Wax wax and more wax

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Jammer
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Wax wax and more wax

Post by Jammer »

A friend at the forge used to do a lot of casting but he had sold all his stuff. One day I was talking to him and he ask if I wanted some foundry wax he had left over, I said sure. Went and picked it up the other day and, man, there's about 200 pounds! Most of it is a Microcrystalline wax like a hard carving wax. It's all in blocks and is very dirty and bleached from sitting outside. Also, about 10 pounds of Blue Machinable wax, it's dirty too.
I melted some of it and strained it through some cheese cloth. It got a lot of the junk out of it but the wax separated. A thin layer of brown on top and some grainy orange wax on the bottom. After chatting with Rasper and looking online, I found that I didn't heat it up hot enough. Richard also gave me some tips to help clean it up and to soften some of it so I might be able to sculpt with it.
Should be fun. I'll get some pictures posted in a day or so. Maker's fair in Chattanooga tomorrow. We are going to see what that is all about. Probably a bunch of 3D printers.
quando omni flunkus moritati 8-)
mite5255
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Re: Wax wax and more wax

Post by mite5255 »

Hey that's cool Jerry, have fun at the fair ;)
When life gets tough, remember: You were the strongest sperm :)
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Jammer
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Re: Wax wax and more wax

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It's not the world class Maker's Fair they have in some of the big cities. They are secretly calling it a mini makers fair. It's in an outdoor pavilion, so I don't know how good it's going to be. I'll try to get some pictures.
quando omni flunkus moritati 8-)
Rasper
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Re: Wax wax and more wax

Post by Rasper »

Please pardon my ignorance. What is a 3-D printer? I envision some miracle device that prints out a picture that you see in 3-D without the glasses. But of course I know better than that. So what is it?

Richard
mite5255
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Re: Wax wax and more wax

Post by mite5255 »

Rasper wrote:Please pardon my ignorance. What is a 3-D printer? I envision some miracle device that prints out a picture that you see in 3-D without the glasses. But of course I know better than that. So what is it?

Richard
3D printer Richard
When life gets tough, remember: You were the strongest sperm :)
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Jammer
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Re: Wax wax and more wax

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It was pretty much as expected. A gaggle of Geeks with about a dozen 3D printers, some little robot battles (they didn't even destroy each other), and a couple remote control helicopters. I did find a company that will sell me a PLA head for my CNC machine to turn it into a 3D printer. He said it would run off the 4th axis. I'm not sure I want to go that route.
quando omni flunkus moritati 8-)
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Jammer
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Re: Wax wax and more wax

Post by Jammer »

https://www.facebook.com/MakerFaireChattanooga
Here's the page for the Maker's Faire. I guess they are calling it a success, maybe a good start. I hope it's larger next year.

Some of the pictures of the wax. You can see how dirty it is. I still need to pick up some filter material.
Image
Image
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mite5255
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Re: Wax wax and more wax

Post by mite5255 »

Hi Jerry, could you just melt the wax in a pot then scoop the crap off the top once it has melted
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Rasper
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Re: Wax wax and more wax

Post by Rasper »

Most of that crap is heavier than wax. It doesn't float on wax the way it floats on metal.

Richard
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Jammer
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Re: Wax wax and more wax

Post by Jammer »

Yea, most of it sinks, but some floats and a little stays suspended. I want to make a cone shape and put the filter cloth in it. When cleaning beeswax, I usually made a long piece of material so I could pull the dirty part away and have some fresh filter material.
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