This is the sort of thing I love about the internet. A quarter hour video from a dude with a totally different life, about a topic that'll never apply to me, but it's just there for anyone to watch and appreciate.
Lol, thanks man! I try to imagine sometimes, all the different people from different lives and different places that are watching my videos. It’s mind boggling.
@@lizc.671 wow, so glad to see that some younger folks enjoy stuff like this. When I look at my analytics, it shows that most of my audience is made up of 30-40 year olds. Almost no teenagers. Thank you for watching! Have you seen any of my other videos? You might like the Christmas light video, or the majoras mask video.
@@RyanGrady I'm a teenager from Alabama trying to process my first batch of beeswax, I lost a hive this summer and figured I needed to do something with the comb. Your video is the best one I found. Being a camper I also appreciate the tip about the paper towels covered in wax, never would of thought of it and it's a great idea! Beats matches and ripping apart twigs and bark for a half hour by a long shot.
Very good video. Apparently in the Middle ages, although they had no other source of sugar, the bees wax was worth 14 times as much as the honey. It still makes better candles than paraffin wax as it burns longer and smells nice. Go bees!
I never thought of that! I guess candles would be super important back then. It’s amazing how things change. Candles are just a luxury now, but then it was a need. Wooden wagon wheels are almost nonexistent now but back in the day, they were all the rage!
Yep! The only real alternative to beeswax candles was tallow candles, which burn dirty and with a lasting smell of burning fat. It had a lot of other uses too: waxed linen thread was used to sew most of the day-to-day garments the average person would wear, it was used to make waxed paper lanterns, rubbed into leather to keep it supple and weather resistant, and many other things :)
@@johncraven6671 Dont forget sealing things, I mean yea sealing letters was a thing but more importantly you can preserve food in a pot by sealing it in with wax. Also you can use it to preserve candy. If you just make sweets (say out of honey) and leave them as is they suck in water and dont last long. But cover them in a thin film of wax and they last a long time. Since you can eat beeswax that was the best solution back in the day.
This was fascinating! You clearly have a love and deep respect for the bees as you don't waste even a bit of their precious resources. Thanks for taking the time to record your process!
Thanks for the positive comment! You’re right I do have a deep respect for them. I love everything they do for nature and how dependent we are on them.
@@RyanGrady We'd have a lot more of them if people in the US incorporates more flowers and wild vegetation in their yards instead of ecologically useless grass. Anyway, I have no interest in making beeswax, but this was still fun to watch! The best kind of recycling.
HE'S Shameless THIEF! STEALING FROM THESE HARD WORKING BEES! THEY WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE!=🐝🐝BEES AFTER MILLIONS OF YEARS KNOW WHAT TO DO! HE'S A GREEDY MEDDLING SHAMELESS HONEY THIEF!! HE BELONGS IN THE BIG HOUSE= 👤👤👤👥👥👥👤👤👥👥
My grandparents were beekeepers in rural Mexico. My aunt was telling me about the entire process they would go through. How they sold honey , candles and more. This video made me very happy. This explains a lot of the patience they had. Thank you
And this is what I will show people who dare say "it's a complicated process" and "you need machines and the industrial system to make beeswax otherwise it's impossible" Feels incredibly good to have someone make such pure and clean beeswax this well explained.
Its propably a complicated process if you would have to walk through all the steps involving growing bee's for someone who just needs the wax, but honestly, its nothing more than melting and filtrating. Simple as that.
This was something I never knew or even thought about other than the fact that if there are no bees we die! No food. No pollination. You, sir, are an artist. Your duties with the bees is well appreciated by me. I hope others realize the importance of these tiny creatures!
Thank you. I love bees, and I try to come up with ideas on how to do certain things, that will preserve every bit of the natural resource without losing any. Bees are very important, but unfortunately honeybees are not the most important bees. There are many people that keep and sustain honeybees, so largely honeybees are doing pretty good worldwide. It is other species of bees, that do not produce honey but do a large amount of the pollination that honeybees do not. Honeybees will collect whatever natural resource is most prevalent at the time.There are certain plants that honeybees will not mess with because the rewards are minimal for them. That is where other species of bees come in to play. For instance, alfalfa produces a flower that is inaccessible for honeybees. But there is a certain Bee species that has a physical characteristic that allows them to access the pollen inside the flower. Unfortunately it is these other species that are not being cared for well, and are having their habitats destroyed. That is where the majority of the problem is coming from.
Being a UA-camr often means cranking out a lot of videos, most unnecessary. I always appreciate a smaller channel putting out a very well done video that does just what it needs to. Thank you for this, sir.
This was an interesting watch dude. Nothing fancy, just a really wholesome wax extracting video. The time-lapses were a nice touch and your other tips and experiments throughout the process were also a treat. Great job.
Pro tip. Take all the "junk" and stuff it into a ladies stocking. Tie it off and toss it back into your boil pot. You'll extract even more off stuff you normally would have thrown out. This would include the junk you scrapped off the bottom of the first big disk, the paper towels, and even the trash you skimmed off the top of the first pot. Also, find some muffin tins at the local Goodwill and grab some of the riffled paper muffin moulds. These are almost perfectly 1.5 ounces when filled with wax and the paper is pre-waxed and pulls off super easy.
Awesome video! For the record - since you like making firestarters out of the wax-soaked paper towel, if you have some time to play around I'd encourage you to do something similar with the "junk" residue you throw away after skimming it off the first melt - that stuff has a lot of wax left in it no matter how hard you squeeze it. If you buy a set of dedicated molds (i.e. only used to make firestarters) similar to the ones you have at 12:26 but a bit larger, you can fill them with clean wood shavings, cover the whole mold with a healthy dose of "junk-skim" and bake in a low oven (on an old cookie sheet - drippy!!) until the liquid renders down and fills up the gaps around the sawdust. Remove and cool, and you'll be left with a mostly-woodchips-and-cleanish-wax amalgam in the bottom of the molds, and a nasty (but mostly wax-free) layer of bee parts, dirt, etc. on top. This top part you can cut off leaving a set of useful, thick firestarters that'll burn for a long time at the center of a fire. Trial and error will let you find a junk-to-woodchip ratio that works. Have fun! PS: I suggested woodchips, but almost any cellulose-based material is good. Strips of clean cardboard cut to size and packed in the molds would work well too.
you can use cardboard egg cartons as molds. all uniform cells and generally small, but you can just pour the wax and trimmings in and let it harden overnight, then cut the cells apart using scissors and light them up. you can add in used dryer sheets, dryer lint, the paper grass from easter baskets, old wax soaked rags...
