Thread: Wax removal

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........

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

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

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

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

I just scrape it right off...

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.

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

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?

I scrape most of it off with a metal ruler than run it through the band saw to slice off a thin sliver to get rid of the wax. About 1/16 inch is plenty. Make note, running waxed stock across your saws, plainer, jointer, etc... will leave a wax resadue on the table/fence/cutter heads. When you run a clean piece of wood across the same place, that film will transfer to the wood. Then you have to sand the wood to get rid of the film. If you use a stain, you will get an uneven blotchey finish where that wax film sits. So once you cut it off, you will want to wipe your table/fence with acetone to clean it off. It makes a real big mess in a plainer. Sanding it off will just gum up your sandpaper.

The exotic woods are cut green then waxed to hold in the moisture so they do not crack/check/warp. Down side, once you cut into them, they start to dry and will crack/warp/check. If you cut a hunk off a piece, re-wax the exposed end or it will crack.

You are not far from my place if I remember correctly, 40 or so miles? If you want to stop by one weekend we can run them through the bandsaw if you do not have access to one.