Wax removal

[mrsell63]

I recently bought several 2 inch x 2 inch x 12 inch blocks of ebony wood, cocobolo and sycamore to make scales. These blocks seem to be coated with a waxy substance to protect the wood from moisture.

Does anyone have experience removing this wax from the wood.
I thought about skinning it off by running it through my table saw. Any thoughts on the matter? Thanks in advance........

[Grahammon]

Hi mrsell63
unless i'm mistaken it is just parafin wax used to stop the end grain from splitting whilst in storage. Just scrape it off with a paint scraper. as your wood is likely to be rough sawn, any planing will remove any wax ingrained along with the rough wood which you'll need to do as part of the making (machining) process anyway.
Have fun
Graham

[mikew]

Yeah, just plane it off. Kills two birds with one stone.

[RobertH]

You can also use naptha or mineral spirits and it will go POOF. Bye bye wax.

[gssixgun]

A great use for a non-shaving straight razor,,,

I just scrape it right off...

[leadduck]

I like Glen's suggestion. You might think about buying a Pakistan razor. With a little work, it will cut through the wax but the wood should be safe.

[mrsell63]

All good ideas. Thanks for all the help..........

[HNSB]

When I've bought slabs with the wax on them, I've just left it on.
I rip the blanks on a table saw and then cut the scales out of those. I sand the scales to thickness and shape. By the time I'm done, there's no wax left on the part that's used as a scale.

Is there a reason I should be de-waxifying my wood prior to that?