I've watched this video several times in the past week, purely because your voice and manner are so gentle and soothing and you clearly have a lot of care for both the bees and the craft - it's very lovingly made, thankyou so much xx
Wow, thank you so much. I guess I don’t see my voice as soothing. To me,,,, it’s just me. But I’ve had a lot of comments about this video being relaxing and soothing. I guess I should look into becoming a voice actor. 😉Check out some of my other stuff and see what you think?
Most excellent! When I was a boy in the 1960's, my grandmother did a lot of sewing. She used a lump of beeswax to treat the thread so it didn't tangle. She'd just pull the thread through the wax. She also made beeswax candles, but I don't know how.
I have a few pieces of thread wax hanging around. It helps keep the thread from tangling as much. I usually get it at craft stores, but have also found it at hardware stores.
@@johncraven6671 Thread wax isn’t going to give you the same results as buying waxed thread. It coats the thread but doesn’t soak in. So unless you are going to melt the wax and soak the thread buy waxed thread like you normally would.
I love how you did not just show how to render beeswax to clear bricks of it, but also included all the other by-products and their uses. Quite versatile!
I live in a small apartment in a big city on the other side of the ocean from where I grew up. But I was born in the country with access to lots of grass, trees, and nature. Watching videos like this makes me feel like I'm home again. Thank you for your great video and your respect for one of nature's hardest little workers!
Super helpful, thank you! I'm in my second year of beekeeping and now that the initial overwhelm is past, I'm excited to look ahead to selling beeswax products at the farmer's market. This was great!
Great video mate. Thankyou for taking the time to make it for the benefit of others like me. From my limited experience, just use open frames with no plastic insert. The bees will fiil a naked frame in a couple of weeks.
Another vote for the solar wax extractor. We raised bees here in Minnesota. The first part of July is honey extraction time. The cappings, we get from decappings the honeycomb, is put in the solar wax extractor. The rest of July and August provide enough time to melt down all the capping we get from the honey extraction process. This is from approximately 60 colonies. The solar wax extractor will separate the good wax from the rest of the junk in the extractor (the wax will float above the rest of the stuff). We also get all the honey left in these cappings. We save this honey to feed back to the bees later. The wax is clean enough to go to a pot on a two-burner electric stove. The wax is melted down and filtered as it is poured into milk cartons that have been cut down. A small tea pot is used to pour the hot wax. To feed the honey back to the bees, we use one gallon pickle jars with a few holes in the cover. We fill the jar with honey from the honey extractor and turn them upside down over the opening of the inner cover. The bees are able take the honey as needed. We usually feed in the spring to the weaker colonies to get them started after the tough winters here. This method also helps in keeping the bees from starting a "stealing habit". Any questions let me know.
Wow, do you have a bigger operation than I do for sure. I only have 10 hives, so the amount of wax cappings I get is minimal. Although I do plan to get a solar melter in the future. Most of my wax will come from removing bees from unwanted locations. Thanks for all the info!
Yes! Thank you! Your process is by far the easiest and cleanest method that I have watched. This will be my first year with Bees and I'm super excited about everything.
Loved this. I really enjoyed the bee footage and your respect in the sense of giving back to the bees and not wasting anything. Thanks for your time in producing this video.
Thank you so much. I have several other B related videos on my channel. And I have much more be related content planned in the future. Be sure to subscribe.
Love the video. But you have been 100% misled. Only beekeepers think you can’t get the wax off of everything. Especially with metal and glass. It’s extremely easy to get the wax off. Just ask any Soaper that does it on a regular basis A little bit of oil in the bottom heated up and use it to clean the sides of your pan You can use old grease and it will work just fine. And how else would we make oatmeal milk and Honey Soap all the time, using beeswax, and never have to get rid of our stuff😂 Just trying to put a light spin on it, and spread the word After you wash out your pan and let it thoroughly dry, add some oil and let it warm up. You can start with a cup or so. And you don’t have to get a smoking hot under 200 is fine.
I can’t remember the last time I watched a full UA-cam vid without interruption and my attention span getting in the way. I can see you tried to make simple and the fact that you haven’t refined your technique yet makes it relatable and wholesome. Thank you.
Wow! Thank you so much. I felt like people would see it as (here’s a guy trying to tell me how to do it, yet he don’t know what he’s doing)I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Please consider subscribing, I’ve got a lot more coming.
Great demonstration of your process! I have a bunch of old wild comb I'll be rendering soon by the same method (boiling). I really appreciate you showing your second step of filtering through paper towels for a secondary cleaning. Hopefully my wax will come out as clean as yours.
The only thing I might do differently is to not heat the wax at such a high temperature. I’ve read things that say that discoloration can occur if it is heated above 180. I’m not sure how true that is, but it’s some thing I might try to do differently.
The most relaxing and educational video I have watched in a while! Looking at what you did reminded me that that is what life is supposed to be like, slower with lots of patience, nto the fast paced heart attacks we live through and call normal days. I hope one day I can follow you to more peaceful lifestyle.
Lol, thank you so much! I have to say, life does not seem all that peaceful most days. With 4 young kids and 12 hour shift work, life seems hectic most days. But I am the kind of guy that always try’s to reduce stress where ever I can. Plus I’m a bit of a perfectionist.
This was amazing to watch. Showed up in my recommended and couldn't take my eyes off it for a second. You do a great job and make it very easy to follow along. Keep up the fantastic work.
I never thought of the paper towel trick and wish I had. Also would have spread some Ali foil over the unhot part of the stove top. Wives are so understanding. Thank you so much for a different way to most others who do pounds at a time.
my wife is very gracious. because the stove top was glass, I was able to clean up with a razor blade. it made quick work of the mess. I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! thanks for the comment.
When I was a kid at my home church on Christmas eve the entire church was lit with beeswax candles bought special for that one service. The aroma of those candles was so delicious and something I will never forget. I also used beeswax mixed with turpentine to varnish my oil paintings as a painting major in college. The finish has never yellowed over decades. Thanks for this vid- I have never seen beeswax rendered like that.
