ART
BEAUTY & WELLNESS
CRAFT
CULTURE & HISTORY
ENTERTAINMENT
ENVIRONMENT
FOOD & DRINKS
REVERSE ENGINEERING
SCIENCES
SPORTS
TECHNOLOGY
WEARABLES
White Wax: Beeswax Bleached in Ribbons by Sun, Air and Dew, Ure 1839
Yellow beeswax turns white in the sun. Ure (1839) describes the old method: melt the wax, run it into thin ribbons on a wooden roller turning in cold water, and lay the ribbons out on canvas in the open, turned and watered, remelting and re-ribboning until no yellow is left. Chlorine cannot be used: it makes the wax brittle.
The picture: a wax bleachery at Albi, France, with the wax spread on canvas frames above the grass (BnF, Wikimedia Commons, public domain).
Intermediate
Weeks
Instructions
1
1
Melt and settle
Melt and settle
Melt the yellow beeswax with hot water and let it settle, so the dirt sinks and the clear wax floats on top.
Materials for this step:
Beeswax1 kgTools needed:
Saucepan
Water2
2
Make thin ribbons
Make thin ribbons
Trickle the clear wax onto a wooden roller turning half under cold water. It sets in thin ribbons.
Tools needed:
Rolling Pin
Washing Basin3
3
Lay them out in the sun
Lay them out in the sun
Spread the ribbons on canvas stretched about two feet above sheltered grass in full sun. Cover them with nets against the wind, turn them often, and sprinkle them with water now and then.
Tools needed:
Cotton Canvas
Fishing Net
Bucket4
4
Remelt and repeat
Remelt and repeat
When the colour stops changing, gather the wax, remelt it and make fresh ribbons. Repeat until no yellow is left. Do not finish it in rain: it turns grey on keeping.
Tools needed:
SaucepanRolling PinWashing BasinCotton Canvas5
5
Strain and cast
Strain and cast
Melt the white wax, strain it through silk and pour it into thin discs.
Tools needed:
Saucepan
Silk FabricThis blueprint makes
Related Blueprints
These blueprints share knowledge with this one — techniques, materials, or principles that connect them in the learning graph.
CC0 Public Domain
This blueprint is released under CC0. You are free to copy, modify, distribute, and use this work for any purpose, without asking permission.
Support the Maker by purchasing products through their Blueprint where they earn a Maker Commission set by Vendors, or create a new iteration of this Blueprint and include it as a connection in your own Blueprint to share revenue.