thanks for this, it is so cool that he uses water, it makes it more portable
Wow, interesting. I wish he had shown the wax in the jug. It doesn’t disperse in the water, right, it just floats on the top?
It is hard to see the wax in his videos. Here is my version. I was experimenting with ‘Dax waxing’ fig cuttings to root and it worked fine.
I used a regular mouth mason jar but a wide mouth may be better. There are 2 lids: one with a hole to hold a thermometer while waiting for the right temp and the other to put on top of that to seal it up for storage (thermometer removed).
This view better shows the wax on top which I think is melted in this shot. Dax recommends 1 part beeswax to 4-5 parts paraffin. It is pink-ish because my beeswax from sealing mushroom logs came that color. I bring it up to temp slowly and do the scions for the day and let it cool down. The wax on the scions dries very quickly.
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I used paraffin wax last year. I heated the wax in a coffee can and kept it warm on a little stove. I used it for bench grafting scions. I dipped the complete joint and scion in AFTER I used rubber bands and parafilm on grafted union.
It appeared to work well although it did crack in areas that got banged around.
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I wonder how this would work w/grafting wax?
It disperses Lizzy. All you have to do is stir until the wax is melted and then sort of work quickly. 160F is the best coat. When it drops below 120, the wax gets real thick on the scions that will cause cracking outdoors. Not good. You want a nice & thin coat.
Beeswax with paraffin is best for outdoor grafting (or indoor but not beeswax is not necessary for a greenhouse.) If bench grafting and pushing your grafts in a greenhouse or another controlled environment (I have friends that graft in their basement) then paraffin is all you’ll need.
The wax can be reused… it will float back up to the top and harden and then you just remove it and crack it into pieces that you’ll put in a ziplock.
I’ve since gone to a deep fryer I bought at Walmart for about 20-dollars. There’s a dial without number values… I waited until I had it at right at 160F and stuck a piece of duct tape across it. Now I just plug it in and I’m always at the correct temperature.
You’ll learn as you dip that the scions lose that beautiful coverage as time passes & that’s when you know it’s again time to add more paraffin and (maybe) a bit more beeswax. Beeswax goes a long ways. When I begin with this fryer I fill it to within an inch or 1/2 inch to the top of the reservoir… and prior to that I weighed paraffin in .5 oz. pieces and beeswax in .25 oz. pieces. I add (2) paraffin and (1) beeswax. Just like @JustAnne4 I put the lid back on and don’t need to remove the beeswax but simply heat it up again for the next round…
Best
Dax
@ltilton - I’m afraid to say grafting wax is a waste of your hard earned cash…
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I’ve seen and heard people talking about this method. My thought is, why don’t grafters use an anvil type cutter or a utility cutter like Applenut uses more often.
I’ve cut both sides of a cleft graft and whip and toungue graft using a anvil type/utility cutter except the tongue without worries of bloody pinky in the snow snydrome.
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Can’t say they don’t, but we all play around to find what works best for us. I’ve settled on the utility knife because I know it is gonna be sharp. I’m playing with the anvil type cutter too this season because I’ve had trouble getting a nice straight cut on the scion for a cleft graft - I just keep whittling the scion away, LOL. Not sure I’ll use it to make the host cut because I want to play around with placing that cut to match the diameter of the scion.
I only asked because I was wondering if there was something I was missing. 
Cutting the scion side of a cleft with utility cutters worked well for me as my slicing with a single edge grafting knife was more of an effort in whittling.
Thank you for your thoughts. I guess there are many ways to skin a cat.
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I’ve been wanting to try the craftsman HandiCut razor snips but haven’t got around to it. I’ve heard they are excellent for cutting scions at an angle for cleft grafts or splice grafts. They will cut a perfectly straight flat cut unlike most knives. My biggest concern with them would be how long the razor blade lasts and how much the blade replacements cost. I assume they are expensive due to them being a non traditional size.
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That’s exactly the cutters I was thinking about. Lowes use to carry a Kolbalt brand but no longer do.
Grafted Persimmons for the first time today. Added 2 each Jiro and Fuyu to Native American rootstock. Also grafted my 6 remaining pear scions and 2 Toka plum scions. Next 7-8 days show 70 plus degree days.
It’s been about a month since my first grafts of pears. Not a whole lot of life showing yet except the Korean Giant on Bradford RS showing some signs of life. Probably started way to early on those. Grafted first on 26 February and shortly after that we had that week or so of very cold temps in the teens. Hoping for the best and enjoyed the couple hours of relaxing quiet time grafting today! Ohhhhhhh, and this time I did not manage to cut myself.
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Update on my first graft. Very excited. Korean Giant Asian pear grafted onto Bradford Pear Rootstock. Yes!!! It seems to be well on its way. Can’t believe it took. My first whip and tongue and it was a mess.
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@zazlev, congratulations on your first grafts. You need to additionally wrap the graft unions with a tape to fortify them. When the scion begin to grow leaves it’ll become heavy and it may break off in a wind if you do not do this.
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Thank you! That’s great advice. Will do today.
Done! How long does the reinforced tape have to stay on?
At least one more month. You can leave it longer if it does not constrict the branch.
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Great information. I will be trying my luck at some grafting next year. I need all the useful information I can get. TY everyone that posted something here. We all can learn something from the feedback, good or bad, about grafting.