Beeswax with linseed oil is an excellent wood sealer/tabletop finish in my experience. The beeswax on its own is way too sticky, but a little bit melted down with linseed oil is incredibly durable once dry 🤩
@@RyanGrady sorry for the late reply. I’ve only used linseed oil from the grocery store, for cooking. Boiled linseed oil can combust right? I don’t remember the warning label on it. Just be safe 😅
You’re very brave to do this wax melting in the kitchen! Try a camping stove outside next go round. Makes your life a lot easier … I use a paint strainer to strain the wax the first time. Puts the junk in an easy throw away container or an easy way to make more fire starters. I personally think melting the wax in an oven that you want to use for food is truly asking for trouble over time. It won’t all work out so cleanly. Nice video! Looking forward to seeing your revised videos.
just watched 2 other videos on this subject from "professionals" and have to say your approach is more logical and yielded better results faster. love that you gave the honey back to the bees! get yourself a pan with a pouring lip and you've got it nailed. thanks for the ASMR
WOW. Ok, just the paper towel fire starters were enough to give this video a like. As a beekeeper myself, I never thought of that! SO AWESOME!! But the rest of the video is great! I love watching other beekeepers!
I was shocked to see you working in the house. Your right this is a job better suited for out the shed. You managed so much better than I have at keeping the mess to a minimum. Bravo! I have usually discarded brood comb because the returns are minimal the way I do it. I Haven't tried to boil it out, but I will give it a try. Thanks
I really miss that. I Loved my girls,& working with the wax later. We only took the caps,or wax from old frames. It takes them so much energy to make new wax. Thankyou for what you do
I know you posted this several months ago, but Ryan, I was wondering at 11:20 when you tried to remove the wax from the aluminum pan with limited success... could you throw the pan in the fridge or freezer for a bit and then pull it out? Being stiff from the cold will also shrink the wax a bit, making it easier to remove. Not a beekeeper, just enjoy watching people taking care of nature like she takes care of us. Well-done video, thanks for taking the time to make it. Liked and Subscribed. Bee seeing you!
@@RyanGrady Another option is to dunk the pan into a basin of hot water briefly, the sides will melt just enough to have it come loose. It's a common technique when making molded desserts.
You literally just evoked an emotional response from me with that comment! Thank you so so so much! It’s never been about making it big, but a desire to show the world my story. If my story’s can make someone’s day, then I am fulfilled.
Thanks Ryan. I've been researching homesteading more and more as things get worse (economically) and bees have always been on my list to learn about before I take the plunge. Thanks from Canada.
Sometimes, after squeezing the honey from the combs, the first residue is soaked in water and fermented to make honey beer. The second residues is then used to make beeswax. With nothing discarded. Thank you for this video, I will use this knowledge learnt to train farmers on a much sustainable way of making beeswax. This good for small scale producers who can't afford a beeswax solar extractor.
What a nice video to end up in my recommended, even if 3 months late! Really cool to see the process of making beeswax and never expected it to be simple enough to do from home. Quick question about the leftover bee debris when initially melting down the comb, but is that at all something you can reuse for bees? Of my limited knowledge about bees, are arguably one of the most efficient animals in the world so I can't imagine it is something that they would let go to waste normally, and it does make me sad to see such a large amount just be 'dumped', as you put it. If bees can't reuse it in any capacity, I would suggest looking into possibility of using it as a fertilizer, or utilising it in a composter, as I can only imagine the amount of nutrients that could potentially be in all those leftover casings and dead bees. Since I'm not a beekeeper, it's not something I've looked into, but upon seeing it and hearing you describe what it was, my immediate thought was "That could be valuable compost". Definitely something worth considering looking into in my opinion. Nevertheless, fantastic video. And though it is not information that I can put to use, it is always exciting to learn something new!
To be honest, I dumped that stuff in the grass in the back yard, and the bees buzzed around it for a day or two. But then they were pretty much done with it. All of that junk was mixed with wax. So once the wax set up, it all became a sort of brick. Even to this day, it’s setting out in the yard unchanged. And it’s been out there for over 6 months. I’m not sure how well it would work in the compost. But I have had suggestions that I should use that junk as fire starters. I may give that a try!
This video was in my recommendations. Very interesting and could not stop watching. Guess you could also say, you're the type who minds their own beeswax.
Lol, I guess I am indeed! So glad you enjoyed it enough to watch the whole thing. I’d be grateful to have you as a subscriber. I’ve got much more planed down the road. Check out my other videos, and if you find them worthy of a sub, I would be honored.
Fascinating. I have considered having bees however not in the city. I do have 2 recommendations coming from a chemistry lab approach. 1. I would experiment with adding an acid to the original boil. Citric or Muriatic should produce a cleaner product. Might not be able to use the steel pot though. 2. The original waste material could be hot rolled or hot pressed to recover more wax very easily. This could also be done with the paper towels and they would still work afterwards for fuel. Thanks for the video! :D
I have literally learnt two new thing’s tonight watching this and another video (a farrier demonstration). Thanks for sharing - it’s great seeing and hearing the love you have for this process and bees and what they provide. Thank you.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it! And more than anything I’m glad video taught you something! That means the world to me. Consider subscribing. I’ve got much more on the way.
I love that you think of the bees first. After all, they worked hard to make that honey and wax so should get to benefit from some of it. Using them to clean the honey off the comb is great. They get the food and it probably works better than doing it any other way. Painting the plastic starter combs with the wax is a really good tip. If I ever end up with my own place in an area that can support them, I'd seriously consider setting up some hives. It's good for the environment and fresh unprocessed honey is so good.
Thank you for this video! I enjoyed watching it very much. It's very captivating and informative. I had no idea you could do that with honeycomb. Makes me want to make candles from beeswax!
Great video! It was very helpful! I just removed bees from a barn wall and relocated them to my own hive at home, but had tons of left over comb to use for wax, and fhis video is helping me out lol
I absolutely love beeswax. I got about 110lbs of capping from a local beekeeper. Steam filtered it through old pillow cases, then melted with a bit of water in a disposable pan like you do. Any tiny remnants sink to the bottom as the wax floats on the water. Smells amazing. :)
@@RyanGrady exactly, i mean for me the most obvious thing is honey. since honey is also insanely versatile. i mainly use honey, or maple syrup, as a replacement for sugar it just tastes better
Those little black sheets are all so good for starting your smoker put them in there get them started and put them down in there and then put your pine needles in there with them this old Rob
The last bit of your video showing the blocks of wax reminded me of a show called blockbusters. I like the fact that you let the bees get the last of the honey off.
