Sealing the ends of wood

[Jim Dunn]

Posted this over in the finishing area but there isn't any body home:eek: My wife said I could quit mopping the floors long enough to ask this question:D What do I use to seal the ends of wood after I joint and plane. I'm milling up some 1/4 sawn white oak (it's a gloat the boards are 12+inches wide) and I don't have use for all of it right now. I am going to sticker and store it till I get another project from SWMBO:rolleyes:. Just wondering if I use paint or a waxy finish or gelstain or what?

Jim

[Jamie Buxton]

This is dry lumber? If so, don't bother sealing the ends.

If it is green, you can use asphalt emulsion roofing cement. It is asphalt emulsified for easy application. It bonds to wet surfaces; a primary use is patching roofs leaking in the rain. It is sold by nearly every lumber yard and building store.

[John Miliunas]

Jim, "Anchorseal" is probably the most notable. Then, Woodcraft has a different brand they sell, which I also hear is pretty good. If you have neither and can't get your mitts on some right away, I've also used plain old Latex paint, with pretty good success. You really need to do this as soon as you get it processed or, you will develope cracks at the ends in a hurry, depending of course, the starting moisture content.:) Another application I've used in the absence of "Anchoseal", quite successfully I might add, is to take some older yellow glue and mix it 50/50 with water and slather it on. Works great!:) :cool:

[Jim Dunn]

Thank you Jamie the wood is dry. Don't have a moisture content meter but it was about 11% when I bought it and it's been stickered in a dry enviroment about 8 months.

John thanks for your input here also. I've got some hard maple about 8/4 16"x36" and it's so beautiful I'm afraid to use it:eek::eek::D. An going to wait on a nice resaw band saw and make some matched grain tops or drawer fronts.

Jim

[Roger Everett]

Jim:
If you wood is still green, I would go with John's advice. You could use just about any paint to coat the ends ( 2 coats ) or melt some parifin wax and put on the ends. If you stock is kiln-dried, you need not do anything, but sticker and stack it.
Although I would never plane down kiln-dried stock I wasn't ready to use, If you want to clean it up a bit, to see what it truely looks like, just give it a skip and miss joining and planning.
If I've planed ahead on a project ( not an everytime thing ), I try to joint and plane down to within 1/8 or so of the needed size, 2 weeks ahead, stack and sticker, with weight on top. Then when ready, take it down to final thickness.Roger

[Jim Dunn]

Roger that's basically what I've done. I'm leaving the wood about an 1/8 or more as it seems to be relieving additional stress when it is first jointed and planed. I've found it to re-warp/bow after the first material removal.

[Roger Everett]

I tend to think all the lumber suppliers are rushing things thru to fast nowdays, getting it out of the kiln too soon. I come across more stock thats case hardened ( when to MC in the center of the stock is a good bit different than near the surface ) then in the old days. Allways best to buy ahead and leave it air at home for as long as posible.
Roger

[Fred Voorhees]

My rough-sawn lumber supplier strictly uses paraffin wax and I have to tell you, I have never seen better quality lumber. No checks, no splits - PERIOD!

[lou sansone]

My rough-sawn lumber supplier strictly uses paraffin wax and I have to tell you, I have never seen better quality lumber. No checks, no splits - PERIOD!

fred.. I don't know if you are familar with anchor seal, but after it is applied and dried you might think it was paraffin wax. The good thing about anchor seal is that it sticks to the wood, it sort of soaks in, it goes a long way and you dont have to fool around with heating it and trying to brush it on. It is also not that expensive. Oh by the way... it really works pretty good

lou