End coating

[Lnewman]

What is the best substance to use for end coding new boards?

[Norm]

Anchorseal is what I use.

http://www.uccoatings.com/products/anchorseal

[WDH]

It is worth it.

[Kansas]

End sealing boards? You would have to cut the log up right away. Otherwise small cracks would have already started in the log. I would think it would make more sense to end seal the logs right away, then cut the boards out of it; they will already be end sealed. If you decide to seal, anchorseal is the one of choice.

[OneWithWood]

Anchorseal is my product of choice.  It goes on within minutes of falling and bucking.

[Al_Smith]

Anchorseal if you are going to mill them in a timely manner .Roof coating if not .

Roof tar will hang on for a long time .Anchorseal might be good for 6 months .Whatever you're going to use don't dilly dally ,put it on as soon as possible .

[Jay C. White Cloud]

X2 for all the folks that recommended Achorseal.  I'm must agree with Al_Smith though, I find Achorseal has a life span of about 6 to 10 months on logs and boards outside, (in  shed seems different?).  Does anyone get longer time out of it?

[Al_Smith]

The stuff on the ends of my lumber which is in a building is still nice and half ways waxey after 7 -8-9  years of being in storage .It held the splits to a minimum .Those tar coated prior to milling I cut a cookie off of  had some splits .Had I taken the time which I should have to recoat them with some type of Anchor seal type stuff they too would have remained in better shape I believe . It's a learning process ,now I know better .Truth the matter it completely slipped my memory at the time .

The stuff has went up in price but still worth the effort and cost .Nothing more discouraging than loosing 18 inches off each end from a nice piece of hardwood which is fine and select were it not for the splits .You might end up with 8-9 usable feet from a 12'6" plank ,kinda sucks . :(

Now the saving grace with all my mistakes is I have a short 900 Bd feet of black cherry ,tar coated which I didn't cut a cookie from .Perfect providing it doesn't tar streak when I run it though the planer .It didn't appear too bad after it was sawn .Maybe I'll get lucky .

[Den Socling]

Anchorseal is good stuff. I don't use much around here. I brush it on the ends of heavy white oak or figured walnut. However, I've been around a lot of mills that spray the stuff. That wax can make a lot of slippery concrete around the spray area. BTW I believe it vaporizes around 140'F so it's gone when you take it out of a conventional or vacuum kiln.

[Al_Smith]

 :D Yeah and some people buy it by the barrell full and us small timers by the 5 gallon bucket .No concrete to worry about ,mud . :D

[beenthere]

 

BTW I believe it vaporizes around 140'F so it's gone when you take it out of a conventional or vacuum kiln.

Prolly not needed after coming from the kiln so much as when the wood is green or high moisture and drying from the end grain.

But good to know a re-app is needed if wanting to help retain the dryness of the wood.

[tyb525]

How well it would keep lumber from absorbing moisture, wouldn't it add moisture anyways when you apply it cause of the water in it? Just a thought.

[Al_Smith]

The reason you seal the end grain is because the log looses moisture faster through the end grain than sideways cross grain which is what causes the splits .

Let me give an example .On say an oak log,three footer ,it can lay in the woods providing it's not in ground contact for years and only the sap wood will rot away if it's a white oak .The ends might be split in 18 inchs,two feet .You get into it passed that it will still retain moisture and the wood will be solid as a rock .

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Generally, we would not rec-oat lumber after drying as there is a good chance that the wax used in Anchorseal will get onto more than the end of the lumber, get into a manufacturing plant and then interfere with finishing (hard to paint, varnish, etc. wax).  Being a wax, the wax will evaporate about 130 F in the kiln, so only the color is left with sometimes a bit of oil staining.  Anchorseal does sell GemPaint for coating dried lumber...it is mostly for beauty, but then good appearance does sell lumber sometimes.

We did a study with 5/4 oak and a two day delay in coating lumber in the summertime reduced the benefit of the coating in half.

We did a study on coating logs with fresh ends in the summer of oak and maple and we found no drying checks or stain on the ends after 10 weeks.

Because the Anchorseal evaporates in the hot kiln, it is not suggested for end coating of kiln samples.  Use a more temperature-durable product such as roofing cement (tar) or B.O.S.S. from Anchorseal.

[tyb525]

Gene do you remember what you used to apply the sealer. I have wondered if there is a performance difference between using a brush, paint roller, or sprayer?

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

We used a brush for lumber and sprayer for logs.

[WDH]

I brush it on, that way, you get to know the log better  :D.

[mesquite buckeye]

I got a load of end coated basswood many years ago. It was a wax product, don't know the manufacturer. Gummed the heck out of my planer when I ran it.

I have had good luck end painting logs with the white elastomeric roof coating material. Seals well, no waxy goo after, dries non sticky and no problems with later processing.

[Norm]

I've been known to not do it as timely as I should. I'll cut a couple of inches off each end and apply it. Not sure if that's as effective but it does seem to help.

[tyb525]

mesquite, I'd think trimming the end before planing should eliminate problems. Plus it gets rid of the dirty old end grain that can dull planer blades.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Good point, the wax coatings and even the tar coating need to be removed after drying to avoid them getting into the manufacturing facility.  The wax coatings like Anchorseal evaporate around 130 F.  Some kilns do not go hot enough for long enough to fully evaporate the wax.  In these cases, we also have "hard coatings" such as Duroseal and others that cure to be hard and cause no problems other than being hard, so cut off a quarter inch to remove them at the end.

[mesquite buckeye]

re tyb: I guess, but I thought the whole idea of end coating was to not trim the ends and throw that wood away.... : If I'm going to trim the ends, why coat them?

Gene: I've planed and milled right through the elastomeric material. No problems. Stays sort of rubbery, but sticks to the shavings and doesn't stick to equipment.

The basswood was air dried, so never got to 130...... Maybe close in our climate.

[Jay C. White Cloud]

Hi Mesquite,

End sealing slows the drying rate to a point of slowly relieve stress in the wood.  It can be the difference of losing a few inches or a foot, depending on the species and the tendency to check badly.  I will often us a small blow torch to burn off the end sealer.  Even if scorches the wood a little, I often need not trim the end much to remove the scorch.

Regards,

jay

[mesquite buckeye]

It does help a lot on stuff that wants to shrink. I usually coat the ends of logs that I pre-dry for a few months to cut down on post sawing degrade, like red gum eucalyptus.

My point was that I'm not so crazy about the waxy coatings. Residue issues. I have some turning blocks that we cut in 2008 that are just now getting not so waxy in our heat.

[Jay C. White Cloud]

It's way, way more expensive, but we use Land Ark wax, which is a blend of beeswax and natrual oils, I promise you will love it.  You may need to reapply unless you shade your wood, concidering where you are.