Les Roberts <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I have a requirement to form beeswax into strings or narrow
> tube shapes,  perhaps 1/4 or less in diameter, and perhaps
> 6" long.

If the tubes must be hollow,  I think the task may be impossible,
but if the tubes can be solid (like spaghetti), then you should try
either a mold or an electric "hot wire".

A 2-part mold could be formed from the 3M rubber mold compound
directly, using some 1/4-inch dowel as the "model".  Hot wax is
certainly not hot enough to harm the mold.

If you want to try a "hot wire", here's how I'd make one.

Find a foundation wire embedder if you do not have one, and form
a new tool using the same transformer.  The tool should be a simple
loop of wire shaped like the Greek letter omega on a stick.

It would be important to insure that the gap between the "feet"
of the omega do not touch, so you may want to thread the
wires through a shirt button that would be glued to the end
of the stick, and make some razor-blade cuts along the
sides of the stick in which the wires can lay.

Now that you have a small loop of hot wire, you can run it along
the edge of a slab of wax (molded in a cookie sheet, perhaps)
to create the 1/4-inch diameter "extruded shapes".

The wax needs a (plywood?) spacer to sit upon so the edge to be
"cut" will hang in mid-air, and I'm sure that the results will be better
if you keep the "hot wire" gizmo still in some sort of jig, and slide
the wax from side to side along some sort of straight edge.  A table
saw might be a good "base" for the whole set-up.  Just crank the
vernier knob a bit after each "cut".

        jim