# Sealing log ends



## woodchopper01 (Mar 20, 2009)

Hi fellow wood works, new to this site and I'm after a bit of information about the best way to treat log ends to stop them from splitting whilst they dry out? In the US they use anchor seal, but I can't seem to find anything like this in the UK. So as any wood turners got any surrgestions?


----------



## GaryC (Dec 31, 2008)

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


----------



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

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


----------



## woodchopper01 (Mar 20, 2009)

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


----------



## woodchopper01 (Mar 20, 2009)

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


----------



## JohnGray (Oct 6, 2007)

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.


----------



## Moai (Feb 9, 2009)

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


----------



## GaryC (Dec 31, 2008)

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


----------



## dirtclod (Oct 31, 2007)

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.


----------



## YorkshireStewart (Sep 20, 2007)

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


----------



## sIKE (Feb 14, 2008)

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


----------



## reid (Sep 10, 2008)

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


----------



## Padre (Nov 5, 2008)

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.


----------



## Waldschrat (Dec 29, 2008)

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.


----------



## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

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.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Daniel, What do you mean by thinset tar?


----------



## Waldschrat (Dec 29, 2008)

yeah, what is that? like roofing tar?


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

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 ;-)) ??


----------



## SteveRussell (Jul 23, 2007)

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!


----------



## Waldschrat (Dec 29, 2008)

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


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

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.


----------



## Miket (Jan 27, 2008)

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


----------



## jeffthewoodwacker (Dec 26, 2007)

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.


----------



## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

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


----------



## exold (Aug 22, 2008)

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….


----------



## YorkshireStewart (Sep 20, 2007)

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


----------



## rf58 (Aug 11, 2009)

i used 2 coats of old latex paint on fresh cut pine its been 3 years and looks perfect . i used weld bond glue on the bark thinned down and blew it up in the bark with compressed air hose that stayed good too. on another project









im going to seal 3" ash edges that will be banded with steel on a cannon with paraffin wax = after the sides are sealed and finished


----------

