Labeling blanks sealed with paraffin wax

[Dave Mount]

Apologies for posting a question then disappearing. I have this job thing and some houseguests. . .

Lots of good ideas here, thanks all.

Using a full wrap of tape instead of just a piece ("duh" -- hits forehead).

Paul, good to hear from you. I ordered a set of those Milwaukee markers, there were only $5 or so for 4. I'm a little skeptical, but even if they won't write on wax they'll be useful for other things, as my current Sharpie army is on the back side of life.

I'm anxious to try embedding a piece of paper in the wax. Wondering if I can just hit a spot with a heat gun and tack the paper into the wax. I could overcoat with wax, but then I'd have to pull out the wax pan (an old single serving electric skillet to which I add old candles).

With apologies for getting on a soapbox, sealant debates almost always miss the real point. Success can be had with most any blank sealant (including latex paint and other MacGyver sealants), it's a matter of matching the sealant (and thickness of said sealant) to the wood, size/shape of the blank, and the drying environment (RH, amount of air circulation). Easy drying woods in smaller thicknesses at 60% RH can go unsealed. Earlier this summer I rough turned some holly boxes from green blanks when the shop RH was running about 55%, and I dried them unsealed without checks despite the incredibly high shrinkage rates of holly. Walls were about 3/4" (holly distorts so much you have to leave it thick) and I was willing to risk being aggressive in drying them because I wanted to avoid staining. I threw an old sheet over them to slow air circulation a little.

Thicker blanks (say 3") of even easy drying woods at the same RH will probably require end sealing. At low RH (my shop runs 25% RH in the dead of winter), even easy drying woods need some sealant on all sides to slow things down (or no sealant and double bagging in grocery bags).

Dense tropical woods generally have slower internal migration of moisture and have very high rigidity, so they have to be sealed better to make sure the outer part of the blank doesn't get too far ahead of the swollen interior. Unless you have RH tightly controlled, woods like katalox, bocote, bloodwood, chechen, etc basically need to be completely sealed in paraffin wax to slow drying enough that they won't check. The alternative is to hold them at elevated RH (like 80%) as the free water is lost, then back them down slowly. Some of you are aware that I turn a lot of spheres. A 3" sphere of those woods equilibrated to 50% RH will check if moved to 25% RH instantaneously (been there, done that). Fortunately, heartwood of those species is very rot resistant, so you can leave them sealed in wax for years and they won't degrade -- just let them dry low and slow. Seal a 6x6x3 block of maple that way and you'll have all kinds of discoloration in just a few weeks, unless the temps are low.

PVA glue, or PVA-based sealers absolutely allow faster drying than anchorseal (wax-based) or straight paraffin wax (at the same thickness), simply because dried PVA transmits moisture more readily. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing depends on the circumstances -- the species, thickness, RH, and degree of air circulation. A maple bowl roughout that's only 1" thick would probably dry fine (and fairly quickly) under PVA, at least if the RH is not super low (<30%). If the RH is really low, you can put that PVA-coated blank in a paper bag and it will likely be fine. But I can assure you a wet 6x6x3 bocote blank sealed with PVA will check badly. PVA is too moisture permeable and bocote too drying rate sensitive for that to work.

It's not about "good" sealants or "bad" sealants. To twist a phrase, there are no bad sealants, only good sealants used badly.

So how do you know what will work? Information on general factors to consider is available, but there's usually user-specific calibration required. "Good judgement comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment." Drying cracks are not random punishment that rains down inexplicably. Except for extremely tortured wood like crotches (or pith cracks), virtually every drying crack could have been prevented with a better alignment of the factors that affect drying. When you experience a drying crack (and we all do), think carefully about the circumstances, make a mental note of what likely went wrong, and don't repeat your mistake. You can buy electronic hygrometers (relative humidity meters) really cheap (<$5) on Amazon or your vendor of choice, and I've found them to be surprisingly accurate. Get some and put them in your shop and wherever you dry wood, and learn the annual humidity cycles in those spaces.

