MAKE YOUR OWN MACHINABLE WAX

  v     You will need:
         - Paraffin Wax (Available at Hobby Lobby)
         - Plastic Shopping Bags (LDPE, Recycle symbol #2 or #4)
         - Deep fryer WITH adjustable thermostat
         - Candy Thermometer

           (to make sure your fryer thermostat is working correctly)
         - Wood Spoon
         - Leather Gloves
         - Safety Glasses
         - Moulds (I’ve used 3D pint, Wood frames, and Cardboard)
         - Strainer
         - Wax paper is handy
         - A scale to measure wax/plastic

We’re using the machinable wax recipe from Instructable, which calls for 4 parts paraffin wax to 1-part plastic. In this case, we are using LDPE pellets from local shop and paraffin wax from the local shop.

 

                                 LDPE

 

 

1- MELTING WAX

 

 The wax melts almost instantly but the plastic pellets take a lot longer to disintegrate. Forming a gloopy mass in the bottom of the fryer careful stirring is needed to speed up the melting process – careful in order to not scratch the non-stick with the poorly chosen implement, and more importantly because the wax and plastic is a skin-searing 130 °C.

                             2-MIXING LDPE

 

 

After about 45 minutes of ‘gentle’ heating the LDPE and the wax have become one. The entire mixture is noticeably thicker than the original melted wax but nowhere near as lumpy as when the plastic was still melting. The texture is somewhat homogenous at this stage as well.

Now’s the time to add the coloring. Orange wax crayon looks pretty bad-ass, but we literally have an entire rainbow of colors to choose from next time. This wasn’t quite thought through entirely though as when we come to melt scraps from different batches together, we will inevitably end up with brown.

                                 3-MIXING COLOR

        

 The moulds we used in this first instance worked perfectly in terms of standing up to the heat, but not so perfectly in that they don’t have a flat bottom. The second batch we ran a few days later used a £2 metal loaf tin from ASDA. While it took a lot longer to cool down the result was a very flat base: one less edge to trim on the bandsaw.

It’s relatively time consuming to make given that the fryer needs to be monitored for impending fire but the raw materials are very cheap in bulk. The end result is much more brittle than say, a candle.

CNC machining has a steep learning curve. To help everyone get the most out of the new machine we’re making some machinable wax – paraffin wax with plastic (LDPE) mixed in – to use during inductions and for test cuts.

There are many advantages to using machinable wax. It’s cheap, easy to cut, holds a nice finish and the chips can be recycled by melting into new blocks when used up. The disadvantage is that it can be quite expensive. Which is where DIY comes in.