Lost Art Press

Use a Wax Warmer for Glue (& Other Things)

Posted on by Lost Art Press
The Aowosa wax warmer.

With the disappearance of the Hold Heet glue pots from the market, readers have asked for some alternatives that don’t involve purchasing industrial equipment.

I’ve tried several options. This entry is about using a wax warmer that is designed to heat body wax for hair removal. The machine is sold under a variety of brand names, but they all have similar specifications. So while I cannot compare the Aowosa to the Daordaer, my guess is these white sheet-metal waxers are quite similar.

First, the good news: They are inexpensive (less than $50) and they work. Just don’t trust the temperature scale (more on that in a bit). They heat up fast and hold the temperature steady. Like the Hold Heet, there is a removable double-pot with a handle, which makes it easy to keep the pot full of water during long days. The lid is fairly useless unless you heat small containers of glue.

Now the bad news: This is not by any stretch of the imagination professional equipment. Everything is lightweight and thin. I’ve had my Hold Heet for as long as I can remember. It is built like a little tank. I don’t get that same vibe from these wax warmers. I hope I’m wrong.

The main problem is that the temperature scale on mine is not even close. When I set it for 140° F (60° C), it raced up to 180° F. I let the machine run for a couple days to see if there was some sort of break-in period. So far, no. So I put a piece of tape on the scale and marked where 140° really is.

I will continue to use this machine during classes when we heat a lot of glue. And it’s convenient for making small batches of Soft Wax, too. But will I bequeath it to my children at my death? I’m guessing no.

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. If someone can recommend a reasonably priced heavy duty unit to test, please post it in the comments.

48 thoughts on “Use a Wax Warmer for Glue (& Other Things)”

  1. I don’t know if this is considered heavy duty, and it’s certainly not a wax warmer, but I’ve been using a sous vide machine for years.

    They’re generally about twice the price of this machine but they’re accurate and easy to deal with.

  2. Haven’t seen them as cheap as sub-$50, but a basic sous vide immersion heater/circulator will maintain a 140F/60C water bath with precision for hours. I happened to have one for cooking and tried it on your glue recipe and it was flawless. A 1min google search found some $65 and $79 ones.

  4. I personally have used with great success a baby bottle warmer, the top temperature is around 140°F (60°C). It was cheap (15-20EUR) and readily available here.

  5. though not practical for every day use, the other day i needed just a small bit for one joint and i used the warmer on my electric stove top. the temperature was right at 140.

  6. Maybe a mini slow cooker from the thrift shop or ebay? I got one for 5 dollars to warm bottled brown hide glue, but wonder if its low setting may get too high based on what I read.

  7. I also use a baby bottle warmer (repurposed after the kids outgrew bottles). I did some testing with a meat thermometer and wrote more accurate temps on the warmer with a sharpie. Overall functions well.

  8. I got the Lee Valley glue pot with the coffee cup warmer. Mine turned out to be too hot, so after a bit of head scratching put a piece of 1/4″ (i.e., 3/16″) plywood on it and it was now spot on 140degF.

  9. The HoldHeet was up for sale last I checked with the seller. Someone was about to buy the rights and company but I don’t believe that ever happened. I know it’s not the comment you’re asking for, and your question made me ponder whether Crucible tools might be a good place for the product to land.

    2. I’ve used HoldHeet pots for 30+ years and love them. Small footprint, simple, durable and actually adjustable if you open the unit up and adjust the thermostat. HoldHeet pots are also great for traditional water gilding. I think so many traditional woodworkers would benefit if they went back into production. Judging by the prices (far above retail) that used HoldHeet pots have brought on eBay, it seems like there is demand. I have no idea what it would cost to buy the company and the rights AND actually produce them, but would be interested in seeing what is involved and explore investing. It drives me nuts when something I like becomes unavailable. For decades I’ve dreamt of a company specializing in bringing great tools and materials back to the market. There must be others out there with the same idea.

  10. If you look up WAAGE Electric, in New Jersey. They make glue/melting pots that are heavy duty.

    3. Looks like their cheapest option is almost $300, unfortunately. Waaay beyond MY sorry reach.

  11. With a small bottle of glue, I use a coffee mug warmer that came with a mug that fits the bottle perfectly and you can set the temperature digitally (it goes up to 158F). It is $40 on Amazon right now. Search “COSORI Coffee Mug Warmer & Mug Set, Beverage Cup Warmer for Desk Home Office Use, Coffee gifts, Electric 24 Watt, Touch Tech & LCD Digital Display, 304 Stainless Steel, 17 oz, Mug lid”

  12. I use a small(-ish) double jacketed pan for regular cooking on a small single burner induction hot plate, which despite being neither an actual burner or hot, gets my glue to a steady 60C. When using liquid hide glue I just put the bottle straight in the water, which works fine for the big bottle of Old Brown, though with the lid not quite closed.

  13. I use my bbq thermometer with leave-in probes to heat a pot of water on the stove. It transmits to a receiver I carry out to the garage.

    When it hits 160, I turn the stove off, carry the pot out to the garage, and pop the old brown glue bottle in the pot.

    I’ve never done a glue up large enough to need to reheat the pot, but that would be my next step.

  15. In a cool little book, “Working With Tools for Fun and Profit”, A. Frederick Collins, 1937:

    “If Dad is rich and money is no object you can get a 1-pint electric glue pot for about $15.00 ; oppositely disposed if you belong to the proletariat class you can improvise a glue pot by using a tomato can for the outside pot and a pepper or mustard can for the inside can for the inside pot. While it won’t look quite as shop-like as the kind you buy it will work just about as well.”

    Not very helpful, but a delightful bit of prose. And, evidently, commas were, also, expensive, during the Depression.

