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Tallow

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Lucasade:
That's useful - thank you. Is it better to pre-melt them or does it work as well to apply them separately and rub them in together?

Pat B:
Bees wax will melt and blend well with melted tallow. I would prefer to have it already mixed for easier application. I've not used beef tallow but have used bear grease(already rendered)with beeswax and some pine pitch for a leather dressing for my work boots.
 As a bow finish I think a good, vigorous hand rubbing would generate enough heat to help it penetrate the wood well. You could preheat the wood first too but not necessary.

jaxenro:
I use a 'mutton tallow / paraffin / beeswax' mix as a under bullet lubricant in my muzzle loading revolvers.

I bought an old crock pot at a yard sale and put a pound of each in it and heated it for a few hours then ladled it into canning jars. It is probably the easiest way to mix them instead of melting over a double boiler and all that this is no risk. For the revolvers I cut a tiny chunk out and work in my fingers a few seconds to soften and then roll into a tiny ball and flatten it.

If you put your tallow and beeswax in an old crock pot you could probably essentially do the same. Make a mix that works for you and jar it and then dig some out and just rubbing it in would probably generate the heat, as Pat B said, to work it into the wood

Lucasade:
At the moment I'm applying them on top of each other and rubbing in together, which seems to work fine. I just like to find ways to improve when I can...

sleek:

--- Quote from: Lucasade on August 21, 2016, 05:15:08 am ---That's useful - thank you. Is it better to pre-melt them or does it work as well to apply them separately and rub them in together?

--- End quote ---

I melted them together as a single batch, then apply by rubbing the hardened wax on, then follow with a hair dryer to wet it out.

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