What an awesome video. I came here just to see how to make candles from bees wax an found out how to make fire starting paper, how to coat honeycomb so bees will will build on an how to perfect making beeswax bar. Amazing job!
Thanks for sharing your process it was very cool to watch. Surprising how much dirt you filtered out. I use these 13:00 for flame working. I wax my tools to keep them from sticking to molten glass. The wax creates a layer of steam to slide on, and makes my studio smell great!
Great video! Thank you for generously sharing all that you did with us! I especially liked your teeny-weeny bee•nee-cam microphone. Getting a listen to the "real-time" bee conversations was a little treat! 😉 I subbed and I hope we'll get to sneak up on more candid bee conversations! 🙂🙃🙂 God Bless 😃
This is very interesting to watch and it keeps the attention of the viewer, also very interesting to see multiple ways to use the bee wax and it was interesting to know that the bees helped with the process.
This is the sort of thing I love about the internet. A quarter hour video from a dude with a totally different life, about a topic that'll never apply to me, but it's just there for anyone to watch and appreciate.
Lol, thanks man! I try to imagine sometimes, all the different people from different lives and different places that are watching my videos. It’s mind boggling.
@@RyanGrady
I’m a teenager in LA but I love watching these videos ! So calming!
@@lizc.671 wow, so glad to see that some younger folks enjoy stuff like this. When I look at my analytics, it shows that most of my audience is made up of 30-40 year olds. Almost no teenagers. Thank you for watching! Have you seen any of my other videos? You might like the Christmas light video, or the majoras mask video.
@@RyanGrady Yes, I have checked them out! Personally I enjoy watching your bee videos more but those were also entertaining. Awesome channel 😄👍
@@RyanGrady I'm a teenager from Alabama trying to process my first batch of beeswax, I lost a hive this summer and figured I needed to do something with the comb. Your video is the best one I found. Being a camper I also appreciate the tip about the paper towels covered in wax, never would of thought of it and it's a great idea! Beats matches and ripping apart twigs and bark for a half hour by a long shot.
Very good video. Apparently in the Middle ages, although they had no other source of sugar, the bees wax was worth 14 times as much as the honey. It still makes better candles than paraffin wax as it burns longer and smells nice. Go bees!
I never thought of that! I guess candles would be super important back then. It’s amazing how things change. Candles are just a luxury now, but then it was a need. Wooden wagon wheels are almost nonexistent now but back in the day, they were all the rage!
Yep! The only real alternative to beeswax candles was tallow candles, which burn dirty and with a lasting smell of burning fat. It had a lot of other uses too: waxed linen thread was used to sew most of the day-to-day garments the average person would wear, it was used to make waxed paper lanterns, rubbed into leather to keep it supple and weather resistant, and many other things :)
@@johncraven6671 Dont forget sealing things, I mean yea sealing letters was a thing but more importantly you can preserve food in a pot by sealing it in with wax.
Also you can use it to preserve candy. If you just make sweets (say out of honey) and leave them as is they suck in water and dont last long. But cover them in a thin film of wax and they last a long time. Since you can eat beeswax that was the best solution back in the day.
How do beeswax taste? Is it edible?
@@anonamemous6865 it is edible! It doesn't taste bad but I wouldn't call it particularly pleasant either
This was fascinating! You clearly have a love and deep respect for the bees as you don't waste even a bit of their precious resources. Thanks for taking the time to record your process!
Thanks for the positive comment! You’re right I do have a deep respect for them. I love everything they do for nature and how dependent we are on them.
@@RyanGrady you’re a great man
@@RyanGrady We'd have a lot more of them if people in the US incorporates more flowers and wild vegetation in their yards instead of ecologically useless grass. Anyway, I have no interest in making beeswax, but this was still fun to watch! The best kind of recycling.
Dziekuje za komentarz to dla ciebie ua-cam.com/video/cTXZlK9x9fMt/v-deo.htmlyhunfhuhfgjhu
HE'S Shameless THIEF! STEALING FROM THESE HARD WORKING BEES! THEY WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE!=🐝🐝BEES AFTER MILLIONS OF YEARS KNOW WHAT TO DO! HE'S A GREEDY MEDDLING SHAMELESS HONEY THIEF!! HE BELONGS IN THE BIG HOUSE= 👤👤👤👥👥👥👤👤👥👥
My grandparents were beekeepers in rural Mexico. My aunt was telling me about the entire process they would go through. How they sold honey , candles and more. This video made me very happy. This explains a lot of the patience they had. Thank you
And this is what I will show people who dare say "it's a complicated process" and "you need machines and the industrial system to make beeswax otherwise it's impossible"
Feels incredibly good to have someone make such pure and clean beeswax this well explained.
Holy cow, thank you so much! I wasn’t really trying to make a super amazing video, but I’m so glad it is helping so many people.
I'd do yourself a favor and stop talking to morons, easier than trying to teach them.
do people really say that????? I always assumed it was as easy as just taking the honeycomb and melting it. one step and done
Its propably a complicated process if you would have to walk through all the steps involving growing bee's for someone who just needs the wax, but honestly, its nothing more than melting and filtrating. Simple as that.
That's only for Industrial level farming
This was something I never knew or even thought about other than the fact that if there are no bees we die! No food. No pollination. You, sir, are an artist. Your duties with the bees is well appreciated by me. I hope others realize the importance of these tiny creatures!
i didn't know this process either, i learned today something that ùy brain keeps on screaming it s important to know
Thank you. I love bees, and I try to come up with ideas on how to do certain things, that will preserve every bit of the natural resource without losing any.
Bees are very important, but unfortunately honeybees are not the most important bees. There are many people that keep and sustain honeybees, so largely honeybees are doing pretty good worldwide. It is other species of bees, that do not produce honey but do a large amount of the pollination that honeybees do not. Honeybees will collect whatever natural resource is most prevalent at the time.There are certain plants that honeybees will not mess with because the rewards are minimal for them. That is where other species of bees come in to play. For instance, alfalfa produces a flower that is inaccessible for honeybees. But there is a certain Bee species that has a physical characteristic that allows them to access the pollen inside the flower. Unfortunately it is these other species that are not being cared for well, and are having their habitats destroyed. That is where the majority of the problem is coming from.