  16. I’ve been using this $29 wax heater I bought online. It heats a bottle of Old Brown out of the refrigerator in about 15 minutes. I marked 140 on the dial. Not built to last but has held up for 18 months.
    Huini Beauty Pot Wax Warmer Electrical 1000ML 28oz CD-RH-002

  17. I also use Lee Valley’s ‘Glue Pot & Warmer Set’. When I prepare a batch of liquid hide glue, I divide it into small portions I’ll keep in the freezer (LV’s ‘2 Tbsp Souper Cubes’ silicone tray or any tray for small ice cubes will work). I have a short glass jar (tiny jam or mustard gift jars are great) that fits in the glue pot with room to spare. I fill up the remainder space between the jar and the glue pot with glass marbles and water. This helps hold and distribute the temperature evenly. I place one frozen cube of glue (or two, depending on how much I’ll need that day) in the glass jar and let it thaw and soften to the consistency I like. For added safety, I use a timer switch between the hotplate warmer and the electrical outlet.

  18. I’m a retired piano technician/rebuilder after over 50 years. My well used Hold Heet is over 40 years old and still doing well for my woodworking. Good stuff. I hope the wax warmers work, and last, as well.

  19. I have used a small crockpot for some 25 years. I work on violins, and mix up small amounts of hide glue as needed. I made a small holder for the small plastic food-storage containers, with a hole for a thermometer. I fill the pot about 2/3rds full with boiling water, then the rest with tap-temperature water, and that puts me about 154 °F, which is where I like it.

    When I bought it, in the 90s, it was maybe $10. A quick search shows that it may not be in production now, but there are similar models in the $20 range.

    I used to fill it about 1/2 full with boiling water, but noticed lately that it doesn’t want to maintain the temperature. Perhaps after some 25 years, the electronics are starting to show their age.

    Typically, I mix up a small amount, and use that. I seldom have the pot on for more than an hour at a time. I try to get the glue jobs all ready to go before firing up the pot.

    I have an older photo of the set-up here in my Flickr album — https://www.flickr.com/photos/23218266@N06/2930452074/in/photolist-5sXkiL

    1. That’s a good looking tool. I’m wondering if a person could install a potentiometer or a rheostat for additional control.

  20. I have a very similar wax warmer I picked up a few years ago and yes, the calibration was off so mine is “marked” also. However, I also checked the “on”/”off” temps to check the cycling and it seemed OK and I set the temp mark in the mid-range of that cycle (don’t have notes on that unfortunately). But, an immersible sous-vide stick type unit would hold a temperature to a much narrower range. However you’d need a much larger and deeper water bath container to hold it and your glue container. Plus they circulate the water and make some noise.

    But I am also curious about what “tests” you performed to evaluate the suitability of the finished glue as you were refining your formula. I may play about with that myself and it would be helpful to know that.

    Thanks for sharing your info!

  21. I just ordered the 32 oz nacho chesse hot fudge bottle warmer that recommend in a link. Haven’t got yet comes with 6 32 oz plastic bottles. 124 alittle pricy. I ordered 2 by accident do you want the other one will send it to ya.

  22. Hadn’t heard about Hold Heet. Guess its good I got one when I did 8 years or so ago. All the laboratory heating stuff Ive ever seen had elements made by Chromalox. They might be a good place to start if you’re trying to manufacture your own

  23. While not an answer to Chris’s question, what with the price of ‘em, as it may still be of interest to someone, Dictum (and others, too) sell the Herdim electric glue pots. They come in a smaller, 250 ml (≈ 8.5 oz), and a larger, 1 liter (≈ 1 quart) version.

    I have no personal experience of either, and that they are fairly expensive have been loath to buy one, sight unseen. If ever I find myself in the vicinity of a Dictum store, though, they are very high on the list of tools of theirs I plan to take a very close look at!

    Cheers,

    Mattias

  24. Has anyone tried using a sous vide yet? I recently bought a small bottle of Old Brown and was planning to try out this combo.

    1. Honestly, to make the OBG flow, I just bring a pan of medium warm/hot water to the shop and sit the glue bottle in it. I have no idea what the temperature is. But it flows well, and that’s good enough.

    2. I came here to express the same thought and I’m happy you got there first. It means at least 2 of us think it could be worth a shot

      1. It certainly is – that’s (more or less) how I do it, too: I use warm water from the tap, as hot as it will get (which should be around 65° C/150° F) and will refresh it twice before I start to glue up after 20 to 30 minutes. Not only do I heat the glue bottle this way, but also the small glas pot into which I’ll pour a suitable amount of glue before applying it with a brush.

        Works just fine, but I will still get an electric heater of some kind at some point.

        Cheers,

        Mattias

    3. A very cheap ($30 or so) but oversized sous vide is the Silverline sous vide machine from LIDL, which has about the size of a small microwave. Sells about 2-3 times a year if you follow their weekly ads.

  25. I have used just a water boiler and then a Pyrex kitcher for the bottle of old brown glue. To keep it hot longer, put the very warm water and glue into a 6 can mini red plastic cooler. All of which you may already have in your kitchen.

  27. thanks for the post, I didn’t even google that information when I was looking for nursing writing services 🙂

  28. 12 Hold Heet pots eBay sold history… pretty expensive. I have a small crock pot that I use for pickling solution for metals…that would be my go to technology should I find a need to heat gummies for gluing.

  29. No one believes for a second that you weren’t already using this to maintain your weekly Brazilian wax regiment…

  31. I purchased a pot and warmer from Lee Valley. It works fine but no tem regulation

  32. I bought the warmer and pot from Lee Valley and tested the temperature. It stays right at 140-ish. I also used it to melt some glue and it was perfect. The pot is quite heavy so it doesn’t cool down fast.

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