Kenmore wax is a proprietary dop wax used by lapidaries to attach a piece of rough or partially worked stone to a dop stick during cutting, grinding, and polishing. The product belongs to a category of low-melting-point thermoplastic compounds, typically based on shellac, rosin, and beeswax with added pigment or filler, that have been the lapidary's standard fastening material for well over a century.

Working properties

A typical dop wax such as Kenmore softens at around 60 to 80 degrees Celsius, well below temperatures that would damage most gem materials, and sets to a hard but slightly resilient bond when cooled. The cutter heats the dop stick and the back of the stone, applies a small bead of wax, presses the stone into position, and allows the wax to cool before grinding the front surface. The bond holds during normal cutting forces yet releases cleanly under gentle heat, allowing the stone to be repositioned for the second side without surface damage.

Use in faceting and cabochon work

For cabochon work the wax is applied as a generous fillet that fully supports the stone. For faceting, where alignment to a fraction of a degree matters, modern cutters more often use mechanical dop chucks or specialised epoxy adhesives, although wax remains in use for inexpensive or heat-sensitive work. Brands such as Kenmore are sold in colour-coded sticks, the colour serving as an informal indicator of melting range and hardness.

Limitations

Wax fastenings are not suitable for very heat-sensitive materials such as opal, pearl, or amber, where even moderate warming risks damage. They are also less reliable for very small or oddly shaped pieces where there is little surface area for the bond. For these cases lapidaries either use a cold-setting epoxy or a mechanical dop chuck. Outside these limits, wax remains a reliable, forgiving, and inexpensive solution.