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Thread: "Sticky in process"... Miscellaneous facts about drying lumber

  1. #16
    About log sealer, no retailer in my area has any for sale, and looking at it online is expensive. Ran across a formula once for a wood preservative, had you take a quart of linseed oil, a piece of parafin wax melted, think it was a cup full, and remainder paint thinner, mixed up to make a gallon. Found if you just melted the parafin, and poured it into the thinner, it stayed liquid. So, does anyone make their own log end sealer this way?

  2. #17
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    Jim, I haven’t but I know that there are a lot of homemade formulas out there. One nice thing about the commercial end sealer from UC Coatings or Bailey’s is that it evaporates off of the lumber during the kiln sterilization schedule. That is beneficial for commercial milling and drying concerns because the lumber does not have to be trimmed before planing.

    You can order a 5 gallon pail from Bailey’s for around $80.00.

  3. #18
    I tried a modified version of what my uncle did drying wood out of his woods. He used a large clear plastic tent with pallets on the ground. and stacked racked lumber up to about 8 feet tall.
    He put a humidistat with an exhaust fan inside tent durning the summer. He closed the tent and left small holes at bottom. The sun heated air raised the temp and the fan removed moisture.

    I created a 2 x 2 wood framed box on top of sawhorses, stacked the wood (550 board feet green about 1 week from saw mill) with slats inside the wood frame. Then I sealed up the frame with plastic leaving a humidifier on one end with a duct taped drain line out the bottom.
    I started with the moisture setting of 65%(that's the highest setting), and left undisturbed for 3 weeks. At each 3 week time period I adjusted to a slightly lower level till the lowest set point.
    I felt there was plenty of air flow as the dehumidifier fan circulated enough air that the plastic fluttered over box frame. The ash lumber felt like a feather compared to when I stacked it.
    The dehumidifier seem to add heat to the box from running constantly.
    This was my first attempt at drying lumber.

  4. #19
    I found a plan for the Virginia Tech Solar Kiln, by searching solar kiln virginia tech. Has measurements, just build away. Mine has the door hung, need to find the vent covers, Menards is OUT. Frame the openings for the vents, insulate put the plastic sheeting on the doors, and sheet the inside of the doors before painting. Handled some sackcrete bags Saturday, can hardly walk now. Guess it will be a while before I get this thing finished. The rest of the kiln is finished inside, was hoping to get the thing painted soon.

  5. I have found for myself over the past several years that Titebond III is the best end grain sealer available anywhere. BY FAR. It works well outside as well and is durable even to UV and water exposure over a period of years.

    It is no more expensive per gallon then the "End grain sealers" and works several times more effectively.

    I have a theory that if applied to end grain it absorbs up the grain enough such that it will then dry as the end grain dries yet it will bond the grain together such that it will significantly reduce end checking. Even in large logs destined for the mill.

    I have had plans to try to re brand it as a "formula specific end grain sealer" but have not had the time and have decided that I will never get to it.

    Hopefully I won't drive the price of TB3 up because I would drink the stuff if that were allowed.

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Wachtell View Post
    I have found for myself over the past several years that Titebond III is the best end grain sealer available anywhere. BY FAR. It works well outside as well and is durable even to UV and water exposure over a period of years.

    It is no more expensive per gallon then the "End grain sealers" and works several times more effectively.

    I have a theory that if applied to end grain it absorbs up the grain enough such that it will then dry as the end grain dries yet it will bond the grain together such that it will significantly reduce end checking. Even in large logs destined for the mill.

    I have had plans to try to re brand it as a "formula specific end grain sealer" but have not had the time and have decided that I will never get to it.

    Hopefully I won't drive the price of TB3 up because I would drink the stuff if that were allowed.
    TB is certainly a viable option for a hobbiest. One nice thing about Anchorseal in a commercial production environment is that the residue is evaporated during the kiln sterilization run.

  7. Quote Originally Posted by Scott T Smith View Post
    TB is certainly a viable option for a hobbiest. One nice thing about Anchorseal in a commercial production environment is that the residue is evaporated during the kiln sterilization run.
    soooo are you and or Anchorseal saying that a lot of the drying process in the kiln takes place through the end grain after the Anchorseal evaporates off the end grain????

  8. #23
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    I believe that the sterilization heat is done towards the end of the drying schedule when the wood is pretty close to it's final MC
    Chuck

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Wachtell View Post
    soooo are you and or Anchorseal saying that a lot of the drying process in the kiln takes place through the end grain after the Anchorseal evaporates off the end grain????
    Robert, if you understand anything about kiln drying you will know that the sterilization cycle is always performed at the end of a kiln run once targeted MC% has been achieved.

    There is no drying that takes place after the sterilization cycle, because the kiln is then turned off and unloaded. Some operators run a conditioning cycle after the sterilization cycle, but in this instance RH% is increased and the shell of the lumber regains moisture - not loses it.

    Since I referenced in my comment that the Anchorseal residue is evaporated during the sterilization run, clearly I'm not saying that "a lot of the drying process in the kiln takes place through the end grain after Anchorseal evaporates off of the end grain" as you referenced.

    For a hobbyist, using wood glue, roofing tar, latex paint, etc typically requires that an inch or so of lumber must be trimmed off the end of every board before further processing. These losses are usually insignificant for a low volume user. However, for a commercial operation, this added requirement to end trim is an unnecessary cost and undesirable.

    One of the many benefits of Anchorseal is that since it evaporates during the sterilization run there are no additional processing steps required before the wood can be face jointed and planed. The residue will not damage post-processing equipment.

  10. Quote Originally Posted by Scott T Smith View Post
    Robert, if you understand anything about kiln drying you will know that the sterilization cycle is always performed at the end of a kiln run once targeted MC% has been achieved.

    There is no drying that takes place after the sterilization cycle, because the kiln is then turned off and unloaded. Some operators run a conditioning cycle after the sterilization cycle, but in this instance RH% is increased and the shell of the lumber regains moisture - not loses it.

    Since I referenced in my comment that the Anchorseal residue is evaporated during the sterilization run, clearly I'm not saying that "a lot of the drying process in the kiln takes place through the end grain after Anchorseal evaporates off of the end grain" as you referenced.

    For a hobbyist, using wood glue, roofing tar, latex paint, etc typically requires that an inch or so of lumber must be trimmed off the end of every board before further processing. These losses are usually insignificant for a low volume user. However, for a commercial operation, this added requirement to end trim is an unnecessary cost and undesirable.

    One of the many benefits of Anchorseal is that since it evaporates during the sterilization run there are no additional processing steps required before the wood can be face jointed and planed. The residue will not damage post-processing equipment.
    I do understand that when I use Tite Bond 3 ( used at least 30 times ) as an end grain sealer VS Anchorseal ( used hundreds of times ), the amount of end grain checking seems to me to be SIGNIFICANTLY less in the logs that I have used the TB3 on.

    That is all I know and it is my wish that readers take note of what little I know.

    And of course it is also my wish that they take note of what a great deal you know.

    Thanks for the heads up on keeping the TB3 off the S4S'ing blades. That sounds like a logical suggestion.

  11. #26
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    Feb 2014
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    There is some really good information about Stickers in this thread from the Forestry Forum that anyone stacking lumber to dry should read:

    https://forestryforum.com/board/inde...topic=123106.0

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