Using anchorseal as a lubricant

[Bob Bergstrom]

I know Bill Grumbine has suggested using WD 40 as a lubricant for coring bowls. I been doing a few lately and ran out of WD 40. There sitting on the bench was my jar of Anchorseal green wood sealer. I figured it is full of wax which is also a lubricant and I will eventually achorseal the bowls anyway, so I gave it a try. Works fine. Just thought I'd pass it on. :D

[Ryan Baker]

That's interesting. I wouldn't have thought so. Anchorseal gets pretty gummy once it starts to set up (especially on the guide posts if you have a McNaughton). I don't normally use any lube because I don't want to track it onto the wood. Occasionally I use Johnson's Paste Wax when it needs some lube and that works quite well. I never saw much benefit from WD40 when I have used that.

[Alan Zenreich]

In a few hours, my wife and I are spending the day with Bill for some 1 on 2 instruction.

On Saturday he's hosting a coring demo. If I remember, I'll ask him about using Anchorseal as a lubricant.

[Reed Gray]

You can use Pam, which is canola oil, or I always have some Mahoney's walnut oil near by, and I would guess that Top Coat (which I use on my planer, jointer, bandsaw, and table saw tops) would work well also. Most of the time, I just don't bother with it.

robo hippy

[Alan Zenreich]

Bill held a coring workshop at his shop today, a nice flock of people in attendance. The workshop used McNaughton coring equipment.

I posed the Anchorseal as lubricant question to Bill and the group.

The group consensus was that the WD40 works well, is easy to apply, makes no mess, leaves no residue on the final piece, is inexpensive and readily available.

No one thought that substituting Anchorseal would improve on what WD40 (or a similar lubricating spray) already does wo well. There were concerns about the potential for Anchorseal making a mess, and actually binding instead of lubricating the cut.

So, that's today's report from Kutztown, PA.

If anyone does try the AnchorSeal route, please post your experiences.

[Allen Neighbors]

I wouldn't want to use my Anchor Seal... not saying it wouldn't work... it's just that it's too expensive, and WD 40 is much cheaper. :)

[Nathan Hawkes]

Well, in honesty I've never tried it, but I find it very hard to believe that spraying WD40, an oil-based product, onto the wood surface, leaves no residue and makes no mess. I guess the shavings are soaking it up. I've heard of people dipping their blades in water, and spraying water into the cut. I personally have good luck with rubbing a paraffin block onto the knife blades before use. Mostly, it just keeps wet shavings from coating the surface of the knife, and creating more contact vibration.

[Bob Bergstrom]

I just looked up wd 40. It is $17.00 a gallon. I am sure it is quite a bit more per ounce in an aerosol. I just smear a little on from inside the lid of my jar of Achorseal. I'm not trying to sway the authorities, just was giving it a try. The bottom line is I will probably grab whatever was closest. Paste wax sounds good too. I think canola oil would make me hungry.:rolleyes:

[Alan Zenreich]

I think the reasons include that WD40 evaporates pretty quickly, and that the surface of the cut is actually going to be turned away with finishing cuts after the coring. So, lingering WD40 should be pretty much a non issue.