best way to remove the wax from lumber?

[nickchalker]

Got a question for everyone!  I just received some Box Elder lumber that I ordered from Cookwoods.com.  This will be my first experience working with lumber that was a wax coating on the ends.  I tried to sand it off, but it was gumming up the sand paper very fast and I didn't want to waste good paper.  Any other methods that might work?

Nick

[mrsn]

I usually scrape most of it off with a knife blade, then sand.
A few times when I had wood to spare I just cut off a thin slice of wood along with the wax.

[nickchalker]

Hadn't thought about that.  That sounds like it would work perfectly.  I would have cut that part off, but the piece that I am working with is only about 18" long.  Thank you very much for the tip!

[dgman]

Hey Nick, The coating is there to slow down the drying process so the wood does not check or split. That means that the board is not kiln dried and may still be to wet to use for scrolling.. What this means is it can crack or check as it dries.  it would be prudent to get a moisture meter to monitor the moisture in the board before you start working with it.

[nickchalker]

Thanks for that info.  The date cut on the the wood is 12-09, so hopefully it has dried enough.  Where can I find a moisture meter?

[dgman]

Thanks for that info.  The date cut on the the wood is 12-09, so hopefully it has dried enough.  Where can I find a moisture meter?

Woodcraft, Rockler or any general woodworking store or catalog.