Some time ago I got hold of a fair quantity of beeswax. I’ve been tying with it for a number of years now, and have barely made a dent in my stash. Problem is, it’s become less and less sticky over time. Recently, I took a couple chunks and melted and recast them, cleaning and removing bits of feathers, floss, etc. that tend to gather on my chunks of wax. I was hoping this might restore some of the stickiness, but, no. It’s fine for waxing my tying thread, but not sticky enough to be of much help dubbing. Any of y’all have any suggestions here? Maybe I just gotta get new wax…ModocDan
id say just try heating it a bit right before you use it but other than that, i dont know.
sorry 
I?ve always used unscented lip balm for dubbing. Works great and the tube lasts forever
I use an inexpensive toilet wax ring for my tying…new, of course. :shock: At around a buck, you can supply lots of friends with their own supply as a gift. I have my wife save the small tins that votive candle burn in. They are perfect size for this application. I’ve had mine for over 5 years and it’s still sticky.
Joe
New, of course ! Thanks Joe, I hadn’t thought of that, Off to the hardware store…M.D.
Hey! last night on the way to work (graveyard shift machinist) I got me a brand new wax toilet gasket. like Joe said, nice an sticky. I grabbed it with my pliers and melted it into several dixie cups about 3/4" deep with my acetylene torch. Cut off the excess tops, and shazam! I’m in biz. Still way sticky. About to try it out on some hare’s ear flies shortly. I still have a bunch of the old beeswax left, and a beekeeper friend where I can get more, so I’m gonna try some a them recipies Joe Cramer mentioned. Who knows? maybe I’ll become a wax guru…ModocDan
In answer to your question…
May I say…Mind your own beeswax 
o god DShock must have made me do it:oops:
I’ve never said anything like that! :lol:
ModocDan,
Go straight (do not pass go) to your Bee Keepers store and purchase the BEST Bees Wax. If your going to use it take care of it by sealing in a plastic bag. The Bees Wax you purchase should last for years if you take care of it. I have 2 discs of Bees Wax, melted off a block of wax into two Dixie Cups, then I cut the Dixie Cups down to 1/2 inch or so. Make slits in either side of Cups for running the thread.
WOW! I almost know as much as Eric, Joe, Jack or JC!!! :shock: Never as much as FG or Betty! :lol:
Doug
:shock: I did not know that!! What a kewl hint!!
Bees wax can be purchased in the sewing department, in a little plastic disk, so you can run your thread through it. I use it for sewing, but never thought to use it for fly tying!! (I’m still trying to find coblers wax for tying. Any ideas?) Down to my sewing drawer!!
Generally pure wax by itself is not tacky enough to make the best dubbing wax.
Here are some formulas from my old tying books for making dubbing wax. As you can see they contain large percentages of rosin. The oil or lard helps keep the mixture soft.
Herters gives the following proportions by weight - 8 parts resin, 1
part beeswax, 1 part tallow or lard.
Harry Darbee provides this basic formula by weight - 16 parts resin, 1
part beeswax, 1 part Castor oil.
Melt the resin and wax together then add the third ingredient. Let cool
or pour into cold water and then work it like you would taffy candy to make it smooth. ( I think it would be less messy to pour it into a plastic bag and then work it to make it smooth.)
Some of the older formulas used turpentine in the place of the lard or
castor oil but it has a tendency to dry out over time.
If you make up a batch let me know how it turns out. I only have three tubes of Overton’s remaining.
Regards, Jim Cramer
Joe V.: I guess you cut a hunk of that toilet ring off and melt it down in a pan, correct? Can you keep it uncovered on your tying desk or will it dry out?
Joe, that’s brilliant !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
P.S. For those of you that
don’t know, Joe tyes KILLER
flies…seen 'em, have some !
I have stopped using wax and gone to using water. I use a small condiment dish and a piece of sponge. Works great.
Betty:
As the grandson of shoemaker and a kid who spent many hours hanging out in shoe repair shops; the only wax I have ever run across in the shoe repair, saddle-making or leather craft industry is plain beeswax. It is usually used to wax thread or sinew prior to hand stitching. My usual source for leather-making supplies only sells “pure beeswax” cakes; identical to what you find anyplace else.
Sorry…
An interesting wax I ran across is “paste-up” wax used in the “old days” to paste up articles during the lay-out process in the newspaper industry. The old fashioned paste-up technique is still used by a few really small publications and student newspapers and I know they still make and sell the wax. It is a white wax that is VERY sticky and is usually applied with a special tool that melts and spreads it. I still have a hunk I snatched years ago in college; it works pretty good. There also is a “no heat necessary” paste-up wax called [url=http://www.misterart.com/g1648/Jiffy-Adhesive-Wax-Stick.htm:2c717]Jiffy Wax[/url:2c717] that even comes in a tube. I have seen it but never tried it but may give it a whirl. Besides the links provided these paste-up waxes MAY be available at a good art supply store.
There is also another product called [url=http://www.misterart.com/g8316/Trevco-Museum-Wax.htm:2c717]Museum Wax[/url:2c717] which is used to temporarily secure pieces of pottery or other fragile items to shelves or pedestals so simple vibration won’t knock them off. I’ve seen it but never experimented with it but it also is readily available and comes in a nifty screw top jar; perfect for the fly tying bench.
