how to apply wax to a bow?

[otis.drum]

i have just made another selfbow, andaman island style, and want to finish it in either linseed oil or bees wax.

how do you apply bees wax? does it have to be heated or melted?

[longbow steve]

Hi Otis, generally rub it on and then rub vigourously with a cloth to make it melt in but in your climate I would apply an oil and use the beeswax as a sacrificial coat that gets re applied often.
Steve

[otis.drum]

thanks steve,
i ended up using a leather oil because it gave the best effect. real,ly darkened the wood up and soaked in well. i'll post some pics soon i hope.

the leather oil was obviously high in neetsfoot as thats what it smelt like. see how i goes.

and i'll rub some wax on later if i think it needs it.

[ichiban]

otis,
i started a thread about a bow finnish recipe, check it out, its all linseed oil, wax, and metho


D

[gilnockie]

Carnaubra wax is better than beeswax as it is a lot harder and a lot more durable. You should be able to buy it at your local hardware store in the paint department. Here is a link with a photo:

http://www.feastwatson.com.au/WaxesWax.asp

Out of the tin it dries very hard and requires a lot of effort to buff out the fine ridges of wax which are left when it dries. To make it easy to use I dilute the wax with vegetable based turpentine, not the painter's mineral turps.

I warm the contents of the tin by placing it in my hotbox until the wax liquefies, but a pan of hot water is probably quicker. I then mix the liquid wax with an equal volume of the vegetable turps and pour it into two small containers. When the wax cools it is a much softer paste than un-diluted wax. The diluted wax can be applied in a thin layer and it is easy to buff to a shine.