Anchor Seal ?

[John Fricke]

I just picked up some crotch pieces from a neighbor. They have been cut into about 24" blocks for a little while it appears. They are just starting to check on the ends. I had to 1/2 and 1/4 them to be able to load them into my truck. I will eventually need to cut them down more to fit on my lathe. (unless a mustard mysteriously appears at my door) My questions are: Can I just anchor seal the ends as is, or do i need to cut them back to fresh wood first? Do I just anchor seal the end grain, or do I need to seal all exposed surfaces? Thank you in advance for your help.

[Marc Himes]

John, I would cut them back and cover all exposed surfaces. The wood sounds very promising and is more valuable than the anchor seal.

Good luck.

Marc Himes

[Toney Robertson]

I am a neophyte at this but I would differ from Marc and I would just seal the end grain.

My thinking is this: You are attempting to somewhat equalize the difference in the rate of water loss between end grain and side grain. If you seal both then you have done nothing to change that dynamic.

I don't know if I am right but....


Toney

[Leo Van Der Loo]

In Michigan now, cut off the checked ends and seal the endgrain, then get the wood off of the ground and out of the sun and wind NOW.
Then you can use one at the time to cut up smaller, but don't take too long as the sealer helps only for so long, it will still loose moisture and start splitting again, have fun, take care.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Just my thoughts on this - the anchorseal is there to slow down moisture loss. Ideally would want to stop it altogether until you have a chance to rough out what ever it is you are going to turn. In order to stop as much moisture loss as possible - I would first remove all the checked ends and then coat all the bare wood surfaces with the anchorseal. Reason you would coat the face grain also - if you ripped the wood right through the center and left the pith in - you can almost guarantee the wood will start checking there first unless it is coated in anchorseal.

Like I said - just my thoughts on this - but it is what I do and it has worked well for me so far.

Leo - where are you in Michigan? Let me if you are in the area as the wife is in the process of making chicken and dumplings for dinner!!! Don't want to miss that!

[Paul Douglass]

I've red somewhere it is good to cut the pith out, is that true?

Also is there lot's of chicken and dumplings? I'd almost fly to Michigan for that!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Paul - if you can turn the wood right away - no problem, but if it is going to be awhile then it is best to get rid of the pith as that is where the checking starts.

And as far as chicken and dumplings - I might be a small guy when compared to others but I have an appetite like you wouldn't believe! If you are going to be in this neck of the woods, let us know ahead of time and we'll make extra!

[John Fricke]

Ask 10 experts the best way to do something, you are likely to get 10 different good ideas. I decided to go the anchor seal is cheap route and treat all exposed surfaces. I did on a couple of the smaller pieces only treat the end grain. We shall see how it turns out. I will take them out to the shop in the morning and cover them with a tarp to help hold in moisture.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii128/roadymi/Wood/crotch.jpg?t=1233450196





http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii128/roadymi/Wood/crotches-1.jpg?t=1233450134

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

If you seal the whole thing, there is no way to get the wood to dry. Just seal the ends after cutting off ALL the checked area (make a final thin cut to make sure that all the checking is gone)

Bruce