One of the biggest challenges bead-weaving is dealing with the thread. Starting with a long enough piece to not have to worry about running out before your finished means that it's pretty inevitable that it'll get tangled, and if you ever need to reverse or take out a stitch, accidently splitting the thread if a nightmare...
So after about the 10th time splitting the thread on a single piece, I decided that I really needed to condition the thread I was working with. But with what? I used to have a small thing of wax designed for such a thing, but had given it to a friend after deciding I didn't need it. But what I did have was a few pounds of beeswax sitting in the storage closet, leftover from when I used to make candles. Beeswax would be perfect, thought I, it's natural, smells wonderful, and I could hit it with a shot from the heat gun to get it all nice and soft and melty for running the thread through. Even better, I could melt the wax to be liquid and let the thread soak in it! Brilliant idea, thought I!
Only I had forgotten one, very important thing. Beeswax is sticky, and the small cup I had put it in instantly turned my thread in a tangled mess that was sticking to itself and everything else. Getting it untangled, was thankfully very easy. Getting the excess wax off, however...
Running my nails down the thread about 10 times did the job, leaving a very very nice, slightly stiff and in-no-way about to be split length of thread. ...and very very sticky, beeswax covered hands.
But all in all, a successful, if messy, experiment. To be repeated soon without the melt and mess, I hope...