I’m lucky enough to have a 3/4 full tube of Overton’s so I’m good for a LONG time.
well, as an alternate source, theres vasoline.
[quote=“Bamboozle”]
Betty:
As the grandson of shoemaker and a kid who spent many hours hanging out in shoe repair shops; the only wax I have ever run across in the shoe repair, saddle-making or leather craft industry is plain beeswax. It is usually used to wax thread or sinew prior to hand stitching. My usual source for leather-making supplies only sells “pure beeswax” cakes; identical to what you find anyplace else.
Sorry…
An interesting wax I ran across is “paste-up” wax used in the “old days” to paste up articles during the lay-out process in the newspaper industry. The old fashioned paste-up technique is still used by a few really small publications and student newspapers and I know they still make and sell the wax. It is a white wax that is VERY sticky and is usually applied with a special tool that melts and spreads it. I still have a hunk I snatched years ago in college; it works pretty good. There also is a “no heat necessary” paste-up wax called [url=http://www.misterart.com/g1648/Jiffy-Adhesive-Wax-Stick.htm:f2730]Jiffy Wax[/url:f2730] that even comes in a tube. I have seen it but never tried it but may give it a whirl. Besides the links provided these paste-up waxes MAY be available at a good art supply store.
There is also another product called [url=http://www.misterart.com/g8316/Trevco-Museum-Wax.htm:f2730]Museum Wax[/url:f2730] which is used to temporarily secure pieces of pottery or other fragile items to shelves or pedestals so simple vibration won’t knock them off. I’ve seen it but never experimented with it but it also is readily available and comes in a nifty screw top jar; perfect for the fly tying bench.
I’m lucky enough to have a 3/4 full tube of Overton’s so I’m good for a LONG time.
;)[/quote] Which may explain my not being able to find it!!! The English (and Scots…and I’m sure, many others!!) use cobblers wax to darken the silk on a number of flies they tye. If it’s beeswax, what is used to color it? Guess I wasn’t looking by the right name! Thanks Bamboozle!
Betty:
Maybe Donald Nicholson may know?
I would think that just the application of regular beeswax would slightly darken most silk threads but I don’t have any to try an experiment with having not gone the silk route…
…yet.
Cobblers Wax
Cobblers wax is a dark coloured wax. As above, heat in your hands before applying to your thread. Ideal for North Country spiders. More Info>>
Item # Cobblerswax ?1.05
Prepared Fly Tyers wax
A specially prepared fly tyers wax. Simply heat in your hands to soften and then pull your thread through to apply before adding your dubbing. More Info>>
Item # Prepwax ?1.10
Here’s what I’ve been looking at. (This one at Fly On Line). Multitude of different places, unfortunately not Stateside!! Why can’t I be content tying wooly buggers and glo balls?!??
Tying wax and dubbing wax are different waxes. Although tying wax can be used as dubbing wax it can be very adhesive. Dubbing wax characteristics does not make good tying wax, while it is tacky it is also slippery and not adhesive. My biggest pet peeve with dubbing wax is that it chalks up in cold water when you have to use a lot of it, like when applying coarse dubbing.
Jim Cramer posted some good recipes for tying wax. Some observations. Lard/oil in the mixture breaks down the adhesive quality of the resin and also softens up the wax. 1 part or higher of lard/oil make the wax good for pre waxed thread. Running the thread thru the melted wax recipe on spools. The lard/ oil factor is not an issue. However when applying such wax manually it is better to have the lard/oil at 1/2 part. The reason for this is that the wax is very stiff and has to be warmed. Typically this is best done by using a BB size piece of wax that is rolled between the moistened fore finger and thumb. Your natural body oils that are found in your fingers will get mixed into the wax. By the time the small piece of wax is used up the oil content is at it’s limit, you can feel the wax starting to loose it’s adhesive quality. With the advent and popularization of the bobbin holder, the benefits of tying wax has slowly been lost. Constant thread tension does not make up for the adhesive quality of this older wax. Materials stay put. This is really beneficial when tying in slippery materials or tying in wings. Salmon fly tiers really appreciate this old wax when finishing of flies that have steep angle heads or material stack. Some of the old wax recipes called for turpentine, but this more than likely, was referring to turpentine resin than spirits.
Cobblers wax is really not suitable for tying as it is made with tar pitch. It would be OK if you wanted your thread to be black. If you do a search for cobblers wax you will find a few recipes for it.
For dubbing bodies I also find that plain old water, sweat or spit works well when a little extra grip is needed. If I am making pre made rolled/spun bodies I like using tying wax as the wax will set before I’m ready to use them.
Tyers wax can be found stateside.
Hope this helps.
Like Joe V. I use toilet ring wax. I put it into empty glue stick containers that my daughter uses for her school projects. I have never had it dry out on me. You just screw it out just like you would the glue that came in it. I furnish this same wax to all of my fly tying students. 1 ring will fill up a lot of those containers. It is a very tacky wax. Just my two cents. John
Betty:
Apparently Cobbler’s Wax is also used by bagpipe players. [url=http://larkinthemorning.com/product.asp?pn=BGA023&Cobbler’s+Black+Wax=&bhcd2=1190978141:09f38]Lark in the Morning[/url:09f38] sells it and appears to be in the US along with [url=http://www.tartanthistle.com/Bagpipe_bagpipes_supplies.html:09f38]Tartan Thistle[/url:09f38].
Who’d a thunk it?