THE WAX PRESS 201 



wash boiler and to skim the wax from the surface of the water. 

 Sometimes the combs are placed in a burlap bag and thrown in 

 the boiling water. Sticks are used to punch the bag and to stir 

 it about in the hot water. While a certain amount of wax will 

 be secured in this manner it is very wasteful and from one-fourth 

 to one-half of the wax will be lost unless the refuse is rendered 

 again by some plan. 



Small bits of comb are often placed in a pan in the oven. 

 The pan is partly filled with water and the hot wax dipped off or 

 the combs are laid on a screen through which the wax will run 

 while the waste will remain on the screen. The wax is some- 

 times left to harden in the pan and the cake lifted out when cool. 



While rendering by some of these crude methods is better 

 than wasting the wax the amount wasted will shortly pay for a 

 good press. 



The Wax Press. — ^o satisfactory way to get all the wax has 

 been found without the use of some kind of press. Some may 

 think that they are getting all the wax because the slumgum or 

 refuse is apparently free from it, but the chances are that when 

 rendered with a good outfit this slumgum would produce from 

 fifteen to twenty-five per cent more wax. 



A man who understands mechanics and is handy with tools 

 can readily construct a wax press, though there are good ones to 

 be had in the market. The principal requirements are great 

 pressure applied when the mass is hot, and that there be plenty of 

 water mixed with the melted combs to insure that the wax will 

 run freely. Many of the outfits in use have some provision for 

 the use of steam to keep the whole thing hot when the pressure 

 is applied. It has been found of late that the press need not 

 be heated if the work is done when the weather is warm or in a 

 warm room, providing that the material is boiling hot when 

 dipped into the press. 



Many different plans for making presses for this purpose have 

 been described in the bee journals but the essential requirements 

 are the same. Some are round and some square but with pressure 



