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GENERAL CHEESE MAKING BOARDS (Specific Cheese Making in Boards above) => EQUIPMENT - Aging Cheese, Everything Except Caves => Topic started by: wharris on December 24, 2008, 09:35:12 PM
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I improved my Wax dipping tool.
Old tool: (bent up hanger)
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1p8SInfbkg7os_QeniU1yNN4BSY7_y7Doe_VduYzJa5bUe4Upvr1hbXe34WLji1by4-7Gnwxjp7D6Kyz07dB5zaw/IMG_0235.jpg)
New Tool: (12 dollars worth of angle aluminum and #6-32 threaded rod)
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1p-TfYUX14lwqbUP0r-gKnvQe8Ny1TIEfvYf1n9xv7tPsFWOOR4lh14wwJVVNi2q9xnFUZiNjjhGc/IMG_0236.jpg)
Pretty straight forward. The cheese rests on 4 small posts.
Here it is, in use:
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1ptP8ATtn_FCg9kQQ4C-6sUH5Tw7bePkkY5ax41h8S9mjgYxERoS_Fm6tcX8FsBPkYU-HislXLIfgju4kQqFBa6g/IMG_0242.jpg)
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pGjKk8L5O0sC-hVhmhpos_MWqMrrt8WHAA4hFPD7y77OHiL8V5HroGOD245Ietp6AwvpCUpFmGWY/IMG_0243.jpg)
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pfFTWeSMIqeLbXvOiMUMTcXFyKRfDRwf4Mpgm1jDK0DtRzhSst-Y7rePj3mgwDM-mpvQw6b6dzQY/IMG_0244.jpg)
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1puzCXOUeS-rvP1H5M7JySqS2RgO_QL0ZBtRvTU9eAb4952TT8LOo1IHHZmAWwJE9mV9I7sKHyTbo/IMG_0245.jpg)
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Dam that looks sweet all shiny.
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Looks good. Just wondering, do you they brush on some wax to cover the post marks?
Also how much wax do you have in that pot :o That's one mean looking dipping vat.
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Here is the waxing tool without any cheese in it.
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pEq0XXHI2-n6XwLVnMfeK8YgkqufGex994kayPAHaO-NOhSqUWbSZj5EZzN_AW5uvHzYSxbM2y_7LPyNbWztP0g/DSC_0011.jpg)
It does leave 4 pea sized bare spots.
I simply wait for the wax to cool. (Place whole frame into fridge or out in the garage and wait 3 min)
then i remove the wheel and turn upside down. then i get a table spoon of wax and put a couple of drops carefully in each hole.
My vat has about 5 - 6 lbs of wax in it. Its about 10in in diameter, and about 6 inches deep.
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You can also goto the dollar store and buy a cheap frosting knife, looks like a curd knife and heat it up on the stove and after dripping wax on the pea size holes smooth them out.
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This is so awesome.
I'm going to look into making my own in a few days when I go to the hardware store.
Knowing I will do loads of gouda in the next year, I want to get a dedicated red wax stockpot. Already have 6 lbs. wax ready to go. This dipping cage looks cheap and perfect, simple to make, and effective. My waxing has worked but never been too smooth or comfortable.
Wayne--how is it working out for you in the long run? Any drawbacks with wax collecting on the gear?
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Here is the waxing tool without any cheese in it.
([url]http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pEq0XXHI2-n6XwLVnMfeK8YgkqufGex994kayPAHaO-NOhSqUWbSZj5EZzN_AW5uvHzYSxbM2y_7LPyNbWztP0g/DSC_0011.jpg[/url])
It does leave 4 pea sized bare spots.
I simply wait for the wax to cool. (Place whole frame into fridge or out in the garage and wait 3 min)
then i remove the wheel and turn upside down. then i get a table spoon of wax and put a couple of drops carefully in each hole.
My vat has about 5 - 6 lbs of wax in it. Its about 10in in diameter, and about 6 inches deep.
Very ingenious Wayne, good luck, wish you many cheese waxing.
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So cool! You could probably sell this thing!
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The only drawback is the 4 small bare spots due to the posts.
I have to use a small spoon full of wax to fill the holes.
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Question, are you just dipping the cheese once? If so, what if you turn it over and wax it one more time then the small spots are filled in, just not as thick as the rest...
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i dip several times, kinda tilting it so excess runs to one side
then do it again.
I guess I could wait for it to cool, then merely rotate it 90deg and dip again.
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OR that might work ;D
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I build one myself, a little narrower and with a cheaper wax set up, but it does hold my 8" wheels if tilted into place. Haven't used yet, but here are the photos... thanks Wayne! This was a very cheap and easy contraption to build!!
(http://cityofclifford.com/CheDip1.jpg)
(http://cityofclifford.com/CheDip2.jpg)
(http://cityofclifford.com/CheDip3.jpg)
(http://cityofclifford.com/CheDip4.jpg)
I can then reverse it and do the same with another color wax using the "handle" side. Perhaps black wax if I get rolling with cheddars.
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Very Nice!
I like the way you did the bottom support bolts! I will reverse mine like yours!.
Love it.
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Yep great looking set up there. Looks like you are ready for some serious waxing.
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Only been 6 weeks since I got into it and made my first cheese, but I can see this will become a very present hobby in my life. If it was easy to get betters molds and followers, I'd up cheese content with each session.
I'd love to have a 7.5" diameter mold that was 15 inches high or more, and make 20 lb. cylinders that could fit into the wax dipper... cheese is an obsession, now.
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Very nice invention Wayne! Beautiful wax job. I may try this wax thing again sometime. I get it all over my kitchen though.
Nice improvement Chee!
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Compare your waxed cheese with mine!
:(
I think brushing is overrated. I'll try a hanger next time.
:)
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That is a truly ingenious tool, I have got to figure out how to duplicate that to fit with my current wax pot! My cheeses have been coming out nicely, but wow, look how beautiful they could be! All smooth and perfect.... ;D
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Inventions are cool. I made a setup from SS welding rods similar to the origina coat hanger version above. Works great for the top of the cheese but I get big drips on the bottom that I can't ever seem to get out right.
Looking for a way to get the top and the bottom at least similar!
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Off topic(and WAY after the fact):
I like how there is a carboy full of wine in the background of Wayne's apparatus picture. Very classy! Wine and cheese were made for each other!
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I can see a couple of options.
#1 Pre dip the tool so the bolt heads are already covered in wax, or even better...
#2 Place some scrap wax pieces on top of the bolt heads and when you set the cheese down the weight will keep them in place. The hot wax dip will melt them sufficiently to join them to the whole.
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Off topic(and WAY after the fact):
I like how there is a carboy full of wine in the background of Wayne's apparatus picture. Very classy! Wine and cheese were made for each other!
Why thank you. That wine is now in an oak barrel and will be bottled and ready to consume in 12 months.
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I think brushing is overrated. I'll try a hanger next time.
Bluntly, honestly: BRUSHING SUCKS.
I brush my giant goudas and the crap gets all over sooner or later. It's on a plate which is then hell to clean, and little splatters are on the stove top and side of fridge and floor, etc. All of it is hell to get off. I gotta get a titan pot and dip the giants as well... I just hate how long wax melting takes to avoid burning. Maybe my next goudas will be olive oiled, aside from by Blueda with mold skin.