Making Classic Wax Pots

Some projects or concepts just speak to you right away. The wax pot was one of those for me. (in the shoppe here)

If you’re not familiar, a wax pot (aka a greasepot) is an old fashioned object that the woodworker kept on the bench or in their apron. It’s a small wooden box filled with some sort of lubricant - either wax polish or tallow.

As soon as I heard of this idea I knew immediately I wanted to make a few. Seeing as we make beeswax polish that we sell, I thought it would be first of all, a really interesting project to get in to, and secondly, a great addition for our shoppe.

Now, this was something I first got into last year and I ended up selling a limited run of wooden wax pots made here in our shoppe. It was a really great experience because other people seemed as intrigued by the concept as I was, and we ended up selling every single one we made.

This year, for the holiday season, I thought it would be fun to revisit the concept. Last year I made all the pots in maple, but this time around I thought it would be a nice idea to offer some different kinds of wood species, so now we have them in maple but also cherry, mahogany, cedar and greenheart.

I also changed some other things around a bit including the logo and design on top of the box.

But all of those changes, including how I actually go about making these wax pots are included in my new Youtube video. Feel free to watch it and let me know if you have any thoughts or questions in the comments!

If you want to check them out in the shoppe, they’re available here: waxpots

Inside each wax pot you will find our special mineral oil wax polish, and each order also comes with an additional tin of wax polish so you can refill your pot as you use it up.

I made a small run of about 20 wax pots, and there are a select few in each type of wood. So if you’d like a special one, these are the only ones I have.

As always, I find modern concepts and techniques fascinating, but there’s nothing that beats old fashioned ideas. That definitely rings true for this wax pot! It’s a tactile, hands-on little object that belongs on your workbench or in your shop apron - or in the kitchen as the polish is perfect for refinishing cutting boards and wooden spoons.

So if this is something that speaks to you, you can pick one up for yourself, or gather inspiration and make one in your workshop!