Cutting candles with a bandsaw

[Wes Bischel]

Another thought would be a horizontal bandsaw. The part is usually clamped in place and the saw cuts down through it automatically. They usually have an auto off feature to shut down when the cut is done so he can be doing other things while the machine is cutting. I think the little one at HF is on sale for $150 -160. The down side of this is the clamping - I don't know if it would damage the candle or if a custom clamp would be needed.
I would agree with making a sled for the vertical BS. It can cradle the candle, yet still maintain a square cut. If his candles are only 6" consider a smaller unit - they are inexpensive especially if bought used - most people are looking for 14" units and larger so a 12" or a 3 wheel unit might be the ticket - if it has the blade clearence.


Good luck, Wes

[Jeff Skory]

Once again, thanks for all the ideas.

The hot-wire / hot knife ideas are tempting but I don't think they would last with the number of candles he produces nor would they probably be quick enough. Also there will be a wick to get through.

I decided am going to go with the Grizzly meat saw primarily because of the clearance (9") and the sliding tray.

Thank you all for your input. This forum definitely has a great set of people.

[Clem Wixted]

... that used to be used to cut the turkey?

This works great for cutting thick foam using only one blade. It just might work for candles.

I use old candle pieces melted down for sealing small pieces of green wood to prevent checking on the ends. I have some wax large pieces and I'll try my carving skills on one to see how it works. It will easily handle six inches.

Clem

[Jeff Skory]

... that used to be used to cut the turkey?

This works great for cutting thick foam using only one blade. It just might work for candles.

I use old candle pieces melted down for sealing small pieces of green wood to prevent checking on the ends. I have some wax large pieces and I'll try my carving skills on one to see how it works. It will easily handle six inches.

Clem

I'd forgotten about those old things. I'm minutes away from ordering the bandsaw. Hmmm... How soon are you going to test that Clem?

[Ray Moser]

Been there, done that. My wife has a Christmas candle with 3 wicks and it is about 6" in diameter. The wicks had burnt down into the candle and the wax would make pools that would put out the fire. We tried to cut off the excess wax on the top with a heated knife and it didn't work. So off to the shop and the bandsaw. It did work but the wax melted onto the blade and I would have to stop, set the candle aside. use a piece of wood and scrape off the wax and then go back to cutting. I finally got thru the candle. There is still wax that I haven't gotten off the blade. In other words it worked, but not real well. I think what would have worked better would have been a hot wire cutter like is used to cut foam rubber. Years ago I made one of those by unwinding a wire wound resistor and used a variable voltage power supply to supply just enough current to get it hot enough to cut foam. I didn't want to go all that trouble again and therefore used the bandsaw. It was OK for a one time job but I sure wouldn't recommend it as a regular means of cutting wax candles. Good luck, Ray

[Jeff Skory]

Been there, done that. My wife has a Christmas candle with 3 wicks and it is about 6" in diameter. The wicks had burnt down into the candle and the wax would make pools that would put out the fire. We tried to cut off the excess wax on the top with a heated knife and it didn't work. So off to the shop and the bandsaw. It did work but the wax melted onto the blade and I would have to stop, set the candle aside. use a piece of wood and scrape off the wax and then go back to cutting. I finally got thru the candle. There is still wax that I haven't gotten off the blade. In other words it worked, but not real well. I think what would have worked better would have been a hot wire cutter like is used to cut foam rubber. Years ago I made one of those by unwinding a wire wound resistor and used a variable voltage power supply to supply just enough current to get it hot enough to cut foam. I didn't want to go all that trouble again and therefore used the bandsaw. It was OK for a one time job but I sure wouldn't recommend it as a regular means of cutting wax candles. Good luck, Ray

Hi Ray,

You're the first person I talked to that has actually done this. As mentioned, my brother manages to get it to work with a tablesaw, but the blade on that is obviously much coarser than on a typical bandsaw blade.

What do you think if I could get the coarsest blade possible for the bandsaw? Do you think that would keep it from gumming up?

[Carl Eyman]

It would be good if you could find a butcher that would let you use his meat saw for a trial. The idea of a meat saw seems good to me because, among other things they are more easily cleanable than a woodworking tool. Harbor freight has them. Also check used food machinery places. Would the kind of meat slicer used in the deli section of your supermarket do the job? The idea of a smooth (no teeth) blade appeals to me. They are made. When I worked in the candy industry we used smooth blades to cut caramel and nougat. Not wax, but heat would melt it. With a smooth blade you can rig a scraper to keep it clean.

Some random thoughts. GoodLuck

[Clem Wixted]

Jeff,

I tried cutting a 4 inch candle with the electric knife. Tried with two blades first and that didn't work. Then I tried it with one blade. That didn't work either.

A few weeks ago I bought a new blade for my bandsaw to do some resawing. It is a 4 tooth half inch blade with hook teeth. I mounted it in the bandsaw and tried again to cut the candle. This candle is a fairly hard wax candle. This blade just walked through with no trouble.

Here are a few observations:

1. The cut is pretty coarse. I just pushed the candle through with no consideration for esthetics. He may want to use a little heat on the bottom of the candle after it is square and straight to make it look a little better. I'm sure he has ways to do this.

