I haven't tried it, but I figure that using a beeswax candle (available at crafts and home decore stores, etc) could simply be burned and dripped into spots along the foundation. kind of like tack-welding. Of course, a candle will cost you more than the wax in a block from a local beekeeper. Check your association.
I agree with the "it's ok to use" crowd. Oh wait, there was only one guy who said it was ok to use. Well, I agree with him. It's not like an entire parafin brick is needed to tack the foundation in place.
Well, isn't that what the question was about in the first place? Is it OK? Yes, it is. So there.
edited: besides, parafin is used for waxing jam and jelly. Now, what about all that food grade MINERAL OIL? Where is that derived from? So there again.
[ May 08, 2006, 10:29 PM: Message edited by: Dick Allen ]
OK, both substances are OK, as long as you DO NOT CONSIDER THEM TO BE THE SAME. To me, the real danger lies in relaxing so much as to loose sight of the differences.
Honey and sugar are both sweet, natural and delicious, aren`t they? But they are not the same!!
What about the melting temps? If the paraffin (and I don't know) has a significantly higher melting point, it may simply melt the foundation rather than adhere to it. Hmm, let me try this...
Ok, I dribbled a melting candle on the edge of a peice of foundation. The tiniest of drops did "thin" the beeswax which seemed to absorb the heat and kept the paraffin from cooling quickly. I'm sure that a thick bead of paraffin would simply cut through the beeswax. This would not result in the desired "cementing" under the conditions that I tried. Again, small tack-welding might, but care would have to be taken to allow the paraffin to cool before stress was put on the area.
I take the question to imply, "will it work without causing harm." I don't think it will work as well as hoped.
I had a few minutes and googled the waxes. Heres some useful information about natural beeswax:
Check your area for apiaries. The bee keepers often sell natural beeswax, or even coloured and scented block and sheet beeswax. Ask if they filter it (to remove honeycomb and other material).
Hi Guys, Been gone a few days and what a surprize. You guys ROCK!! I took the time today and drove down to Mann Lake (45 mins) and picked up 5 lbs. of bees wax. I tried the parafin on 20 frames, then melted down some cull drawn comb to try. I liked the bees wax the best. It was just alot easier to work with... Smelled better, more natural, and gave me that warm fuzzy feeling...lol
Thanks alot, Art
Hi Dick, The wax was in 25 or 30 lb. blocks. The guy just broke off a chunk and weighed it. He said it was raw bees wax... Do I need to filter it or something?
Thanks, Art
nope, it should be good to go. i was just being a typical smart-ass about misinformation given from the URL over this: "Ask if they filter it (to remove honeycomb...."
it seems those folks giving advice on that website i quoted from don't seem to realize where beeswax is derived from!
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