Today's Experiment - Restoring Grafting Wax

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Today's Experiment - Restoring Grafting Wax

Post by letumgo » Wed Dec 29, 2021 11:18 am

Several years ago when my father passed away, I was going thru his tool shed and found an old box of Grafting Wax. Dad used to use it for grafting new branches to apple trees. Dad had the greenest thumb, of anyone I've ever met.

Anyway, I've held onto the wax for many years, wondering if it could be used for fly tying. This morning I decided to melt down the wax (as a way of removing some of the crust from the outside of the block and remove bits of wax paper that had fused to the surface). I saved an old spam tin just for this purpose.

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I used a pan partially filled with water, to make a hot water bath to slowly melt the wax.
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A pair of disposable wooden chopsticks worked nicely for stirring the melted wax, and removing the debris (wax paper).
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Once melted, I then pored some of the wax into those little plastic butter thingies you get at restaurants. They seemed like the perfect size for little cube of wax for tying purpose.
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I made up several small pieces of wax (flat pieces & cubes). The rest I pored into a plastic sandwich back an flattened out into a large disk, which was placed into the freezer. Hopefully once it is ice cold, I can break it into smaller pieces for future use.

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Anyway, just wanted to show my latest crazy experiment in this ever-fascinating hobby.

(Thanks Dad, for the new tying wax)
Ray (letumgo)----<°))))))><
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Ron Eagle Elk
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Re: Today's Experiment - Restoring Grafting Wax

Post by Ron Eagle Elk » Wed Dec 29, 2021 11:25 am

If it's good for tying, you have a life time supply there, my friend.
"A man may smile and bid you hale yet curse you to the devil, but when a good dog wags his tail he is always on the level"
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Re: Today's Experiment - Restoring Grafting Wax

Post by letumgo » Wed Dec 29, 2021 11:34 am

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Yes, indeed!

That reminds me of when I was just getting into fly tying. I was tempted to buy a full case of dubbing wax (the ones that come in tubes). Fortunately I decided to see how long the first tube lasted, before investing in a full case.

Needless to say, there is still plenty of wax in that first tube after twenty years of tying... LOL!!!
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Re: Today's Experiment - Restoring Grafting Wax

Post by Mike62 » Wed Dec 29, 2021 1:34 pm

I think we were separated at birth. My grandfather was an apple farmer in NH. I remember waxing grafts in the orchards with him when I was just a little kid. When we cleaned out his barn after he died, I found two gallons of old, unlabeled wax. Whether it was something he bought, or a concoction of his own devising, I never knew. It never occurred to me that I might have used it for tying.
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Re: Today's Experiment - Restoring Grafting Wax

Post by Roadkill » Wed Dec 29, 2021 3:46 pm

Love it Ray!! 8-)

But i just had the mental image of Walt Disney doing a sorcerer's apprentice cartoon movie of flytyers and what some of us go through in the mystic art of feather bending.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble let a fly be made on the double! ;) :lol:

P.S. This should go in the tutorials for those tyers who want to play with making tying wax. :ugeek:
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Re: Today's Experiment - Restoring Grafting Wax

Post by letumgo » Wed Dec 29, 2021 3:52 pm

Bill - Next time I know what music to play when I’m playing around. :D
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Re: Today's Experiment - Restoring Grafting Wax

Post by hankaye » Thu Dec 30, 2021 10:36 am

Howdy All;

The Spam cans I can relate to, I'm one of those that enjoy it.
It's realizing he saves the butter pat thingies that got me. :lol: :lol:

hank
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of consecutive days I've stayed alive." George Carlin
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Re: Today's Experiment - Restoring Grafting Wax

Post by letumgo » Thu Dec 30, 2021 10:15 pm

The spam can was saved for this specific purpose. The butter containers were left over from a takeout meal earlier in the week (still full of butter until I had toast). I looked at them and though “perfect”.

Necessity is the mother of invention…
Waste not, want not… :D

SPAM! SPAM! SPAM! SPAMITY SPAM! :lol:
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Re: Today's Experiment - Restoring Grafting Wax

Post by hankaye » Fri Dec 31, 2021 12:51 pm

Ray, Howdy;

So, if freshly used then you didn't need to pre-grease them
before filling them with wax. Clever Lad. chucklin' :lol:

hank
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"Every day I beat my own previous record for number
of consecutive days I've stayed alive." George Carlin
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Re: Today's Experiment - Restoring Grafting Wax

Post by letumgo » Fri Dec 31, 2021 9:01 pm

;) :D :lol:
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