Hold-Down Wax for Machining Quartz?

[Ryan Green MLC CAD Systems Inc.]

I've been told that when machining quartz, shops use wax to hold the workpiece. It's just a matter of melting it on and back off. Has anyone out there done this? I've got a large casting (not quartz) that I'll be machining soon, in a decent sized volume. I cannot use clamping on the part, it has to stay in a relaxed state. I'd like to try using this wax approach for holding the part. Can someone enlighten me some on this, as to what kind of wax is used?

 

Thanks,

[5 AX]

Mighty Bite makes a film that needs to be heated. This is for small and or thin parts though. Not sure how large your part may be but I would be surprised if it worked well for cast iron.

[MattW]

McMaster Carr 1129K11 is what I have used. We have used nitromethane to remove the wax, although other methods can be probably be used (we have interesting chemicals around here, and chemists who know how to use them). You might also consider some of the low melting point alloys for fixturing.

[Bill Craven]

One of my customers machines quartz and one of the methods that they use to hold their parts is the "wax" method.

 

They use common beeswax and the base plate is graphite. It smells good when they are fixturing quartz rods. They use a hot water bath to remove the beeswax. Beeswax melts at around 150 degrees F