There are thousands of other insects that pollinate bees are just the main ones
this isnt true, honey bees play a small role in pollination in comparison to all other animals on earth
Wheat, corn, and rice are pollinated by wind, not by bees, so without bees we would still have food. Much less variety though.
Being a UA-camr often means cranking out a lot of videos, most unnecessary. I always appreciate a smaller channel putting out a very well done video that does just what it needs to. Thank you for this, sir.
That’s the way I feel also. Quality over quantity!
This was an interesting watch dude. Nothing fancy, just a really wholesome wax extracting video. The time-lapses were a nice touch and your other tips and experiments throughout the process were also a treat. Great job.
Thank you so much for the great comment! You should check out my latest video. It’s about a swarm I caught. A lot of time lapse shots in it.
Pro tip. Take all the "junk" and stuff it into a ladies stocking. Tie it off and toss it back into your boil pot. You'll extract even more off stuff you normally would have thrown out. This would include the junk you scrapped off the bottom of the first big disk, the paper towels, and even the trash you skimmed off the top of the first pot.
Also, find some muffin tins at the local Goodwill and grab some of the riffled paper muffin moulds. These are almost perfectly 1.5 ounces when filled with wax and the paper is pre-waxed and pulls off super easy.
That’s a super great idea! I’ll definitely try that out next time!
"Pro tip. Take all the "junk" and stuff it into a ladies stocking." I tried your suggestion, but the lady protested mightily!
Awesome video!
For the record - since you like making firestarters out of the wax-soaked paper towel, if you have some time to play around I'd encourage you to do something similar with the "junk" residue you throw away after skimming it off the first melt - that stuff has a lot of wax left in it no matter how hard you squeeze it.
If you buy a set of dedicated molds (i.e. only used to make firestarters) similar to the ones you have at 12:26 but a bit larger, you can fill them with clean wood shavings, cover the whole mold with a healthy dose of "junk-skim" and bake in a low oven (on an old cookie sheet - drippy!!) until the liquid renders down and fills up the gaps around the sawdust.
Remove and cool, and you'll be left with a mostly-woodchips-and-cleanish-wax amalgam in the bottom of the molds, and a nasty (but mostly wax-free) layer of bee parts, dirt, etc. on top. This top part you can cut off leaving a set of useful, thick firestarters that'll burn for a long time at the center of a fire.
Trial and error will let you find a junk-to-woodchip ratio that works. Have fun!
PS: I suggested woodchips, but almost any cellulose-based material is good. Strips of clean cardboard cut to size and packed in the molds would work well too.
Great info! I Will definitely try that in the future! Thanks for the ideas!
you can use cardboard egg cartons as molds. all uniform cells and generally small, but you can just pour the wax and trimmings in and let it harden overnight, then cut the cells apart using scissors and light them up. you can add in used dryer sheets, dryer lint, the paper grass from easter baskets, old wax soaked rags...
Love this idea. I’ve never thought to process that last bit again by baking to drain down. Thanks for sharing that!
@@RyanGrady it would be awesome to see that process
Great idea.
I've watched this video several times in the past week, purely because your voice and manner are so gentle and soothing and you clearly have a lot of care for both the bees and the craft - it's very lovingly made, thankyou so much xx
Wow, thank you so much. I guess I don’t see my voice as soothing. To me,,,, it’s just me. But I’ve had a lot of comments about this video being relaxing and soothing. I guess I should look into becoming a voice actor. 😉Check out some of my other stuff and see what you think?
Most excellent! When I was a boy in the 1960's, my grandmother did a lot of sewing. She used a lump of beeswax to treat the thread so it didn't tangle. She'd just pull the thread through the wax. She also made beeswax candles, but I don't know how.
Waxed thread is extra strong and waterproof too!
Wow that’s a cool idea. My wife loves to sow. I’ll have to put that idea in her head.
still very common today - also with Crossstitching, many use Beeswax for it
I have a few pieces of thread wax hanging around. It helps keep the thread from tangling as much. I usually get it at craft stores, but have also found it at hardware stores.
@@johncraven6671 Thread wax isn’t going to give you the same results as buying waxed thread. It coats the thread but doesn’t soak in. So unless you are going to melt the wax and soak the thread buy waxed thread like you normally would.
Fascinating how the bees strip the honey off the combs, then self clean after the honey feast. Great video!!
I love how you did not just show how to render beeswax to clear bricks of it, but also included all the other by-products and their uses. Quite versatile!
I have a need to explain things as clear as possible. Sometimes I feel like I go to far.
I live in a small apartment in a big city on the other side of the ocean from where I grew up. But I was born in the country with access to lots of grass, trees, and nature. Watching videos like this makes me feel like I'm home again. Thank you for your great video and your respect for one of nature's hardest little workers!
Super helpful, thank you! I'm in my second year of beekeeping and now that the initial overwhelm is past, I'm excited to look ahead to selling beeswax products at the farmer's market. This was great!
Wow thank you. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I’m even happier that it inspired you!
Great video mate. Thankyou for taking the time to make it for the benefit of others like me. From my limited experience, just use open frames with no plastic insert. The bees will fiil a naked frame in a couple of weeks.
Another vote for the solar wax extractor. We raised bees here in Minnesota. The first part of July is honey extraction time. The cappings, we get from decappings the honeycomb, is put in the solar wax extractor. The rest of July and August provide enough time to melt down all the capping we get from the honey extraction process. This is from approximately 60 colonies. The solar wax extractor will separate the good wax from the rest of the junk in the extractor (the wax will float above the rest of the stuff). We also get all the honey left in these cappings. We save this honey to feed back to the bees later.
The wax is clean enough to go to a pot on a two-burner electric stove. The wax is melted down and filtered as it is poured into milk cartons that have been cut down. A small tea pot is used to pour the hot wax.
To feed the honey back to the bees, we use one gallon pickle jars with a few holes in the cover. We fill the jar with honey from the honey extractor and turn them upside down over the opening of the inner cover. The bees are able take the honey as needed. We usually feed in the spring to the weaker colonies to get them started after the tough winters here. This method also helps in keeping the bees from starting a "stealing habit".
