I bought 20 pounds of paraffin wax in two blocks. I seen somewhere that someone used a hand held wood planer to flake it. I started doing this, but am wondering if there is a better/faster way?
Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.
Tony

I tried the plane thing as well. Even with a shaving sharp blade it was labor intensive. Wound up smashing it with a hammer. One thing I wanted to try was melt it and pour it through a screen into cold water. Kind of like how they used to make lead bird shot.

ive used a cheese grater but that is allot of work

I had the same trouble so I broke it with a hammer in small pieces and melted it. I then poured it into heated dirt in a cement mixer. Did it work? Yeah, but it was more trouble than it was worth to me. Personally, I’d assume spend a few extra bucks on flake wax and do the solar method

I always used a spitting maul and busted it up.
Does not need to be small the way I've done it. (solar)

+what happens if you put it in a grinder?

Thanks everyone. I plan on doing the solar method. WB- you said it doesn't need to be small to do it this way. How small (or large) of chunks is acceptable? Sorry for all the questions, this is my first time making waxed dirt.

At one time I thought it had to be flaked or pelleted because that's what the internet said. Then I saw a friend doing it with chunks. It dose not matter, hammer it, stir it as you walk by, add dirt or wax as needed.
Next question is what ratio, whatever works, soils differ. Hint, adding some sand stretches the wax. 90 degrees here tomorrow.

An old food processor works well. Use a band saw to cut the big block into small strips that fit into the food processor, then grind it fine with the processor.
This week I used a sure form. Yes labor intensive but got it done.
Jim

I bought a food processor from the resale shop for 5 bucks. 1 with the greater disc. ( it needs the cheese greater disc, the blades dont chop it) Smash it into pieces that fit into the processor shoot and push it in. Its loud, but shreds it to flake pretty easy. When it seems to clog up I hit the shredding blade with the torch ro clean it up and go again. Takes me longer to smash the chunks than to shred it.. give the machine a rest when it heats up, but I probly do 5-10lbs at a sitting. I just smash roughly a1-2 lbs then shred and back and forth so the processor cools a bit

I have no idea how much this matters but if it were me a used food processor would raise red flags where scent-free wax is concerned...

That was my thought too, Wild Idaho.
I thought I heard somewhere (probably here, or Coon Creek Outdoors) about someone attaching something to a cordless drill?

Ditchdiver, to my non-existent experience that would seem like a better alternative than something that has had food run through it. I could be overly paranoid about scent, but if you're going to go to all the effort, might as well be as scent free as possible.

Wild Idaho- I may be overly paranoid too, but again, this is my first stab at waxed dirt so I want to do it right. I just finished the first 10lb block with a hand planer. I wish I could remember what was used on the cordless drill....

I used a new cheese grater last year. It was so labor intensive that this year I'm just buying the flake wax. I have 65 gallons of sifted dirt so that would be a lot of labor lol

I used a spade bit to put holes in my blocks to help them melt faster. Not sure if the flake would be small enough, I imagine it would be if a hand planner is working for you.

Put the block in the fridge or freezer for awhile and then use an electric hand planer.

Maybe a wood auger bit