Sourcing wax this season Sourcing wax this season
The wax we use is a roughly 70/30 microcrystalline-and-paraffin blend with a small amount of carnauba for surface. We do not make it. We buy it in 5 kg slabs from a chandler two valleys over.
What changed this season
The chandler's microcrystalline supplier shifted to a different refinery and the new lot has a noticeably softer set. We measured.
| Lot | Drop point | Penetration (1/10 mm) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q3 | 88 °C | 14 | Reference batch — what we built the recipe on. |
| 2025 Q4 | 86 °C | 16 | Slight slump on tall waxes; flask up sooner. |
| 2026 Q2 | 84 °C | 19 | Noticeably softer. Patterns travel poorly in summer. |
The fix is not dramatic — the wax still pours fine, it just resists handling on warm afternoons. We are dropping the workshop temperature two degrees on pour days and giving thin sections an extra night to cool before we sprue them.
A note on substitutes
We tried a straight paraffin from a different chandler as a stop-gap. Cheaper. Sets harder. Crumbles when you carve detail under 0.5 mm. Worth knowing, not worth buying.