Hi Guys,
You can buy 100% beeswax at Bunnings in a block.
It's kept around timber treatment products, and looks to be primarily marketed for waterproofing.

I'm wondering if anyone has any tricks for getting it accurately where you want it?

The power transformers in Kriesler consoles are covered
neatly in it (they might have been dipped before the core was present.

I want to cover my repair to damaged insulation to wire leads for a power transformer.
First I used superglue, then I smeared Sikaflex (black) over the wire,
then I want to cover it neatly in beeswax, but not the entire transformer, just the wire.

Cheers, Brek.

Jaycar sell liquid electrical tape. Works quite well.

I'm satisfied with the repair, and safety etc. already.
The Beeswax coating is to put it back in it's time appearance wise ;)
The transformer is on top of the chassis. Sikaflex is like Black silicone,
but used as automotive adhesive as well, it can't ever look right.

The only concern I would have with beeswax is that in very hot weather it could melt.

Other than that a useful product.

Yes, 60 degrees C, but it wouldn't be it's first use on power transformers, and it is only cosmetic.

Any solution I can think of requires some complex apparatus.
If I want to apply it precisely.

Mould it into a small enough pellet to fit a hot glue gun? A bit of experimentation would find the right temperature.

I've tried beeswax in a hot glue gun - rolled a cylinder of it to same shape as glue sticks. I don't recommend it, though. The glue guns are too hot, so the wax melts too quickly and starts to scorch, with unpleasant smell.

I've though of using a metal oil-can, keeping the temperature up with a hair-dryer or short bursts from a heat gun (wear gloves). Big metal syringes used to be available from gardening shops and may still be, though plastic seems to have taken over most such products now.

Maven

I was thinking along the lines of a home metal metal syringe that can handle the melting temp.

An ordinary handheld glue gun with empty aluminium
pipe would almost do if they were made a bit smaller,
and a makeshift nozzle could be worked out.

There must be some refined way, they did it ok on IF former
screws, and variable caps, ferrite loops, etc.
I don't remember ever seeing any particularly messy job of it.

There must be some refined way, they did it ok on IF former

Here's how DIY insulation was done in 1906. The formula may be useful:

http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/popular-mechanics/Amateur-Work-5/Induction-Coil-Making-For-Amateurs-I-Apparatus-Needed-Wax.html#.UtlI8Pt9LGg

A glue gun operated off a dimmer switch, or a variac, or maybe just a diode, might get the temperature down enough to melt the wax without scorching it. You'd need to dedicate such a gun to wax only, as hot glue would clog it up for use with wax.

That's a bit extreme for my purposes GTC!

I'll have to think about it, I don't even have a hot glue gun dedicated to hot glue yet

The cheapest thing I can think of to try is a partial funnel made of sheet metal by sitting wax inside, and heating with a soldering iron.

That's a bit extreme for my purposes GTC!

As I said, the formula may be useful.

"A mixture of 4 parts paraffine, 1 part beeswax and 1 part resin is excellent; the proportion of beeswax being increased if the coil is to be used outdoors in cold or moist weather."

So long as the other parts are as easily obtainable.
I get it now sorry, they are actually coating wire, they are doing the same thing as me!

Do you think the mixture below is is what IF coils were coated with?

"A mixture of 4 parts paraffine, 1 part beeswax and 1 part resin is excellent; the proportion of beeswax being increased if the coil is to be used outdoors in cold or moist weather."

I think the paraffin and resin will stabilise the wax somewhat, by raising the melting temperature.

The trick is to raise the temperature evenly to the point where the wax will flow like cool honey but remain viscous and set quickly enough to hold its position. A high-heat vessel tends to produce highly liquid wax dripping incontrollably off a lump of solid wax, like dripping wax off a candle.

Of course, dripping wax off a lit beeswax candle is another technique, but hard to control flow and easy to burn fingers

Maven