Any questions let me know.
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Wow, do you have a bigger operation than I do for sure. I only have 10 hives, so the amount of wax cappings I get is minimal. Although I do plan to get a solar melter in the future. Most of my wax will come from removing bees from unwanted locations. Thanks for all the info!
Do you have a website I could buy your beeswax from?
Yes! Thank you! Your process is by far the easiest and cleanest method that I have watched. This will be my first year with Bees and I'm super excited about everything.
so glad you liked it. ive been saving comb for a few years now and im getting close to making a new rendering video.
Loved this. I really enjoyed the bee footage and your respect in the sense of giving back to the bees and not wasting anything. Thanks for your time in producing this video.
Thank you so much. I have several other B related videos on my channel. And I have much more be related content planned in the future. Be sure to subscribe.
Simply inspiring, the way you work with the bees, the way you treat beeswax, glad that there are still people like you.
Thank you! That’s very kind!
Love the video. But you have been 100% misled.
Only beekeepers think you can’t get the wax off of everything.
Especially with metal and glass. It’s extremely easy to get the wax off. Just ask any Soaper that does it on a regular basis
A little bit of oil in the bottom heated up and use it to clean the sides of your pan
You can use old grease and it will work just fine.
And how else would we make oatmeal milk and Honey Soap all the time, using beeswax, and never have to get rid of our stuff😂
Just trying to put a light spin on it, and spread the word
After you wash out your pan and let it thoroughly dry, add some oil and let it warm up.
You can start with a cup or so. And you don’t have to get a smoking hot under 200 is fine.
Very creative in how you improved the standard way of doing doing the honey and bees wax.
This is the cleanest self-made beeswax i've ever seen on youtube, good job sir
Thank you so much!
Agreed!
@@RyanGrady Admiring your method sir:) Digging the fire starter too!
@@TimeIsHoney thank you! It really works good. I took some with me camping last year and it stated a fire with no trouble.
@@RyanGrady going to put that one in my bank:)
I can’t remember the last time I watched a full UA-cam vid without interruption and my attention span getting in the way. I can see you tried to make simple and the fact that you haven’t refined your technique yet makes it relatable and wholesome. Thank you.
Wow! Thank you so much. I felt like people would see it as (here’s a guy trying to tell me how to do it, yet he don’t know what he’s doing)I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Please consider subscribing, I’ve got a lot more coming.
@@RyanGrady already did
Thank you! I really appreciate that. I’m releasing a video about my garden sometime tomorrow. Be sure and check that out!
@@RyanGrady for sure.
Great demonstration of your process! I have a bunch of old wild comb I'll be rendering soon by the same method (boiling). I really appreciate you showing your second step of filtering through paper towels for a secondary cleaning. Hopefully my wax will come out as clean as yours.
The only thing I might do differently is to not heat the wax at such a high temperature. I’ve read things that say that discoloration can occur if it is heated above 180. I’m not sure how true that is, but it’s some thing I might try to do differently.
Great video. Easy to follow process, no special equipment required - thanks for sharing!
Wow. Really impressed by how thorough you were and how nice a product you achieved in the end. Thank you for sharing your care and process.
Thanks so much for the positive comment!
The most relaxing and educational video I have watched in a while! Looking at what you did reminded me that that is what life is supposed to be like, slower with lots of patience, nto the fast paced heart attacks we live through and call normal days. I hope one day I can follow you to more peaceful lifestyle.
Lol, thank you so much! I have to say, life does not seem all that peaceful most days. With 4 young kids and 12 hour shift work, life seems hectic most days.
But I am the kind of guy that always try’s to reduce stress where ever I can. Plus I’m a bit of a perfectionist.
This was amazing to watch. Showed up in my recommended and couldn't take my eyes off it for a second. You do a great job and make it very easy to follow along. Keep up the fantastic work.
Wow, thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Check out some of my other stuff and see if you like that as well. And consider subscribing. 😉
My grandmother would have loved this! Your respect for the bees and 'waste not, want not' approach. Top class!
Thank you!
That was amazing! What a difficult process. I love how you don't waste resources. This gives me a new respect for beeswax-anything.
Lol, there’s a lot to it. Thanks for the comment!
I never thought of the paper towel trick and wish I had. Also would have spread some Ali foil over the unhot part of the stove top. Wives are so understanding. Thank you so much for a different way to most others who do pounds at a time.
my wife is very gracious. because the stove top was glass, I was able to clean up with a razor blade. it made quick work of the mess. I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! thanks for the comment.
I got really excited when you saved the paper towel filters to use as firestarters. I love that kind of minimizing waste.
Thank you. I love to use all that can be used.
When I was a kid at my home church on Christmas eve the entire church was lit with beeswax candles bought special for that one service. The aroma of those candles was so delicious and something I will never forget. I also used beeswax mixed with turpentine to varnish my oil paintings as a painting major in college. The finish has never yellowed over decades. Thanks for this vid- I have never seen beeswax rendered like that.
Beeswax with linseed oil is an excellent wood sealer/tabletop finish in my experience. The beeswax on its own is way too sticky, but a little bit melted down with linseed oil is incredibly durable once dry 🤩
I have some boiled linseed oil. I wonder if that would work?
@@RyanGrady sorry for the late reply. I’ve only used linseed oil from the grocery store, for cooking. Boiled linseed oil can combust right? I don’t remember the warning label on it. Just be safe 😅
Thankyou Ryan. Your method has inspired me. Your care about your bees shines through this video.
You’re very brave to do this wax melting in the kitchen! Try a camping stove outside next go round. Makes your life a lot easier … I use a paint strainer to strain the wax the first time. Puts the junk in an easy throw away container or an easy way to make more fire starters. I personally think melting the wax in an oven that you want to use for food is truly asking for trouble over time. It won’t all work out so cleanly. Nice video! Looking forward to seeing your revised videos.
No matter how careful you are, you'll still have some tough clean up. You'll even find bits of wax days later. Defiantly take it outside.