2. The sharp coarse blade actually cut the candle with no melting and no wax buildup on the blade. Both the blade and candle were about 55 degrees F when I made the cut.

3. On the fourth or fifth cut I felt the candle try to roll out of my hand a little. Round pieces tend to do that. A sliding table with a way to steady the candle will be good.

Conclusion: I think your idea of a meat saw with a sliding table and the right blade is a winner.

You might even be able to use the meat saw after a successful hunting trip.

Clem

[Lynn Kasdorf]

3. On the fourth or fifth cut I felt the candle try to roll out of my hand a little. Round pieces tend to do that. A sliding table with a way to steady the candle will be good.

Conclusion: I think your idea of a meat saw with a sliding table and the right blade is a winner.

Clem

If not a sliding table, a simple sled with a vee carriage to hold the round candle should work.

Somehow, my intuition says that a very narrow, coarse blade would be best. Also, the saw should run slowly. I think wax buildup will be the problem. I bet if you call Timberwolf (Suffolk), they can advise.

Perhaps the standard meat cutting saw and blade is perfect as it stands.

Another idea is simply a miter saw with a large enough blade. If a 12" blade would not do it, there are Hitachi 15" blade chop saws.

[Jeff Skory]

Jeff,

I tried cutting a 4 inch candle with the electric knife. Tried with two blades first and that didn't work. Then I tried it with one blade. That didn't work either.

A few weeks ago I bought a new blade for my bandsaw to do some resawing. It is a 4 tooth half inch blade with hook teeth. I mounted it in the bandsaw and tried again to cut the candle. This candle is a fairly hard wax candle. This blade just walked through with no trouble.

Here are a few observations:

1. The cut is pretty coarse. I just pushed the candle through with no consideration for esthetics. He may want to use a little heat on the bottom of the candle after it is square and straight to make it look a little better. I'm sure he has ways to do this.

2. The sharp coarse blade actually cut the candle with no melting and no wax buildup on the blade. Both the blade and candle were about 55 degrees F when I made the cut.

3. On the fourth or fifth cut I felt the candle try to roll out of my hand a little. Round pieces tend to do that. A sliding table with a way to steady the candle will be good.

Conclusion: I think your idea of a meat saw with a sliding table and the right blade is a winner.

You might even be able to use the meat saw after a successful hunting trip.

Clem

Clem,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! It sure was nice of you to go to all that trouble to prove that this purchase will work. I feel much, much better about ordering the saw now.

I would have ordered it last night but Grizzly's website went down about an hour after I ordered the bandsaw for my workshop.

Thanks again.

[Jeff Skory]

If not a sliding table, a simple sled with a vee carriage to hold the round candle should work.

Somehow, my intuition says that a very narrow, coarse blade would be best. Also, the saw should run slowly. I think wax buildup will be the problem. I bet if you call Timberwolf (Suffolk), they can advise.

Perhaps the standard meat cutting saw and blade is perfect as it stands.

Clem, I also think the meat cutting saw with the sliding table should work great.

Why did you suggest a 'narrow' coarse blade? I'll probably have him just test out the blade that comes with it first and if that doesn't work I'll contact Timberwolf for ideas.

Thanks again everyone. As I've said, you guys are great!

[craig carlson]

I cut up a block of bees wax on my bandsaw once, it cut really well, on the down side every gullet on the blade was filled with wax, the guides were coated in wax, the tires had compressed wax on them under the blade and wax was generally everywhere that I didn't want it to be. Oh well, it was time to put a new blade on and clean/tune up the saw anyway.

Craig Carlson
Sebastopol, Ca.

[Clem Wixted]

I think that my blade and gullets were clean because the wax and blade were COLD when I cut it. By cold I mean about 55 degrees F.

I recall reading a tip one time about grating cheese. The tip was to put the cheese in the freezer for a while to make it hard (firm) before grating. I tried it when I was "elected" to help grate the cheese. Worked great and the cheese didn't gum up the grater.

The same principle may be working wth cold wax. My candle wax was pretty hard either because of the type of wax or the temperature, or both. While I was cutting with the coarse blade little chips were flaking off onto the table.

Another reason the blade may have been clean was because it was a new blade and there may have been some lubricant or rust preserventive on it. I have used it today to cut some Corian and some hardwood blanks out of some small logs, so I will try cutting the candle again and see what happens.

[Jeff Skory]

...so I will try cutting the candle again and see what happens.

Clem,

Don't get your saw all dirty again. I ordered the meat saw for my brother last night, so we'll get his saw dirty when he gets it instead.

As far as getting the candles cold - he lives in Florida so I don't think he's going to see too many 55 degree days.

And as far as getting wax all over the saw...that's the only thing he'll be using it for so no worries there.

I'll post a note when he gets it to let you guys know how it worked out for him.

[Jeff Skory]

My brother received the meatsaw that I ordered from Grizzly and has already cut about 125 candles. Works great. He had to make a few minor adjustments and apparently the fence is not very sturdy but he feel much, much safer than he did when operating the tablesaw.

I will be visiting him during spring break vacation so I will get to see the saw in action.

Thanks again to all of you for you help.