Soapbox off. Thanks for all the input and suggestions. Hope everyone has a great long weekend.

Dave

[Thomas Wilson80]

I’m still fairly inexperienced and this was very informative and enlightening. Thanks Dave!
Tom

[Brice Rogers]

I take a small piece of paper, and write the pertinent details then set it on the hot wax and smear some wax over it. Works fine.

[Dave Bunge]

I use the green 3M Scotch 2060 tape for hard-to-stick-surfaces. Advertised to stick to rough masonry, etc. I use it on turning blanks, waxed or not and for many other things on the shop and at the lathe, for example securing turnings to a jam chuck. This is NOT the green painters tape with weak adhesive you find at the big box stores. I write on the tape with an extra fine Sharpie. Prob my all time favorite tape.

We also use it in the house for a variety of things, such as labeling things going into the freezer.

I bought some of this tape several years ago on John's suggestion. I don't always use Anchorseal on the outside of once turned blanks, but when I do, the green 3M tape sticks well and gives a good surface for recording the weight as the bowl dries.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Tape is a very sensible and simple solution.

[John K Jordan]

I bought some of this tape several years ago on John's suggestion. I don't always use Anchorseal on the outside of once turned blanks, but when I do, the green 3M tape sticks well and gives a good surface for recording the weight as the bowl dries.

I should add that I've tried several different types of tape and the Scotch 2060 is the only tape I was happy with, would stick forever to even heavily waxed surfaces, and I could easily write on with even tiny text. I don't do much green turning but process lots of mostly square or rectangular blanks for drying. For that I use the 2" wide tape to record weights, sometimes over years, so I'll know when the blanks are dry. Gaffers tape will also stick but it's more expensive and worse, the cloth texture makes small writing for weight tracking difficult.

drying-olive.jpg

I keep this tape in widths from 3/4" to 2". I've bought all mine from Amazon. Unfortunately, like everything else, the price is going up - some sizes up 50-60% since 2019. Considering that, I think I'll order some more right now since without it I'd probably quit woodturning.

Note that when I process domestic wood from green logs for drying or when I buy/trade for wood I write the species and date on the wood itself with a sharpie, sealing over the writing if needed. Before I found the 2060 tape if the wood was too dark for a black sharpie to show up or waxed I'd write the species on a small piece of white 1" gaffers tape.

exotics_IMG_5793.jpg

JKJ

[Don Frank]

I have a Dymo sticker printer that I used for business. I can print off twenty stickers (1"x2") that say the wood type and date in a few seconds. I don't pull the sticker off the waxed paper, just cut and use an office stapler to staple them to the end of the blank. Then I put the paraffin or Pva glue on and cover the sticker.
My blanks that I sealed with paraffin have held up better than anything else I have tried. It's a pain to use but really works well. PVA glue works really well too as long as the blanks are stored where they can't get wet.

[Reed Gray]

Guess you could use a post it, write on it, then take a heat gun to the wax. I would write on it before waxing with a sharpie in big letters..... Old eyes..... I also use titebond for my sealer, when I use it...

robo hippy

[Wally Crawford]

I use plastic page protectors that I cut into strips and then mark with a sharpie. I staple them to the end of the log and they have held up well for a year and counting.

[Don Frank]

I have a dymo label printer that I can type on the info, then use an office stapler to staple the label on each end to the block. I do this before coating with wax and just wax over the top so it can't come off and can be read thru the paraffin. If I didn't have the printer already I would print on masking tape with a sharpie, then used the stapler to attach and then wax over. The office stapler has super fine staples that come out easily and does not create a large hole.

[Richard Coers]

I just use a black sharpie. Since it is alcohol based, it sticks good enough.

[Richard Coers]

I just use a black sharpie. Since it is alcohol based, it sticks good enough. But to think about it, I think I only have purchased about 2 pieces with wax on them in 35 years. You never get wax on free wood.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Yes similar, staple it to a corner that will be coming off anyway. Or use a hair dryer /heat gun to melt the surface slightly and slap a label into the melted wax.