That’s a good idea! I found out that you can have a mess real fast with bees wax. I’ll remember your idea next time I process bees wax!
just watched 2 other videos on this subject from "professionals" and have to say your approach is more logical and yielded better results faster. love that you gave the honey back to the bees! get yourself a pan with a pouring lip and you've got it nailed. thanks for the ASMR
Did not expect this to be so wholesome :D thank you very much and best of luck with future beekeeping and other endeavours ^^
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
This is as precious as Gold!!😊 Always protect our little Bees.💖💖
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed the video. I am all about protecting the bees.
this is so relaxing to watch and informative too! Good stuff, would love to see more
Thank you so much! Make sure you sub. I will be making much more content.
That was beautiful. Peaceful. Wonderful. Just simply Lively. Soo loved it! :)
WOW. Ok, just the paper towel fire starters were enough to give this video a like. As a beekeeper myself, I never thought of that! SO AWESOME!! But the rest of the video is great! I love watching other beekeepers!
I was shocked to see you working in the house. Your right this is a job better suited for out the shed. You managed so much better than I have at keeping the mess to a minimum. Bravo! I have usually discarded brood comb because the returns are minimal the way I do it. I Haven't tried to boil it out, but I will give it a try. Thanks
I really miss that. I Loved my girls,& working with the wax later. We only took the caps,or wax from old frames. It takes them so much energy to make new wax. Thankyou for what you do
Thanks for the positive comment. You should get back into bees. They are so cool! I only use comb from cut outs that can’t be used anywhere else.
I know you posted this several months ago, but Ryan, I was wondering at 11:20 when you tried to remove the wax from the aluminum pan with limited success... could you throw the pan in the fridge or freezer for a bit and then pull it out? Being stiff from the cold will also shrink the wax a bit, making it easier to remove.
Not a beekeeper, just enjoy watching people taking care of nature like she takes care of us. Well-done video, thanks for taking the time to make it. Liked and Subscribed.
Bee seeing you!
Hey thanks for the positive comment! That’s a great idea! I will definitely try that next time that I do this. Thanks for the great idea.
@@RyanGrady Another option is to dunk the pan into a basin of hot water briefly, the sides will melt just enough to have it come loose. It's a common technique when making molded desserts.
sometimes videos like these take you to a better place in life for a brief moment and help take off the edge.
You literally just evoked an emotional response from me with that comment! Thank you so so so much! It’s never been about making it big, but a desire to show the world my story. If my story’s can make someone’s day, then I am fulfilled.
Thanks Ryan. I've been researching homesteading more and more as things get worse (economically) and bees have always been on my list to learn about before I take the plunge. Thanks from Canada.
Thanks for watching! Make sure you subscribe, I’ve got lots more honeybee related videos to come.
Loved the :outside advice. The cook will be delighted if you do it outside.
This video is incredibly calming. Thank you for easing my stressed college student brain. Keep it up ❤️
Stay in school man! That way you don’t have to raise bees! Thanks so much for taking the time to chill to my videos!
I'm a leather worker and use beeswax to finish edges. This video was very interesting and loved watching how this is done!
Really? What kind of leather work do you do? Do you do any fantasy stuff like gauntlets?
That was actually pretty cool and relaxing, beekeeping seems like a great hobby that can be a side hustle as well
Yeah I’m enjoying it but there’s a lot of cost too. And with inflation this year everything has went up in cost!
Sometimes, after squeezing the honey from the combs, the first residue is soaked in water and fermented to make honey beer. The second residues is then used to make beeswax. With nothing discarded. Thank you for this video, I will use this knowledge learnt to train farmers on a much sustainable way of making beeswax. This good for small scale producers who can't afford a beeswax solar extractor.
I plan to try different methods in the future. I would like to try to make my own solar melter. But we shall see.
What a nice video to end up in my recommended, even if 3 months late! Really cool to see the process of making beeswax and never expected it to be simple enough to do from home.
Quick question about the leftover bee debris when initially melting down the comb, but is that at all something you can reuse for bees?
Of my limited knowledge about bees, are arguably one of the most efficient animals in the world so I can't imagine it is something that they would let go to waste normally, and it does make me sad to see such a large amount just be 'dumped', as you put it.
If bees can't reuse it in any capacity, I would suggest looking into possibility of using it as a fertilizer, or utilising it in a composter, as I can only imagine the amount of nutrients that could potentially be in all those leftover casings and dead bees. Since I'm not a beekeeper, it's not something I've looked into, but upon seeing it and hearing you describe what it was, my immediate thought was "That could be valuable compost". Definitely something worth considering looking into in my opinion.
Nevertheless, fantastic video. And though it is not information that I can put to use, it is always exciting to learn something new!
To be honest, I dumped that stuff in the grass in the back yard, and the bees buzzed around it for a day or two. But then they were pretty much done with it. All of that junk was mixed with wax. So once the wax set up, it all became a sort of brick. Even to this day, it’s setting out in the yard unchanged. And it’s been out there for over 6 months. I’m not sure how well it would work in the compost. But I have had suggestions that I should use that junk as fire starters. I may give that a try!
Really like the fire lighter sheets. Great secondary use of leftovers.
Thanks! They work so good.
Just a note for using the slump: mix with sawdust or fine wood chips and press into silicone ice cube trays = fire starters.
That’s a neat idea! I’ll have to do some experimenting. Thanks for the idea!
Mmmmm, I can almost smell the warm and delicious scent of bees wax. Thank you for showing this incredible process. Fascinating!
Let me tell you, my house smelled amazing!
Nice and relaxed presentation and you showed the details not often discussed- about the soiled wax, how to use the inedible bits- I loved the video!
Thank you so much. I like to be as detailed as possible.
Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Your voice was calm and you explained the process so clearly.
Wow, I’m so glad you took the time to watch and enjoyed it! Thank you!!!
This video was in my recommendations. Very interesting and could not stop watching. Guess you could also say, you're the type who minds their own beeswax.
Lol, I guess I am indeed! So glad you enjoyed it enough to watch the whole thing. I’d be grateful to have you as a subscriber. I’ve got much more planed down the road. Check out my other videos, and if you find them worthy of a sub, I would be honored.
im not a beekeeper or anything related to bees, but i really enjoyed watching this video thanks for teaching us. 👍🙏
Wow, I’m so glad you took the time to watch and enjoyed it! Thank you!!!
Fascinating. I have considered having bees however not in the city. I do have 2 recommendations coming from a chemistry lab approach.
1. I would experiment with adding an acid to the original boil. Citric or Muriatic should produce a cleaner product. Might not be able to use the steel pot though.
