slippery to hold, haha. Thanks again for your post. It got me out there experimenting! And I have your wax formula for carvings, which I've begun doing a bit of, as well, purely by had with no power, with a few knives and gouges. If I want power tools I'll use a chainsaw to do Bigfoot.(honestly that looks like more fun than all the boring tree work I've done with the tool).
Can I use thinner instead of turpentine?
PLEASE do any oil/turps heating outdoors!!
You really don’t want to become an unidentified frying object!.
Please don't be too nervous sweetheart. It's on double boiler, not on top of the fire.
@@ant-tr8lz Yeah nerves being burned by a Molotov mix is real fun.
Is that a sasquatch?
Looks like a green man
Please don't boil turpentine with a propane/gaslit stove. Use an electric one instead.
As you can see, I use a pan of boilng water (bain marie) for gently heating up the wax and I think this is a very safe way to proceed. Definitely, you should never heat up turpentine in a pan directly over a flame.
Having said that, I'm also really mindful of what I'm doing and the dangers of a naked flame, and am always in attendance.
Hi, can i mix the turpentine after the wax melt?
You can add turps to the melted mixture to make it thinner, or wax to thicken it.. But you don't even need heat: If you grate hard beeswax into a jar, cover with turpentine and just leave, the wax will eventually dissolve into the liquid by itself and you can stir it all to homogenise.
Thanks!
I use a rice cooker, it does a great job.
why wipe excess with the rag if you can simply apply less wax? so much waste...
Fedor - There is always excess, but yes, I do tend to be generous.
Use natural terpertine from trees, not from petrol!