# Removing wax coating from turning blanks



## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

I have a turning blank that was completely coated on wax to prevent it from drying too rapidly. If I were turning the piece, I'd just scrape it off knowing most of it will be removed in the turning. 

But, I'm not turning it; I want to bandsaw some thin strips from it to use in marquetry. What can I do to make sure the wax won't mess up a finish later down the road?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Isn't the wax just on the ends? If so just bandsaw the ends of the blanks off. The ends of the wood isn't usable anyway.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> Isn't the wax just on the ends?


Nope! The whole thing is encapsulated in wax.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I've never experienced this before. Any exotic wood I've ever used has been kiln dried and run S4S. From what I read on old threads the consensus is to scrape off as much wax as you can and then use a solvent such as lacquer thinner or acetone to get what remains.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

Thanks. 

This is a piece of spalted hackberry. I'm reasonably sure it was air dried. It's more like a blank you'd make a small bowl from, although that's not my plan. Any concerns that as the lacquer thinner dissolves the wax, it could drive it further into the wood? I suppose I could scrape off as much as possible, then bandsaw some off of all six surfaces.


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## WesTex (Jan 5, 2014)

Quite a lot of the blanks I've seen at Woodcraft are completely coated with wax. Some are long enough to run through the planer, or across the jointer. Maybe you could try that if your's is long enough. 


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Quickstep said:


> Thanks.
> 
> This is a piece of spalted hackberry. I'm reasonably sure it was air dried. It's more like a blank you'd make a small bowl from, although that's not my plan. Any concerns that as the lacquer thinner dissolves the wax, it could drive it further into the wood? I suppose I could scrape off as much as possible, then bandsaw some off of all six surfaces.


You would need to clean with lacquer thinner several times changing rags but I don't think enough wax would penetrate to hurt anything. After all they put wax in paint stripper and that is able to be rinsed off. 

I don't get why they completely dip the wood in wax. Coating the ends would be good enough and use less wax.


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## Maylar (Sep 3, 2013)

Exotic ($$) turning blanks that I've bought from the local Woodcraft store are always completely covered in wax. I guess it's cheaper for them to use a lot of wax than to deal with checked or warped stock that nobody wants. Stable domestic stuff is usually clean.

I take a cabinet scraper to them first. If not going on the lathe, a shallow pass on the jointer cleans the rest nicely. For small pieces a block plane works too.


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## Bstnsportsfan (Aug 15, 2017)

A tip I have been told is to pour boiling water onto the wood letting the warm water melt the wax off. Then use a towel to help wipe off the excess wood. It may take a couple pots of water to get it all off. I have never tried this before but was told about it last week at a lumbar store as I had the same question.


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## tylerdru90 (Aug 17, 2016)

I just saw a video where a guy used a torch to remove the wax from his pen blanks


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## holtzdreher (Jul 20, 2016)

If the wax was put on green wood, the surface moisture in the wood probably kept the wax from soaking in. The wax may well peel off. I have had it peel off all but a little of the end grain. Using a thinner or heat may just disperse the wax and residue further into the wood. I'd scrape peel what I can and then saw it.


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