2. The original waste material could be hot rolled or hot pressed to recover more wax very easily. This could also be done with the paper towels and they would still work afterwards for fuel.
Thanks for the video! :D
I have literally learnt two new thing’s tonight watching this and another video (a farrier demonstration). Thanks for sharing - it’s great seeing and hearing the love you have for this process and bees and what they provide. Thank you.
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it! And more than anything I’m glad video taught you something! That means the world to me. Consider subscribing. I’ve got much more on the way.
I love that you think of the bees first. After all, they worked hard to make that honey and wax so should get to benefit from some of it. Using them to clean the honey off the comb is great. They get the food and it probably works better than doing it any other way. Painting the plastic starter combs with the wax is a really good tip. If I ever end up with my own place in an area that can support them, I'd seriously consider setting up some hives. It's good for the environment and fresh unprocessed honey is so good.
Thank you for this video! I enjoyed watching it very much. It's very captivating and informative. I had no idea you could do that with honeycomb. Makes me want to make candles from beeswax!
Thank you for your work. You're doing nature a great service and inspiring the next generation of apiarists.
Thank you so much. I absolutely love honey bees!
Great video! It was very helpful! I just removed bees from a barn wall and relocated them to my own hive at home, but had tons of left over comb to use for wax, and fhis video is helping me out lol
That sounds fun! I love doing cut outs. So glad the video is helpful to you! Thanks for watching!
I absolutely love beeswax. I got about 110lbs of capping from a local beekeeper. Steam filtered it through old pillow cases, then melted with a bit of water in a disposable pan like you do. Any tiny remnants sink to the bottom as the wax floats on the water. Smells amazing. :)
It smells so good!
@@RyanGrady I found, too. That it seems to smell sweeter and sweeter the cleaner you get it.
This reminded me that we rolled beeswax candles in school about 25 years ago! This was very relaxing to watch.. Does good for a stressed out soul.
Thanks. I’m so glad I could help you relieve some stress. Consider subscribing! 😉
@@RyanGrady Done!
refining processes of any kind are so satisfying to watch. but i also love that makes a bunch of wax paper. thats incredibly helpful.
I love the versatility of bees!
@@RyanGrady exactly, i mean for me the most obvious thing is honey. since honey is also insanely versatile. i mainly use honey, or maple syrup, as a replacement for sugar it just tastes better
Those little black sheets are all so good for starting your smoker put them in there get them started and put them down in there and then put your pine needles in there with them this old Rob
By far the best UA-cam vid I've watched in ages - I bet your kitchen smelt amazing!
Wow thank you for the comment. Yes it really makes the whole house smell great!
that was so satisfying to watch. your voice is so masculine, yet soothingly relaxing.
Lol, I try to stay relaxed. Stress kills!
@@RyanGrady you say as i am doing homework for a presentation due tuesday HAHH!
Awesome! The best video I've seen about making bees wax thanks so much for sharing 😊
Thank you so much for videoing this process. Its been fascinating to watch. I never knew this is how it's done.
I really love how nothing goes to waste....I'm thinking of getting some bee hives in the future
I’ve never seen anyone else use the bees to clean the honeycomb, that’s awesome.
Beeswax is such a wonderful useful material, and the fragrance is delightful. Nice video!
I love the smell of it. Made the house smell so good.
Awesome video, thanks for sharing.
Plus the fire starter idea is great!
Thank you!
Very enjoyable video. All the best from Dublin, Ireland. Stay safe. 👍🥰☘️🇮🇪
Thank you. It’s amazing to me that I have such a far reaching audience.
The last bit of your video showing the blocks of wax reminded me of a show called blockbusters. I like the fact that you let the bees get the last of the honey off.
This was beautiful to watch. Thanks for the video!
Thank you so much!
just amzing to watch - thank you very much from Australia for sharing!
Thank you for watching!
I love the little detail with the firestarter strips
thanks! they work really good!
Watching on 22nd March 2023 and loving it, Lots of love and best wishes from India.
ohh my goodness… you completely made my day… i really like it. Thanks for sharing with us!
Thank you so much for the amazing comment. I really appreciate that!
What an awesome video. I came here just to see how to make candles from bees wax an found out how to make fire starting paper, how to coat honeycomb so bees will will build on an how to perfect making beeswax bar. Amazing job!
What a great comment. Thank you so much!!!
Thanks for sharing your process it was very cool to watch. Surprising how much dirt you filtered out. I use these 13:00 for flame working. I wax my tools to keep them from sticking to molten glass. The wax creates a layer of steam to slide on, and makes my studio smell great!
Do you have any videos that show you using beeswax? I would like to see that
Great video! Thank you for generously sharing all that you did with us! I especially liked your teeny-weeny bee•nee-cam microphone. Getting a listen to the "real-time" bee conversations was a little treat! 😉
I subbed and I hope we'll get to sneak up on more candid bee conversations! 🙂🙃🙂
God Bless 😃
Thank you so much for subscribing!
@@RyanGrady Your welcome!
Thanks for the video, I’ve always wondered about the wax. And thanks for taking care of the bees. We need more people like you.
Thanks for your kind words. Bee sure to subscribe so you don’t miss my other stuff.
That fire starter idea is brilliant thanks for that 👍
A most interesting video. You sure educated me on this process.
Such a helpful video. Thank you so much for taking your time to show us how you do it.
So glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching.
My grandpa kept bees or as my grandma said they kept him lol he owned an orchard but kept bees long after he sold it and retired… great hobby…
Lol, he wasn’t kidding! They keep you. Not the other way around.
Love the tip with the paper towels
I went on Google to look for 1 oz silicone moulds. They're everywhere. Enjoyed watching!
Thank you! I will look on google like you say and see if I can find one I like.
Not just an easy to clean cook top, but a very understanding wife. -OR- buy a propane camp stove and do it outside. Thanks for the video. Jon
Thank you. And yes, my wife is great.
That wax drying time lapse looked freaking awesome.
lol, it wasn’t as awesome watching it at normal speed 😉
Thanks for watching!
I really enjoyed watching this video. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment!
This is very interesting to watch and it keeps the attention of the viewer, also very interesting to see multiple ways to use the bee wax and it was interesting to know that the bees helped with the process.
Thank you so much! Bees so resilient. They Will take full advantage of any resource opportunity.