Jump to content

Wax for rigging lines


Recommended Posts

I just want to pop a question about which wax is best for rigging lines. Usually I make my own wax blocks out of old candles melted down into old ice cube trays. This wax seems to do the trick. But recently I have used bees wax. Is there any advice on which works better? Should I stay with the old melted down candles or continue using bees wax?

Regards, Scott

 

Current build: 1:75 Friesland, Mamoli

 

Completed builds:

1:64 Rattlesnake, Mamoli  -  1:64 HMS Bounty, Mamoli  -  1:54 Adventure, Amati  -  1:80 King of the Mississippi, AL

1:64 Blue Shadow, Mamoli  -  1:64 Leida Dutch pleasure boat, Corel  -  1:60 HMS President Mantra, Sergal

 

Awaiting construction:

1:89 Hermione La Fayette AL  -  1:48 Perserverance, Modelers shipyard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think most of use bees wax.  Some will run the waxed line over a lightbulb to set the wax.  I'm thinking that you can use what works for you. There might be a downside to candle wax but I have no idea what it would be.

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use beeswax too.  I think it's softer than candle wax and therefore easier to work with. 

Tom

 

 

Current: Sergal Sovereign of the Seas

Previous builds:  AL Swift, AL King of the Mississippi, Mamoli Roter Lowe, Amati Chinese Junk, Caesar, Mamoli USS Constitution, Mantua HMS Victory, Panart San Felipe, Mantua Sergal Soleil Royal

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers Mark.

I will stay with the tried and tested bees wax from now on. As you said there might be a downside to candle wax. Thanks for the

Light bulb trick.

Regards, Scott

 

Current build: 1:75 Friesland, Mamoli

 

Completed builds:

1:64 Rattlesnake, Mamoli  -  1:64 HMS Bounty, Mamoli  -  1:54 Adventure, Amati  -  1:80 King of the Mississippi, AL

1:64 Blue Shadow, Mamoli  -  1:64 Leida Dutch pleasure boat, Corel  -  1:60 HMS President Mantra, Sergal

 

Awaiting construction:

1:89 Hermione La Fayette AL  -  1:48 Perserverance, Modelers shipyard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have used bee's wax on my rigs BUT unless you put your models in Glass cases "DUST" sticks to the rigging and is very hard to remove The Model will be back in the shipyard every year for a long and tedious cleaning 

P.S. The Admiral claim's to keep a dust free house. That is true but with great help from 3 DUST magnet rigs. 

Current Build

HM Granado CC

Past builds

 HMS Chatham CC, HM Convulsion CC,  Duke William German Kit, Fair American LSS, The Wright Flyer MS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Candles are usually made from petroleum based paraffin wax unless explicitly labelled as Beeswax. Beeswax will have an adverse effect on your rigging over the long term because it is slightly acidic. Micro wax is best and can be obtained at an art supply store as conservators wax.

Best

Jaxboat B)

Edited by Jaxboat
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is an extensive thread elsewhere on MSW on this subject in which the opinion seams to be running against the use of beeswax for ship models for reasons of archival longevity. I on the other hand stick with beeswax, if beeswax is wrong I don't want to be right. Emiliano Marino has a book about sewing canvas sails for full size vessels The Sailmaker's Apprentice in which he recommends beeswax mixed with turpentine or tar for the sailtwine used in sewing  actual sails. I love the  smell of pine tar and I sew a lot of canvas so I keep the beeswax mixed with tar handy and I like using it on ship models since the tar in it is a direct link to the past and the culture of sailing ships.

  

Quote

 

 Niagara USS Constitution 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Micro wax. I might have a look around for some. I'm willing to try anything. It's good to see others opinions. Cheers guys

Regards, Scott

 

Current build: 1:75 Friesland, Mamoli

 

Completed builds:

1:64 Rattlesnake, Mamoli  -  1:64 HMS Bounty, Mamoli  -  1:54 Adventure, Amati  -  1:80 King of the Mississippi, AL

1:64 Blue Shadow, Mamoli  -  1:64 Leida Dutch pleasure boat, Corel  -  1:60 HMS President Mantra, Sergal

 

Awaiting construction:

1:89 Hermione La Fayette AL  -  1:48 Perserverance, Modelers shipyard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the beeswax and turpentine.It easily soaks through the line, then the turpentine evaporates leaving the wax evenly distributed. The only downside I have found is it is if you apply too much, it turns white after the turpentine is gone. Not a big issue and solvable with a brush and a turpentine wash. As long as I wipe the line down with a paper towel after using the mix on it I have not had the issue.

 

The issue of whether the wax has a slight acidic content that could degrade the line over time is possible, but I think that it will still well outlast me. So I am not so concerned about it.

Edited by robnbill

Bill

Chantilly, VA

 

Its not the size of the ship, but the bore of the cannon!

 

Current Build: Scratch Build Brig Eagle

 

Completed Build Log: USS Constitution - Mamoli

Completed Build Gallery: USS Constitution - Mamoli

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not wishing to be difficult but, why use wax at all. Can't we use the thread as it is?

Current build : Gorch Fock Occre

 

Completed non-boat build 1/16 Model expo Sopwith Camel - in shore leave.

