Preventing wood for mounts from drying out

[MattS]

I have some chunks of cherry and oak that I eventually want to cut into slabs for mounting fish and other critters to. I have heard of waxing the ends. What kind of wax? For how long do you allow wood to dry before cutting? Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

[Egon]

For sealing ends some folks will say to use a product like Anchor Seal, others use paint. I use glue and then cover it with sawdust.

 

[studor]

There are two products I have used to stop checking and splitting of green fancy grained woods, Pentacryl and PEG (polyethylene glycol) I got both of them from Lee Valley here in Canada but I would think you could get them down there. Both products are expensive but they do work. If the wood is relatively straight grain I would cut it green and stack it to dry or treat it if it looked like it was going to really twist or warp. Twisty stuff I would treat right away and then saw when the moisture content dropped a bit. If you are storing the pieces inside in heat I would rough cut now and treat -- plane later
regards
Steve

 

[MattS]

Thanks much for the info

 

[Q-Saw]

I've used Anchor Seal, glue (yellow or white), and paint.

Paint is the cheapest because almost everybody has some leftover paint sitting in their garage from the last project. Paint is okay (I would use latex - several coats), but the pigments can be abrasive, so you don't want to cut through it or you will dull your blades.

I've heard of people using paste wax or paraffin. Use what you have.

Anchor Seal (AS) is the best, but it's pricey and difficult to obtain locally. AS is a wax emulsion - that is, it's a wax suspended in a water solution. You don't want to let the product freeze before applying, so keep it indoors (after it has been applied, temperature is no problem).

Drying time is dependent on too many factors (wood size, species, temperature, humidity, air flow, etc.) to give an answer. If you can weigh the wood very accurately, check it once a month. When the weight hasn't dropped for 2 or 3 months, it's probably "done". It's best checked with a wood moisture meter made for this.

The wood will dry much faster if you cut it into planks or boards first, rather than leaving it in the log or "chunk" form to dry. It will also be much easier to cut when it's "green". Wood gets harder as it dries - think of the difference between a damp sponge and a sponge that is bone dry. Just be sure to stack it neatly with space for air to flow between the boards and weight on top of the stack.

Good luck

- Marty

 

[Egon]

glue (yellow or white),

That is the type of glue I use.
Picture shows end piece of wood with glue and then dipped in sawdust.

 

[Q-Saw]

Egon -

I've used glue before for small turning projects, but I've never heard of adding the sawdust. What is the purpose of the sawdust? What kind of wood do you have stacked in the photo? Do you trim the ends off, or just plane and saw with the glue on?


I cut some nice size white pine here. I actually sealed it with Anchor Seal, but pine doesn't need that at all for even drying. The AS doesn't show well in the photo of the log, thin coats dry clear to milky.

- Marty

 

[Egon]

Nice pictures of a real operation. I just play at it for project wood.

I add the sawdust to cut down on the mess as the glue dries. Those pieces you see there are unassembled Maple and a little Red Oak that has been cut to whatever size was possible and then stacked as best as possible in the basement. When ready to use the ends get cut off as I dimension the wood for projects which, of late, have been few and far between.

Out at the Play Farm we do have some White Pine stacked awaiting my chainsaw mill. We actually have some very nice standing trees there that would make good lumber.

So far I have not cut any good trees but work on windblown trees and those that may have bugs in them. I'm also limited in the size of log my tractor can handle and the size I feel confident of cutting. Play logging keeps me busy and happy. Tangible results are not really required.

 

[MattS]

Well folks, thank you for all the input. I found AS on google for about the price of a good gallon of paint, of which I thought was reasonable, and purchased it.

Anchorseal Green Wood and End Grain Sealer, Gallon - 195311

Thanks again all!

 

[Q-Saw]

Matt - Good luck with your projects. The AS is good stuff, I'm glad you were able to obtain some.

Egon - Thanks for the info, the sawdust makes sense to me now - good idea. I bet your tractor can move some pretty good sized logs.

- Marty