Waxing On About Cutting Wax!
Posted by Ann Strong on 31st Jul 2025
What is Cutting Lubricant?
Cutting Lubricant is designed to reduce friction between tool and workpiece whether it’s metal, wood, even plastic, PVC – anything that can be cut or drilled with a tool that rotates or spins.
How do I Know what Kind of Cutting Lubricant to Buy?
To make that decision,, you must ask yourself a few questions. First, it’s important to know that there are many different names for cutting lubricants:
- Cutting Lubricant
- Cutting Wax
- Tapping Fluid
- Wax Stick
- Cutting Fluid …to name a few!
Why so many kinds of Cutting Lubricant?
Well, Cutting Lubricant is like beer. There are a lot of brewers out there – each with their own preference with respect to viscosity, additives, and base. Bad Dog Tools has been brewing Cutting Lubricants for decades! We think a wax stick works best for several reasons, the most obvious of which is – you can’t spill a stick! That makes for controlled application and a cleaner workplace.
What if I prefer a more liquid formulation?
Keep reading! We’ll cover different formulations of cutting lubricants in this blog.
What's Different about Bad Dog Tools Dried Drool Wax Stick?
DRIED DROOL Wax Stick from Bad Dog Tools is a proprietary mix of high-temperature wax, emollients, and oils. Like all cutting lubricants, the concoction is designed reduce friction by lowering heat. Those extra ingredients? They inhibit rust and reduce friction by creating a smooth surface with nanoparticles by filling in the gaps on the cutting surfaces of tools at a microscopic scale. For us in product development, it was cool to dive into the science of wax. We’ve all lit a candle, right? But wax can be so much more! Read on to learn more…
Looking for a liquid lubricant?
For some very specific applications, here at Bad Dog Tools, we still use liquid formulations of cutting lubricants mainly for automated machines. For example, check out the photo below of our custom-made automated drill sharpener in action with cutting lubricant thoroughly spraying throughout the sharpening cycle.
The lower viscosity of a liquid cutting lubricant allows for a mist-like spray which gravity will pull into all the nooks and crannies of tooling and workpieces and keep the Carbiloid tips of Bad Dog Tools’ Multi-Purpose Drill Bits cool during sharpening to protect from cracking and to ensure a razor-sharp cutting edge.
There are too many choices of Cutting Lubricant!
Yes, there are many choices but the deciding factor really is the operation you are performing. For us here at Bad Dog Tools, we reach for Dried Drool Wax Stick for manual operations and a liquid formulation for our automated machinery.
How do I Use a Wax Stick?
Using a Wax Stick like Bad Dog Tools’ DRIED DROOL is as easy as drawing with one of those over-sized crayons like you had in kindergarten. Just remove the metal cap and push the stick up from the bottom and draw a line along the cutting path! Take a look at the chart below for more info on particular tools and application suggestions.
With what other Tools Should I Use with Bad Dog Tools’ DRIED DROOL Wax Stick?
At Bad Dog Tools, our rule of thumb is to apply Dried Drool for any operation involving a spinning tool that cuts or drills metal be it…
- Aluminum (which you really don’t want to work WITHOUT a cutting lubricant due to its low melting point)
- Stainless Steel
- Hardened Steel
- Mild Steel
- Plastic.
Dried Drool is also great to lubricant punches!
Are there any materials on which I should NOT use a cutting lubricant?
Aside from lubricating a wood screw for easier driving, cutting lubricant should NOT be used when cutting or drilling wood due to oils in the lubricant which could stain wood.
What else can I use Bad Dog Tools’ DRIED DROOL Wax Stick for?
DRIED DROOL Wax Stick can be used for lots of things besides lubricating tools. Try it to solve these common problems:
- Dip WOOD SCREWS into Dried Drool for easier driving
- Dab Dried Drool on the ZIPPER of your work jacket for smoother zips
- Coat the WOODEN RUNNERS on the drawers of your workbench for easier opening
- Brush into the TRACKS of the double hung windows in your garage for effortless opening
- Rub wax onto the BLADE of your snow shovel and the snow will glide off
- Use as a RUST INHIBITOR for seldom used tools
Add a tube of Bad Dog Tools’ Dried Drool Wax Stick to your tool box or workbench and you’ll soon discover that small ticket item SOLVES big problems. Available here and at the Bad Dog Tools booth at trade shows nationwide.
Written by Ann Strong
Technical Engineer & President of Bad Dog Tools