Uses for chewing tobacco and beeswax

[Moses Yoder]

I read about mixing beeswax and mineral oil some time ago. I thought I would give it a try and shaved some beeswax in a pint jar, poured in enough mineral oil to cover the shavings and heated it in a pan with water. It is great stuff. I don't know what I was doing the other day but it occurred to me that it was difficult to get the stuff out of the pint jar. I used a stick and poked at it, eventually getting some onto a rag. It is good to lube a sole for planing, a food safe finish on wood or cutting boards, rust prevention, etc. A harder wax than Johnson's Paste. Anyway it was hard to get out of the jar. The next day I was sitting at the lunch table at work and at the end of the break my cousin John that I work with pulled out his Kodiak chew tobacco container and a light bulb went off. I asked him if he had any empties and he said he used to sell them to a bait shop that was now closed so he had a whole bag of them. I begged a few off of him and the next day he brought me a small bag of 10 containers, no charge. Tonight I melted my half full pint of wax and poured it into the containers. I will grin a little bit at how handy this is every time I use one.

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[Bill Houghton]

So, you're talking about the chewing tobacco container, not the chewing tobacco. I was all ready to offer the use of tobacco my father taught me when I was young: the Bull Durham bags (cotton bags, fairly open weave) were perfect for wiping across a truck/car windshield when the wipers quit. The tobacco oil alters the surface tension of the rain enough that it sheets off so you can see through it. Alas, they no longer sell Bull Durham in little cotton bags; the good news is that modern wipers are more reliable than the old vacuum wipers.

Trying to add something useful to this thread: for those without friends who chew tobacco, Altoids tins are useful the same way. I have one that collects old rock knife/boxcutter blades for recycling, and one with wax in it, used mainly to lubricate screws (and one for my double-edged razor blades in the bathroom, but that's off topic).

By the way, Moses, what's the meaning of your tag line about "No martinis till you salt the mouse?"

[David Weaver]

I put mine in tins and carry it around, too. I use it in the shop, on tools that are in storage, on any dermatitis I might have in the dead of winter, etc. It's excellent stuff to have around.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I keep a pouch of chewing tobacco in our garden shed. A couple of decent sized pinches in a gallon plastic milk jug gets filled with water and steeps in the sun for a few days. Put the liquid in a garden sprayer and it is a great insecticide for your plants and shrubs. That's a whole lot cheaper and better for the environment than some of the persistent organic chemicals. I apply it about once a month during the growing season though I do have to respray after a really heavy rain.

[Tom Vanzant]

I use a toilet wax ring (new and unused) to lube wood screws. I transfer it into an old Altoids can and re-fill as needed. A few minutes on the "stay warm" element on the flat-top stove levels it up good as new.

[Greg R Bradley]

I keep a pouch of chewing tobacco in our garden shed. A couple of decent sized pinches in a gallon plastic milk jug gets filled with water and steeps in the sun for a few days. Put the liquid in a garden sprayer and it is a great insecticide for your plants and shrubs. That's a whole lot cheaper and better for the environment than some of the persistent organic chemicals. I apply it about once a month during the growing season though I do have to respray after a really heavy rain.
You're making a crude version of Imidacloprid. If you think nicotine is "better for the environment", you might want to read up on those types of pest poisons being banned in large parts of the world at this point.

[Dave Lehnert]

I use a toilet wax ring (new and unused) to lube wood screws. I transfer it into an old Altoids can and re-fill as needed. A few minutes on the "stay warm" element on the flat-top stove levels it up good as new.
Good idea, Thanks

[Moses Yoder]

By the way, Moses, what's the meaning of your tag line about "No martinis till you salt the mouse?"

Gosh, I had to wait almost two weeks for someone to ask. Of course a few people who read all the minutiae on here might know. This signature comes to you thanks to Winton Applegate. "Gladiator" is my all time favorite movie this week and a while back I did a Google Image search and found the pic I am using. Naturally the phrase "We who are about to die salute you." Of course in order to be appropriate it would have to be in Latin, "Morituri te Salutamus". This was my signature for a while. In a discussion on something not even closely related Sir Applegate said he thought my signature said "No martinis till you salt the mouse." To a high functioning sociopath, things like that stick in our minds and come out at the oddest moments. It is about due to be changed, probably this weekend. Although I do have to work Saturday morning.