Could this be modified for use as a cheap conservation technique for
recovered rusty artifacts? A temporary fix, perhaps?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jane Brown" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2004 11:23 AM
Subject: Beeswax & blacksmithing


> Here is what a blacksmith friend suggested to me--
>
> Beeswax was a good coating for metal to keep it from rusting. Sometimes
> it was mixed with turpentine or linseed oil to help it spread better and
> to speed up the drying process. Smiths had their own "secret" formulas
> for this finish. Another thought just came to mind and it might have
> been in another "secret" tempering formula whereby the beeswax could
> have been mixed with some type of petroleum product. I know that some
> smiths used all manner of formulations to temper the tools with. I
> interviewed an old smith down in Georgia for Foxfire years ago who used
> to work in a shop near the stone quarries around Elberton and his first
> job as an apprentice was to hide the color that a mill pick was drawn to
> and then grind off all traces of the color in order to keep this a
> secret. I'm pretty sure that the finishing would be the first use of the
> beeswax. As a tempering medium that's only an educated guess.
>
> www.plumorchardforge.com <http://www.plumorchardforge.com>
>
> Jane
>
> Jane L. Brown
> Anthropology/Sociology
> 101 McKee Building
> Western Carolina University
> Cullowhee, NC 28723-9646
>
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>
>
>