Air drying precious hardwood question?

[Shekhar Malvadkar]

Is there a good way of storing hardwood lumber for drying or simple storage? Laying the planks next to a wall is what I am doing now. I do not have space for making shelves for storage at this time. Also, what kind if wax mixture is appropriate to prevent cracking or warping. Name of product company and process would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[David Hostetler]

To prevent checking, a nice thick coat of LATEX house paint works great before slabbing. Just paint the ends of the log, let the paint dry, and then saw away...

After slabbing / sawing you will need to stack the now cut lumber on stickers, small even thickness pieces of wood that hold the larger pieces aside at a given distance.

For air drying, do you have any open attic space? Sticker your lumber up there. Out of the way, and attics get nice and toasty during the summer months... Almost kiln like...

[Shekhar Malvadkar]

Thanks for the reply. I do not have an attic. I am just keeping wood rested on side of walls. It seems I can cut small pieces of wood and lay the planks on the ground with wood pieces between each plank. Thanks for the advise. What do you mean by saw away? Do you mean removing latex paint by sawing away a thin part to remove the paint when its time to use the wood? Most lumber sellers use a thick coat of wax through out the surface of the wood during the air drying process. What kind of wax is used in this case? I believe one would melt the wax and spread it evenly over the wood.

[Rob Russell]

If you're talking about the end of a log/board, latex paint breathes too much and will lead to checking. You want something that will really slow down the moisture transfer.

You need a waxy coating. The coatings like Anchorseal are exactly that - waxy. Woodcraft sells a similar product.

[Scott T Smith]

The product that you're looking for is called "End Sealer". You can purchase it in larger quantities (5 gallons) from either U.S. Coatings (Anchorseal brand) or Baileysonline.com

Woodcraft sells it in smaller quantities. 5 gallons from Bailey's is around 70 bucks, delivered.

Storing boards vertically is an acceptable practice. Put the bottom end on a piece of dry lumber so that it does not rest directly on the ground. Every few days turn the board so that whatever sideload that's present is equalized, as well as alternating the surface exposure for drying.

[Shekhar Malvadkar]

Thanks a bunch. Those are really helpful comments.
I would drop in the local woodcraft shop to get some end sealer. Hopefully they carry e some in smaller quantities. 70 bucks is pricey but still nothing compared to good wood. Thanks again.