Removing paraffin from Imbuia block

[Dan Mitchell]

I recently bought a block of Imbuia wood at Rockler, with the idea of making a "bandsaw box" for my MIL's 70th birthday. Image is below. The block is coated in paraffin (I'm assuming/have been told), as you often see with turning blocks. I'm wondering how to get rid of the wax, and when I should do this. To the former question, I could resaw thin slabs from the sides of the block, but I want to retain the "bark" area on the top of the block to be the top of the finished box. Several suggestions have been made for removing the wax: Mineral spirits (others have said this will drive the dissolved paraffin INTO the pores of the wood, undesirable) a heat gun to melt it off, and even a power washer. I'm wondering what the consensus is here on removing this coating.

Also, WHEN should I remove the coating? Is the wood underneath likely to be dry, so removing the wax will allow the block to ABSORB moisture (undesired), or is the wood under the wax likely to HAVE moisture content NOW, so I should REMOVE the wax & let the block sit before working it, or the finished box may warp with time as a result of water loss???

I'm at a loss on the best way to procede. The gift has to be done in early December. Should I remove the wax, work the wood immediately & finish, or should I remove the wax, let the block rest, then work it in a month or so???

And HOW should I remove the paraffin, especially from the rough, "bark" area on the top?

TIA

Dan

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-10/1282864/Imbuia.JPG

[guy knight]

what about scraping most of it off then running it threw the jointer/planer to remove the rest then check the moisture content and let it sit a few weeks to acclimate

[Jim Becker]

Scrape off what you can and then use mineral spirits to help dissolve the rest and wipe it off.

[Dick Strauss]

Dan,
You definitely want to try scraping off what you can first.

You will have to use some sort of solvent for the bark area. You can also clean the whole block with solvent. The wax will not penetrate very far into the wood pores and will be easily sanded off in the non-bark areas.

Here's another idea for removing the residual wax...
You can try ironing over some fine cheesecloth (or other cotton cloth) with the iron set to low (in the order wood block-cheesecloth-iron). As the wax melts, it will wick into the cloth. You want to apply very little heat since the wax only needs to get to 120-140*F to change into a liquid. You don't want to heat the whole block of wood, otherwise you are asking for problems. The iron will really only work for flat surfaces. You're on your own for the bark edge part.

I suspect that the block is wet/moist since most turning blocks are shipped this way. They wax the blocks to keep them from cracking on the way to market. Use a moisture meter to check it before continuing.

How big is the block? It looks to be at least 5-6" thick. If so, it won't have enough time to stabilize before Christmas. IMHO you'll have to work with it the way it is (damp) and finish it ASAP. You'll want to work as quickly as possible with the unfinished block. Right now the block probably has equal moisture across the piece. Once you take off the wax, that will change and possibly cause warping/cracking from the outside drying faster than the inside.

Hopefully others will chime in with their opinions as well...


Good luck,
Dick

[Dan Mitchell]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like a combination of scraping & dissolving is the way to go. I guess I'll come up with something else for my MIL (she's pretty critical; if the box split in 6 months, I'd never hear the end of it. How my wife ever originated in THAT FAMILY is beyond me, but I digress... ;-) and play with this bit later.


Dan

[Chris Barnett]

"The better part of valor is discretion," W.S. Might want to consider a different wood that is kiln dried if family peace is to be maintained.