Thread Wax, What Is This?

[TwinOaks]

As an aside regarding beeswax: It is available in varying shades of yellow, or white. The difference is that the the white wax is only the caps of the comb, while yellow has wax from all over the hive....in short, it's cleaner. Functionally, there's no difference.

[Matt S]

Thanks Les I'll give that a go, I have a lump of road tar somewhere round here.

[electrathon]

When I cooked the pine sap it did get pretty stiff in the pan when it first cooled (I reheated it and then mixed it). I thought I had overheated it but it did flow out when I reheated it. Never got runny like wax though, it was pretty thick. Next time I will look for more clean sap, it really was tough to get the crud out of it.

Now as to mixing tar into the mix for sewing, this just seems sort of grose to me. I work for a road department and tar is sticky, dirty, nasty. Not sure I would want my leather smelling like that.

[pcox]

when I use hot wax in my Landis #1 I use beeswax and beef tallow. The moreheat cycles the wax goes thru the harder it getts a smcll chunk of tallow from time to time keeps it softer and it lubes better. I use beeswax from my own bees I use brood comb wax whitch is very dark with pollen. To clean it I melt it in water and the wax will float and the dirt sinks to the bottom. For rosin I go to the music store and get acake useed to rosin Violin bow strings.