Waxing blanks

[Phil Landwer]

I've got a local lumber store, that sells some turning stuff.
They've taken an interest in some of the bowl blanks I've cut for my own use, and asked if I'd sell them some to put in their store.

I did this once before, ages ago, and the store put a pretty hefty markup on them, and never sold any.
I waxed them with Anchorseal for the store, and then wrapped them in clear plastic.
Cuz they couldn't breath from the plastic they molded after a few months.

When I anchorseal my own blanks, and set them outside, they'll start to crack in about 30 days or so, unless I put on a 2nd coat.

If I'm going to have this store stock some of these blanks, I think I need to do more than Anchorseal them.
I see they have some other, smaller blanks, that have a heavy wax on them. What kind of wax is that, and were do I get it.
Do you think I should go that route?

My blanks are Ash, Maple, and Walnut. 14" and up in diameter, and 3-10 inches thick.

[Barry Elder]

Seems to me that AnchorSeal suggests that two coats are better than one!;) Would probably be much better if you anchorsealed the end grain and allowed them to air dry for a while in your basement, workshop, bedroom (don't tell your wife). As long as you follow the 10% "rule" you should have no problem developing enough stock for you and the store.

[Prashun Patel]

The prob might be that you're storing them outside. Inside, kept cool without a lot airflow is best. I don't think you need to seal the faces, just the ends twice.
Your blanks aren't pithy are they?

[Scott Hackler]

For long term sealing of cut blanks, I would suggest parifin wax instead of Anchorseal. And dip the entire blank, not just the ends. Parifin will seal the wood up air tight and they will NOT dry out. That is the way Mike Smith does his blanks and it does seal tham up well.

[Phil Landwer]

Scott, that's gonna require a lot of parifin.
Any idea where I get large quantities?
And do you brush it on?

There is no pith in these blanks.
I think parifin wax is what Woodcraft uses.

[Marty Eargle]

I'm not sure where Mike Smith gets his wax...I'll assume some supply store, but his setup is fairly simple. He has a large metal pot over a propane burner...like something you'd fry turkeys or something in. It's filled with wax and he just dips his blanks as he cuts them. I've seen in processing them and its a fairly quick and painless process.

And I can attest that the blanks he dips do not dry out in the least. I've cut maple from him that I know has got some age to it...and it was raining on me.

[Scott Hackler]

You'll have to buy it in bulk to get a semi-decent price. Likely available in large slabs at Micheals or from a beauty supply.

I did a google search for straight paraffin wax and found this http://www.cajuncandles.com/paraffin-wax.html I dont know anything about this company but they are selling 60 lb cases for $94.20 + shipping

You can use a turkey fryer as a melting pot.

I am thinking about harvesting and selling blanks from Kansas and this is the idea I am going to use.

[Tom Wilson66]

My wife used to make candles, and would buy large blocks of paraffin from a local oil company. Believe you should check with the oil distributors rather than the craft stores, might not have as much of a markup on the blocks.

[Reed Gray]

I met one guy, Vernon Liebrand, who turns really big bowls up in Washington. He puts liquid nails, a construction adhesive, on his blanks to seal them. Says it works 100% of the time. That got me to wondering about using a mix of about 1/2 titebond II, and half water, and giving it a couple of coats.

robo hippy

[George Guadiane]

I'M going to suggest that you check out this thread and the videos I made on the topic. The videos provide what I hope is a fairly complete description of what I do with paraffin wax, how I do it and why.
'http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?168964-Green-Wood-Waxing-Storage-Video(s)-Demo&highlight=

[Russell Neyman]

Amazon has it for $2 a pound. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_0_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=paraffin+wax&sprefix=parafin

[Nick Tuzzolino]

I use Houseblend # 140 (dries dcear) from generalwax.com. 24 pounds for $26 plus $10 shipping. Goes a looong way. I se an electric skillet, on VERY LOW (yard sale or fairly cheap new). What you can't dip, apply the wax with a chip brush.

