Is there a trick to twisting Dacron?

[Oliverstacy]

Just wondering if there is a trick to twisting Dacron strings…I started out twisting Dacron and they were a bit rough looking but functional.  I’ve become better and the one I twisted last night came out nice but I had to nip some tag ends, the strands/bundles just don’t stay together like D97.  I originally had some Brownells B50 that was older and didn’t seem to have as much wax as my new BCY B500…yet the new material is just about as tuff to twist.

Is it just that the string material is larger in diameter and hence the bundles are larger and harder to twist?  I read that 8125 is smaller than D97 and I’m going to try some of this material real soon.  I now have 6 colors of each material, it’s like arrows…kind of addicting!

Funny I changed my length peg one notch longer and added a ¼” to my fadeouts and the string looks great…just took some time and a couple choice words.  

Josh

[LBR]

Good stringmaker's wax goes a long way.  Straight bee's wax is too hard, synthetic string wax is too soft.  You want a good mix that isn't too hard and isn't too tacky.

Send me your mailing addy and I'll send you a cake of the wax I use.  I poured it a year or three ago--a blend of bee's wax and synthetic wax.  I forget the mix--hope I wrote it down somewhere.

Chad

[Oliverstacy]

Chad...I'll pay you for the wax, I didn't want to add more, it seemed very sticky to begin with but as I progressed on the twist the heat in my hands seemed to make the wax melt some.  I had my hands full and couldn't get to the wax to add more.  If this wax you have is the ticket it will be highly appreciated.

I really like making them, D97 is a very nice material to use but I want to get good with all.  

I’ll PM you my addy and please let me know what you want for it…I’ll even trade ya something if I have something you need.

Thanks again,

Josh

[David Mitchell]

Being somebody who sorta likes to make some of my stuff I have made a great string making wax by mixing bees wax and pine resin in a tin can and heating until melted, stir, then pour into cup cake papers.  I gather the pine resin from the stuff that has oozed out and crystalized on the tree trunk.  It melts quickly over low heat. Mix three parts melted bees wax to one part melted pine resin--smells good too!

[frank bullitt]

When I made strings for Black Widow in the early '90s, I got the same wax from Brownell that they bonded f.f. with. It has a nice mix  of being clear and enough tackiness to twist with. I have also made beeswax and pine tar mix and it works good also. But it does discolor the whites and yellows. I have been using BCY's wax as of late that I purchased in a big block. You might try that also, Josh.

[Norseman]

Here is a formula for string wax I got off of the net.

2 lbs of bees wax
1 toilet wax ring

Melt on a low heat and stir until well blended. Drop in a tablespoonful of honey once heated and stir.

Pour into the smallest paper cupcake liners you can find and let them cool.

I would think you would have enough to last quite some time.

Cheers

[Bear]

Yes. The trick is to call Chad and have him do it.  :D

[Oliverstacy]

Everyone...thanks you for your help, I'm going to look for some bees wax.  Where can you get pure bees wax?  I've heard about this mix and it would last me a long time.

Chad aka LBR was nice enough to offer one mailed out so I took him up on it. But going forward I think I'm going to do it on my own.

I'm going to assume you want to use a "new" toilet wax ring!    

Josh

[Norseman]

Josh.....the best source for bees wax is either a craft store that has supplies for candle making or a bee keeper....look up apiaries in your area, they will be very reasonable compared to a craft store.

[frank bullitt]

Find a bee keeper and purchase some pine rosin, like in pitchers- baseball type. Your in Michigan, probably have some pine trees, get the pitch from the wounds or cut limbs. Not to crazy about toilet ring wax,... save for the toilet!

[LBR]

I didn't think to tell you I order my material "lightly waxed".  To me, they add too much wax at the factory, and it's too slippery to be string-maker friendly.  

I found my bee's wax on-line--did a search.  Here's where I got it: hiveharvest.com .  At the time it was the cheapest I could find.  Can't remember if I bought 24 or 50 lbs--whichever was the best deal.  Thought I was pouring up a lifetime supply, but it looks like I'll be doing it again within a year or so if business holds up.

I don't like using cupcake papers, because the wax sticks to them and the ridges are a pain.  Two ounce sauce cups work great for most folks, and they have lids to keep the wax clean.  I used 5 oz Dixie cups for my personal cakes, but I go through a lot more than most folks (a 5 oz cake usually lasts 2-3 weeks).

The bee's wax/toilet bowl seal makes excellent string maker's wax, if you get the mix right.  I really don't remember which size or brand seal I used, or how many to how much bee's wax, but it's worked great for me and everyone else who's tried what I poured up.  I didn't add any rosin--don't see a need for it.  Adding a tablespoon of honey seems silly to me.....but I haven't tried it.  The toilet seal (synthetic wax) softens the bee's wax to the right texture/tackiness.  Still smells like honey too.  

Chad

[Oliverstacy]

To all,

Thanks a bunch on this topic!

Chad…I think if I order more B-500 material I will order it lightly waxed since it would make the string smaller and easier to work with…it did get slippery as my hands got heated up.  I could regulate the amount of wax with the homemade wax.

I like the consistency of the D97 I’ve gotten so far, it seems to have the right amount of wax to me but as I get better I might want less wax as you have stated.

This is fun and I hope to do more with it in the near future.

Thanks again,

Josh

[Eric Krewson]

One pound of bees wax and one toilet bowl ring melted and mixed makes the best string wax. One batch will give an average, casual string maker like myself a lifetime supply even if I share a few Dixie cups full with my friends.

Craft store bees wax is usually $12 a pound. The trick is to wait until they have one of those 40%-50% off coupons in the paper for one item and then buy your wax. You can get it cheaper than you can mail order it and pay shipping.

I think I paid $3 a pound for the last I bought from a local beekeeper.

[frank bullitt]

And if you don't want to go to all the trouble to make, Kustom King, 3 Rivers and most all other sponsors of supplies has the right wax. 1 cake will last you quite a while!

[Raminshooter]

Always, always wax up your string bundles very well before you start twisting up a string.  Wax will not harm anything and it really keeps everything together. You've got great advice here on how to make a good wax mix now all you need to do is lay it on.  Best of luck.

[LBR]

It really can be a pain going to the trouble of melting down the wax for just yourself--if you are clumsy like me at least (took longer to clean up the mess than anything else).  If you are going to do it, go ahead and make enough to share with your friends--or even better, con one of them into letting you use their kitchen and utinsels!  Don't pick your best friend for this, because he might not be your friend anymore when you are done.......

A side note:  you can use the "homemade" wax for regular waxing too.

Chad

[Scott S.]

I found beeswax at a local bee-keeper supply store, Dandant's.  I just searched online and this company has several branch ofices around the country and they have a website. It ended up a lot cheaper than the stuff I found on the auction site.