Log end sealer?

[mtcampbe]

I'm looking for something to perserve the ends of logs found anchorseal at a hardware wow! high cost any bigger better idea????

[PChristy]

Hi MC - if you are getting it in the retail side it is going to be high - you can use latex paint if you have any around - but you have to seal it more often if you are going to hang on to the wood for awhile - We had a group buy here a month or so ago on the AS - good price on it - If you still have everything in the log form you can just seal the ends with the paint until you can get some AS - glad to have you with us - when you get some time how about going over to the "who we are" forum and tell us a little bit about yourself if you don't mind - we like pictures by the way

[boxxmaker]

DANG,you musta been nappin as we just had a group buy on anchor seal.got 5 galon myself,but if you want to get some,I think some of the memebers here got a little extra an may work something out with you.I am back in FL right now or I would work a deal on a gal.But if you can't get some thru here go to https://www.uccoatings.com/ you won't get it any cheaper elsewhere.

[NCTurner]

Shoot me a PM I got a little left from GB.

[boxxmaker]

Good folks here

[CarvedTones]

Originally Posted by mtcampbe

I'm looking for something to perserve the ends of logs found anchorseal at a hardware wow! high cost any bigger better idea????

I got in on that group buy and have quickly developed a preference for AS, but before I did that I tried other alternatives. I used latex with some limited success. The big trick is applying it at the right time; it needs a dry surface, but you can't let it dry too much or the log will check. Optimum is right before it checks. Parrafin (Gulf Wax) works and is inexpensive, but is a pain to work with. The best results I had were with full strength TiteBond III, but it is as expensive as AS and slightly more of a pain to apply. It's big upside is that the seal is very durable; you can turn a sealed blank with a spur drive and not break the seal. I have talked or e-chatted with several bowyers who use TiteBond II diluted 50:50 with water and say that works well. That would cost about 1/3 as much as AS. Again, the last idea is second hand info, but is a definite recurring suggestion in the primitive bowyer world. Bow staves are generally 6' long and just under 2" thick and wide with no pith; not sure the diluted mix would work as well on big blanks.

[Gotcha6]

The paraffin idea works for me but I diluted mine by melting the paraffin in an improvised double boiler & stirring in 2 parts mineral spirits to 1 part paraffin. You may need to re heat it to apply it but it does a good job. Just keep an old paint brush with it & keep it in an old lidded coffee can.

[CarvedTones]

Dennis,

More trouble up front, but less each time you use it; not a bad trade off. I was using it full strength. I put a little piece in a tart pan, hit with the heat gun, picked it up with a gloved hand and poured it on the end of the log. I had one "brilliant idea" that did not work at all. I put wax chips on the end of the log and hit them with heat. I never knew it was possible to check a log in 30 seconds. A shortcut that did work okay was to use the heat gun on one end of a full bar of wax and rub it across the end of the log. You get into a rhythm - only a couple of seconds in the heat, one back and forth over the log, back in the heat, repeat, repeat. Highly inneficient; a lot of wax drips on the ground (I did it over a big scrap of cardboard) and you can only use the big pieces (but you can melt the leftover small ones later) and you end up putting it on really thick in some spots to get full coverage. But if you only have a couple of pieces and you need to get it done quick, it works.

I got two and a half gallons of AS in the group buy for under $20, so right now it is my favorite. I really like how convenient it is. I have a bunch of logs that I sealed and split for spindle blanks mostly. I have been going through the splits rounding them partly to speed drying and partly to get a better idea of what I have (just measuring the ends isn't always accurate in determining what diameter cylinder you will get). I also square the ends better if needed (usually at least one end has a bad slant) and turning the splits does rub the seal off the ends (except for the ones I used TB III on). So I seal them again before putting them away. I just shake my jug of AS up, take the lid off and wipe my finger across the inside of the screw top and then wipe that on the end of the blank. No fuss, no muss.

[ScottM]

MC welcome to North Carolina Woodworker. Anchorseal is the best stuff around. Yes retail is high but it does go a long way. If you buy your own get the freeze proof kind.

[mountaintop]

Now that's winter is coming is there a problem if you used a end sealer that was not freeze protected. My understanding was it's only a problem if you let it freeze in the can or try to use it on a cold day. I hope.
Thanks

[CarvedTones]

My understanding is that letting it freeze makes it harder to use after thawing (will need lots of stirring and can't be sprayed anymore), but using on a cold day is okay. We got the AS with anti-freeze in the group buy.