Previous boat builds:

Amerigo Vespucci Occre

Yacht Mary

Artesania Latina Red Dragon (Modified)

Non-boat build 1/24 scale Dennis bus by OcCre - in shore leave.

Mare Nostrum (modified)  Amati Oseberg (modified)  Chaperon sternwheel steamer 1884   Constructo Lady Smith kit/scratch build   

OcCre Santisima Trinidad Cross Section 

Constructo Robert E Lee Paddle Steamer  Constructo Louise, steam powered river boat   OcCre Bounty with cutaway hull 

Corel Scotland Baltic Ketch (not on MSW) OcCre Spirit of Mississippi paddle steamer (not on MSW)

In the Gallery:
 Mare Nostrum   Oesberg  Constructo Lady Smith   Constructo Robert E Lee   Constructo Louise   OcCre Bounty   OcCre Spirit of Mississippi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two reasons I use wax - knots hold better on waxed line and if I heat the wax into the line, it removes kinks that can form, especially on line that is wound on a card.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Never heard of the turpentine trick. Sounds worth trying I think. I like the wax on lines as it also makes the lines look taught.

Regards, Scott

 

Current build: 1:75 Friesland, Mamoli

 

Completed builds:

1:64 Rattlesnake, Mamoli  -  1:64 HMS Bounty, Mamoli  -  1:54 Adventure, Amati  -  1:80 King of the Mississippi, AL

1:64 Blue Shadow, Mamoli  -  1:64 Leida Dutch pleasure boat, Corel  -  1:60 HMS President Mantra, Sergal

 

Awaiting construction:

1:89 Hermione La Fayette AL  -  1:48 Perserverance, Modelers shipyard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take a glass jar, and shred beeswax into it. Add enough turpentine to cover well and let it set overnight. You can shake it occasionally. If all of the wax has dissolved, add more. The idea is to add as much wax as it will dissolve. This becomes a thin pudding. 

Bill

Chantilly, VA

 

Its not the size of the ship, but the bore of the cannon!

 

Current Build: Scratch Build Brig Eagle

 

Completed Build Log: USS Constitution - Mamoli

Completed Build Gallery: USS Constitution - Mamoli

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have tossed up using wax on a number of past builds. Haven't tried it as yet. May not now if it is a dust attractant. As for fighting the fuzzies, I just rub a drop of PVA glue between thumb and forefinger and run it up the line after fitting. Wouldn't do it if the line wasn't under tension. Don't know if this is considered an acceptable practise or not, but it works for me.

Edited by hornet

Hornet

 

Current Build: - OcCre Shackleton’s Endurance. 

 

Completed Ship Builds:

                                     Caldercraft - HM Bark Endeavour. (in Gallery)

                                    Caldercraft  - HMAV Bounty (in Gallery)

                                     Caldercraft - HM Brig Supply (In Gallery)

                                     Aeropiccola - Golden Hind

                                                        - Constitution

                                     Clipper Seawitch (maker unknown - too long ago to remember!)

                                     Corel - Victory

                                     Modeller's Shipyard - A Schooner of Port Jackson - In Gallery

                                                                      - Brig `Perseverance' - In Gallery

                                                                      - Cutter `Mermaid'- In Gallery

                                                                      - Sirius Longboat (bashed) - In Gallery

                                                                      - Sloop Norfolk - In Gallery

                                      Completed Cannon:   - French 18th Century Naval Cannon

                                                                      - Napoleonic 12 pound field piece

                                                                      - English 18th Century Carronade

                                       Non Ship Builds - Sopwith Camel - Artesania Latina

                                                                   - Fokker DR1 - Artesania Latina

                                               

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

1. A few very old books (I really don't remember which ones) stated that shipboard sail makers used a mixture of 5 pounds beeswax, 4 pounds skimmed off grease from the boiling of salt pork thinned with 5 gallons of turpentine applied to the 'twine' they were using for sewing sails. I haven't tried this formula.

2. A similar formula that I have been using for about 5 years is: one part beeswax, one part toilet bowl ring wax and enough turpentine to dissolve it all to a consistency of yellow mustard.

3. I was looking for a wax formula to use for waxing thread in large quantities. I investigated every wax substance I could find. Eventually I picked up a toilet bowl wax ring in ACE hardware one day, read the fine print including a reference to a mil spec. I looked up the mil spec on the internet and was amazed. This stuff has a 50 year warranty against hardening (basically).

4. The mixture will last forever. I use a lot of it so I haven't tested this forecast.

5. One of the problems in using hard beeswax is that it roughs up the thread surface when you use it.

The hard wax creates more fuzz than it glues down (look at the process under a microscope some day).

6. Speed - using a thinned version of the 'formula', you can wax and dry (with a fan) a thousand yards of thread and dry it ( using a birdcage type drying fixture) in an hour (that much thread should last a few years).

7. As for the acidity, you can dissolve a 'Tums' pill (or something like it) and add it to the mixture (it is a guess as to the quantity unless you have a pH meter): if in doubt, add more. No one yet has complained about  a 'base' pH deteriorating thread.

8. If you are going to dye the thread, do it before you wax it. If you use oil based pigment, mix wax and color together and you can do both at the same time. 

9. There is some discussion currently about waxing. I haven't heard anyone give sound scientific evidence that it is deleterious. The rigging won't last as long as the wood in any case.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...