# seasonal wood



## pommy (Apr 17, 2008)

Hi Everyone

I was given a very nice present the otherday by my wife 5 peices of holly but i have a dilema it needs to dry out they are small and i don't know how to dry them without them splitting help please….

andy


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## oldworld124 (Mar 2, 2008)

Put wax on the ends ASAP Or use anchorseal( which is a wax sealer)


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## pommy (Apr 17, 2008)

Hi John

I don't know what anchorseal

Andy


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## Moai (Feb 9, 2009)

Look locally for a "Log End sealer " 
Anchorseal is a product here in US, but probablu unknown in UK
LeeValley has this one available in Canada


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## Moai (Feb 9, 2009)

Andy,
I was reading about this in other sites, and many people just use a heavy coat of Oil paint, since it's just for the drying process.


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## GRABLE (Oct 22, 2008)

*I have the same problem, I just put a coat of latex primer in the ones I need to preserve. Don't know anything about it, only what I read here. My thought is the paint is sitting on the shelve getting old and I thought it might do the job. Would like some respinse to this,,,,thanks*


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## mmh (Mar 17, 2008)

Anchorseal has beeswax in it and it seals the end grain so moisture doesn't escape too quickly, causing cracks. You can use melted wax too. Latex paint isn't advised because it "breathes" and allows moisture to move through it. It won't stop wood from cracking as well as a wax based product.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Holly is very hard to dry. I would seal it and put it in a plastic bag. Open the bag every few days for a minute to change the air. I have some I am experimenting with. I don't open the bag very ofter and it is still checking, but it is a green bowl blank a bit bigger than your pieces .


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## pommy (Apr 17, 2008)

Hi Guys i brought some endseal that seams to of done the trick i left it in my workshop to see what happens so far so good the checking has stopped i dont want to touch it for awhile so i'll let it do what its going to do in report in a few months

thanks for your interest

andy


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## TulipHillWoodWorks (Nov 27, 2008)

I had a ton of cherry planks my neighbor sawed up for me when a storm took down one of my cherry trees. (Nice to have a neighbor with a sawmill) I bought some blocks of paraffin and melted them in an old pot over a hibachi then dipped the plank ends in the pot for about a minute - just be careful not to let the paraffin get too hot - it can catch on fire. It worked pretty well - I still had some minor cracks in the boards but I saved several feet from each board by dipping them - I had some that weren't dipped and they had cracks starting in the end grain that ran for 18 inches up the board - wasted wood. Still have a few planks left…........ hmmmmm what to do with those????


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## snowdog (Jul 1, 2007)

"Latex paint isn't advised because it "breathes" and allows moisture to move through it."

I didn't know that, dang but I can see why I was having trouble now  thanks


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