Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Review - Bur Life


For a long time, I thought this was another of those products to waste money on. Every once in awhile I might use a little beeswax if it seemed like I really needed it, but in general, I just use my drill bits, saw blades and burs as is.

Since I started doing more stone setting and my collection of burs is growing, I thought I would give it a try. It is amazing. I am now completely a believer. I got the 'sampler' pack as I didn't know which medium I would like the best. The middle container that no longer has any words on the label (and I haven't had it that long) is the gel type. Its my favorite so far, though it is quite messy. Mostly because of the heat I think - and having a studio with no climate control, well... the summer in Georgia isn't so kind to something that has a fairly low 'melting' temperature. And come to find out, the gel stuff takes off the ink of the label! But it truly makes the burs cut better. Maybe it is my imagination, but anything that will make my tools act like they work better, and hopefully make them last longer, is worth the money.

I've used the stick (solid) a little bit, and the liquid only a drop or two.

If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it. If you have tried and/or use it regularly, would you share your experiences? Do you use one kind over another? Any tips?

5 comments:

Victoria Takahashi said...

hey there!
i have the liquid and the crumbly wax.
I really dislike the crumbly messy wax, messy messy dry, how do you drag your sawblades through a crumbly mess? you cant, so 2 thumbs down for me....
I LOVE beeswax.
The liquid bur life is ok, a little drippy messy too for me, 1 thumb down....
I think the gel sound like a good idea, do you "dip" your burs in it?
Is there a tacky residue?

Beth Cyr said...

no tacky residue - its more like an oil? when the bur is moving i just stick it barely in the gel - if i've been using it and its a little warm, it just melts it and turns it in to a liquid.

the stick is kinda crumbly... I have it so it just barely sticks above the plastic edge and run it down the back of the blade. seems to work about the same as beeswax, though something about it seems less 'heavy'?

kerin rose said...

love, love , love my bur life!

Victoria Takahashi said...

kerin, which one?
gel, wax stick, liquid?

kerin rose said...

i like the gel and the liquid, but the liquid is messy!...the stick ( which is supposed to be more for sawblades I think) just falls off before I get to whatever I am sawing!