Looking for small melting pot

[Brian Tymchak]

Hey all, hope everyone is staying healthy.

I'm looking for a small melting pot, electric, to melt parafin. Everything I find are larger double boilers. I usually have better luck with my google-foo but not this time. I want something smaller, maybe 3" across, 2" deep. Something I can easily dip screws when I have lots of screws to install. I've seen that I could microwave it, but I would have to continually renuke it. I want to find something that would keep parafin liquid for an hour or so.

Can anyone provide a recommendation?

Thanks, Brian

[Andrew Seemann]

It is total overkill, but a Hold-Heet glue pot would probably work.

[Tom M King]

Go to ebay, and search for "wax warmer". They're around $15.

[Richard Coers]

Or look for an electric potpourri warmer.

[Steve Eure]

how about a small crock pot. I bought one for around $10 that is about a quart in size. I use it to melt my beeswax and such. I don't know if it wuld get too hot, but you could always turn it off if that was the case.

[Brice Rogers]

I made a paraffin mix that is mushy at room temps. It works good for screws. I took some paraffin (candles, etc.) and heated it until liquid, then I added paint thinner and mixed. Let it cool a bit and add more paint thinner until it is the right consistency at room temp. I made some a couple of years ago and whenever I need to wax a screw, I just jab it into the jar. I originally made the mix for paddling on to end grain of logs for wood turning.

[Jim Becker]

My solution for that was a cheap hot-plate, a cheap throw away pan from a thrift store and whatever container I wanted the wax or whatever to be inside of the pot that was filled part way with water. You can also sometimes find a small "slow cooker"/CrockPot at thrift stores for pennies on the dollar to melt things like wax. That's what Professor Dr. SWMBO uses for rendering beeswax, as a matter of fact. $5 crock pot.

[Bohdan Drozdowskyj]

Something I can easily dip screws when I have lots of screws to install.

Thanks, Brian

You don't need much wax on the screws so just draging them flat across a block of wax will leave enough in the threads to lubricate the screw. This is also much more useful as you can keep it in your pocket.

[Bruce Wrenn]

How about one of those electric coffee cup warmers, and an old coffee cup?

[Bill Dufour]

Old coffee pot, electric skillet, do not be afraid to cut a coffee pot down to a shorter height with a angle grinder. All the electrical is in the base.
Bil lD

[Thomas McCurnin]

I have a small stub of a candle which is generally always on my bench or table saw. It doesn't take much wax. About half the time I use spit (salavia) which works about as well. Woodcraft sells tins of wax for screws which is very pliable and is not hard at all.

[Dan Hahr]

Ask your a girl in your life about a wax warmer. Get a cheap one and don’t let her use it.

Dan

[al heitz]

Or just sub a scrap of hand soap you were going to throw away. Scrape the screw across it and use it.

[Lee Schierer]

Something I can easily dip screws when I have lots of screws to install.
Can anyone provide a recommendation?

Thanks, Brian

I use a lump of beeswax when I'm driving screws. Simply drag the treads across the lump and enough beeswax sticks to the threads to make driving easy. Beeswax sticks to the threads much better than paraffin. Any local bee keeper would either give you a lump or sell it for a nominal amount.

[Charles Lent]

I just drag the screws across a piece of paraffin or scrap of soap, but you can use an electric baby bottle warmer with a small metal or glass cup placed in the water to hold the paraffin. I also use mine to melt small amounts of hyde glue, again placed in a small metal cup with water surrounding it in the warmer. I bought my baby bottle warmer from a thrift store for about $1 about 15 years ago. It even has a temperature adjustment knob on the side.

Charley