# exotic wood - removing wax



## horford

I plan on making a custom 2-shelf piece to mount to the wall under my flat screen TV, to hold the dvd and cable boxes.

I bought a nice piece of 3" maple board from a WoodCraft shop for the part that mounts to the wall.

Where I'm confused is the piece of Maple I bought to make the shelves out of. It is a cross-section of a maple tree (12" diameter). I thought it looked really cool and would add a custom look.
The whole thing is covered in wax. From what i've read, this is because the wood is not fully-dried. 
- What is the cleanest way for me to remove this wax?
- Do I want to remove the wax, let it dry, then cut it? Or do I want to remove the wax, cut it, then let it dry?
- What is the best way to dry it?

I'm worried, i'm going to end up with shelves that warp or crack after they dry.

Thanks for any advice.


----------



## rrbrown

Post some pictures. Unless it's just me, it sounds like you bought wood that was meant for turning. I've never bought wood from Woodcraft to know for sure but Pictures would help.


----------



## Dave Paine

+1 with rrbrown, it sounds like you purchased a 3in x 3in x ??in long turning blank. These are covered in paraffin wax or some similar wax to prevent the wood from splitting/checking.

Some blanks are made with wood which is not fully dry. Other blanks are made with dry wood. There is no way to tell unless you have a moisture meter.

For wood turning, the wax will be removed by the turning tools.

I recently needed to work with a 3in x 3in x 12in curly maple blank which was also covered in wax. In my case I needed to cut this in two and then glue on some contrasting wood.

I scraped off the wax with a hand scraper. I then used a hand plane to get the rough surface smooth.

If you sand the remaining wax off, it will gum up the sandpaper.

I would not expect the wax to easily come off with solvents.


----------



## john lucas

Ditto what the other 2 said. I would assume it's still wet if it has wax on it. The only way to know for sure is to weight it for a couple of months. If it doesn't lose any weight it's dry. You will need to scrape some wax off so it can dry if it is in fact still wet. 
You can remove wax with mineral spirits and some rubbing with rags and maybe a toothbrush. 
I'm also guessing it's a turning blank. I don't ever remember seeing flat wood that is wax coated in the Woodcraft stores.


----------



## horford

thank you for the responses,

unfortunately i'm at work, and can't take a picture.

I'm guessing it's for turning wood as well, I had no idea what wood-turning was until I brought it home, started scratching my head, and started googling.

It's sort of an exotic Maple (with zebra strips in it). 12" diameter, about 3-4 inches thick.

My plan is to cut (2) 1/4" slices off it, and then cut 3 of the 4 sides straight on each of them. I think those would make cool shelves.

I'm not going to wait months to see if it dries, i'm too ansy. But, i'll wait a few days if that might help. Do I want to cut and then let dry, or let dry then cut?

thanks again


----------



## horford

Dave Paine said:


> +1 with rrbrown, it sounds like you purchased a 3in x 3in x ??in long turning blank. These are covered in paraffin wax or some similar wax to prevent the wood from splitting/checking.
> 
> Some blanks are made with wood which is not fully dry. Other blanks are made with dry wood. There is no way to tell unless you have a moisture meter.
> 
> For wood turning, the wax will be removed by the turning tools.
> 
> I recently needed to work with a 3in x 3in x 12in curly maple blank which was also covered in wax. In my case I needed to cut this in two and then glue on some contrasting wood.
> 
> I scraped off the wax with a hand scraper. I then used a hand plane to get the rough surface smooth.
> 
> If you sand the remaining wax off, it will gum up the sandpaper.
> 
> I would not expect the wax to easily come off with solvents.


Now that I think about it, that's what it is. Curly Maple....
That didn't happen to be dry already, was it?


----------



## Dave Paine

In wood turning, we would turn to rough dimension, let dry, expecting some change in shape, then turn a second time to final dimension.

If this is wet and you cut 1/4in strips, these are likely to warp or twist due to uneven drying.

If this is wet and you cut to final dimensions expect some shape change, which may require sanding/ cutting to get back to straight/flat.


----------



## Dave Paine

horford said:


> Now that I think about it, that's what it is. Curly Maple....
> That didn't happen to be dry already, was it?


I was on a deadline, so had to use it for a project. It did not feel wet. I spent over a week making the project and it did not warp on me.

Now in my friends home, so fingers crossed it is stable.


----------