[Curt Fuller]

I've sealed a lot of wood with anchorseal and its various clone products and I have to say I've had mixed results at best. Over time it seems to eventually crack if you don't get around to turning it. But I just recently purchased some (and won some) bowl blanks from these guys....http://www.turningblanks.net/servlet/StoreFront and one of the things that impressed besides the beautiful wood was how well it is sealed. It appears to be dipped, maybe even multiple times in melted paraffin wax. It would take a lot of coats of achorseal and a lot of drippy mess to seal wood this well. I'm thinking that an old canning pot or something similar that I can fill half full of wax and just heat when needed (about what Scott Hackler is suggesting) might be a better way to go in the long run. There is the danger of a fire with melted wax though and you'd have to be careful handling it.

[Bob Cline]

Yes believe it or mot from my casting days i put wax in my pot and it would smoke amd poof into flames.

[Phil Landwer]

Nick, where do you see Houseblend #140, for 24lbs for $26?
I'm seeing 24# for $43.92.....

[Phil Landwer]

I'm not sure where Mike Smith gets his wax...I'll assume some supply store, but his setup is fairly simple. He has a large metal pot over a propane burner...like something you'd fry turkeys or something in. It's filled with wax and he just dips his blanks as he cuts them. I've seen in processing them and its a fairly quick and painless process.

And I can attest that the blanks he dips do not dry out in the least. I've cut maple from him that I know has got some age to it...and it was raining on me.

Pardon my ignorance, but who's Mike Smith?

[Phil Landwer]

Ok, I found Mike Smith's website.
The thing that gets me, is when I go to Mike's website, or the Got Wood? website, I'm sorry, but they really don't have any very large blanks.
I'm producing blanks that are 17" in diameter, and 8" thick....all the time. I've got some even larger, upwards of 20" in diameter, and even bigger yet.

So, I guess now I see why this local store in interested in carrying my stock....I guess my stuff is sort of unique.
Looks like Paraffin is going to have to be the way to go...but it looks like it's gonna be an expensive route, at about $2/pound.

[Rich Aldrich]

I did a quick search and found swanscandles. com. $22 for 11 lbs of 140 paraffin wax @ $11 shipping to me (49854). I am not sure how much 11lbs is for dipping. Can it be diluted?

[Phil Landwer]

Do they dip into this stuff, or brush it on?
I know from using Anchorseal, if dipping it, it's gonna use a lot more.

$2/lb, seems so expensive....

[Scott Hackler]

It isn't cheap but understand that your only applying a very thin layer on the blanks. Also blanks of that size would be priced pretty high at the shows. If the wood has any type of character, at that size, I would not be surprized to see $65-$150 each. Problem is that not everyone needs blanks that large or can afford them.

[Marty Eargle]

And I can assure you that Mike Smith has a lot of large blanks that he's dipped in wax. Just not everything is listed on his website as he has small organization with a ton of wood moving around.

The one downside to dipping in wax is that your pieces aren't going to do really any drying at all....so if not processing for resale, it would probably be better to just paint the ends with the paraffin.

[robert baccus]

I was under the impression that endseal ect was a water based parafin. i seldom lose a blank to cracking. i do double wax the end grains and lips ect.---------------old forester

[Norm Zax]

Ive been sealing my blanks with wax and nothing else eversince Ive started turning. I buy the wax in small pellets and melt them in an old pot. Make sure the pot is never filled with wax too high - leave at least an inch free to reduce chance of fire. Then heat on low heat until completely clear and then some. Sealing with wax which is "almost hot" results in a whitish film. If the wax is hot, the result is almost clear. Small pieces get dipped, allowing about half an inch to cover the lip. Large blanks get put down on newspaper and brushed (natural brisles only!DAMHKT). Thats a bit messy.
Waxed blanks do dry! Drying from endgrain is fast but not the only direction wood dries. Of course, if you wax the whole blank youll get mold and non drying.