Sealing log ends

I have absolutely no idea….BUT….welcome to the site. It’s a great place and someone will finally answer your question I’m sure. Lots of knowledge here….lots of experience

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

just use any sealer paint , the idea is to limit the moisture absorbed through the end grain… and Welcome to LJ!

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Thank for the welcome Gary, How’s it hanging in Texas?

Hi, the problem with some sealer paints, blisser and peel off and the wood split?

I use some white enamel I happened to have and it works fine for me. You need to get the ends painted as soon as they are cut. Some that didn’t get to me until a few days after they were cut have checked longitudely all the way thru the limb. I’m curing large branches for tool handles.

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

Same topic frome another british Lumberjocker:
http://lumberjocks.com/topics/6721

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

Texas is good woodchopper. How’s your neck of the woods?

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

I don’t reccomend paint. Most paint is designed to breathe so as to not trap moisture under the surface it’s trying to protect. If you can’t find a suitable log end sealer locally then you can buy parrafin (like Gulf Wax) from your local grocery. You can find it in the canning section. It has to be heated before application – but be very careful as it is very flamable. Beeswax, if you can find and afford it, is the ultimate sealer- better than everything else.

-- Wonderful new things are coming! - God

Hello across the Pennines! A couple of coats of pva glue is what I use.

-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems

I have used Liquid Electrial Tape in a pinch and it has worked very well for me. It was on smaller pieces though.

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

I dry wood for making wooden clock wheels (gears) and arbors by coating fresh cut wood with a coat of carpenters white glue on the cut ends and when that coat is dry I coat again. This method gives me the best results of any method that I have tried. I dry mainly holly, dogwood and cherry. Reid

Hi, and welcome to Lumberjocks!

Actually, Anchorseal and other products like it are just variations on paraffin and/or beeswax.

Get some paraffin, or if you want beeswax (go to some churches near you, Roman Catholic and Anglican, they will have TONS of beeswax candle ends left over), melt it, and paint it on the ends of the logs. This will give you a great seal and prevent all checking. It also will adhere nicely to the wood and not chip off that easily, but can be turned off or sawn off with ease.

-- Chip -- Manchester, Connecticut "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

Yup, parafin or just like Yorkshire says… and how i learnd good old PVA white glue…. real thick and a couple of layers.

I read in a book though any latex paint is good too because it bonds with the wet wood and when it dries, it forms a plastic (well latex based) coat that will not breath. That should work too.

-- Nicholas, Journeyman Cabinetmaker, Partenkirchen, Germany

Wax is good but harder to get on. thinset tar is great. It looks like black paint after it’s on awhile but seals like crazy.

-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://web.me.com/deceiver6/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html

Daniel, What do you mean by thinset tar?

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

yeah, what is that? like roofing tar?

-- Nicholas, Journeyman Cabinetmaker, Partenkirchen, Germany

Nichols, I have some alder blocks I am drying that have checked pretty good. They were cut a few days before I got them :-(( I panited the ends, but I thought about using roofing tar. I decided it would be too messy. Now I’m wishing i had used it. Maybe thinset isn’t messy ;-)) ??

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Hello Woodchopper,

Welcome from across the pond… :-) Wax emulsions are the best product to use for sealing green wood log ends and they are available in the UK from Craft Supplies, UK. Here is the link to the specific product page showing their cold wax emulsion|.

Also, here is a link to an article I wrote about using wax emulsions that you may be interested in reading. Here is another article I wrote that deals with applying wax emulsions that offers additional information.

Whilst you may opt to use other products to seal log ends, products like old paint, glue and similar products will not offer the same type of protection as a properly formulated wax emulsion. Cold wax emulsions are designed to allow moisture vapour to pass through the flexible film barrier. The goal is not to prevent the passage of moisture vapour, but to reduce and control the rate of moisture loss through the film.

The two articles referenced above go into detail on the subject and should give you a better understanding of why these products are used so extensively in the timber industry, as well as by woodturners and woodworkers all over the world. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Take care and best wishes to you and yours!

-- Better Woodturning and Finishing Through Chemistry... http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com

Topamaxsurvivor:

Sorry to hear abou the checks… what kind of paint did you use? I have never tried the paint personaly like I said I just read an article about it in a Finewoodworking book… I have always had luck with parafin or PVA glue. I would imagine that thinset tar is the best, I mean tar is what they use on a roof against water so.. (?) I guess it makes sence

Maybe your right the thinset tar is the way to go!

The cold was emulsion sounds good too, I should try that sometime as well

-- Nicholas, Journeyman Cabinetmaker, Partenkirchen, Germany

Nicholas, I went to the big box store since I couldn’t find a source of end sealer locally. I thought that, logically a water base latex probably wouldn’t be good. I read the label on several products and got a can of Woodlife since it said it was a moisture seal. I don’t think it did much or I was too late getting the wood. I’m going to use it for carving blacks, so I guess I’ll make smaller carvings ;-))

Daniel mentioned thinset tar. I was just speculating it wouldn’t be as messy as the roof tar I thought about using.

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

I use a candle and a propane torch. Really soaks in.

-- It's better to have people think you're stupid rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

You can also use paraffin to seal log ends. I have an old electric skillet that I keep paraffin in and melt it on low heat. Small logs get dipped in the paraffin, large pieces I use an old paint brush and slop it on. Anchorseal works very well.

-- Those that say it can't be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

jeffthewoodworker, Where do you find pariffin in large volumes? thanks.

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

You can buy Green Wood End Sealer online from Rockler, FWIW. The bottle looks like this: and it runs about $13/quart. I haven’t used it, personally, as I only found out it existed after I’d slopped latex housepaint all over the ends of my logs. Ah, well….

-- David A. P. -- Ars Arboris ("Art of the Tree") -- ArsArboris.com

In the unlikely event that someone in the future gets it wrong… but I’d rather say it than not!

Paraffin in the UK is a flammable liquid & probably shouldn’t be heated in a skillet!

We’d always specify paraffin wax. I’m not sure of any connection between the two

-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems