Weekend project: Honey table

  • I salvaged this table from a dumpster. It's really sturdy, made with solid pine. The table surface has lots of dents, so the first step is to sand it down.
  • After sanding it down I cut off pieces of a block of solid bees wax I bought a while back for creating candles, and melted it on a glass yar in a water bath in a casserole. I then poured the melted wax onto the table, and quickly dragged it out using a rag (actually my sons worn out swim trunks, everything can be reused!). I have of course never tried anything like this before, so I was not totally shocked when the wax solidified quicker than I expected. But experimentation is the mother of invention, so out came the hot air gun!
  • My son helping me to remelt the wax. He also cut up more pieces of wax that we placed straight onto the table. The wax melts fast, and it is important to not warm it up too much because it can realease harmful gases. I kept my hand near(ish) the air gun to make sure the temerature didn't get too high. The wax should be layed on in a very thin layer, and I used a rag to massage it into the wood. If you lay it on too thick it will look white, and the table top feels rather sticky.My plan was to polish it as well, but I will wait a little bit to see how the wax reacts over time.A learning experience!
  • A funny effect of polishing furniture with pure bees wax is that it actually attracts bees. It didn't take long before there where 5 or 6 bees flying around, looking very exited and confused. When the wax is hot it smells fantastic, a strong smell of honey, and if I where a bee I would probably think there was a party going on :)I had to take a little break for while, as the bees got a little bit to close for my comfort, and finished up in a hurry.I will probably have to redo this table in a few months, but it will have to do for now.

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