Sealing end grains

[humdrum_hostage]

I noticed when people sell wood blanks they seal the end grain with something..... A few questions.

What do people use and what is the best to use?

Can I seal a whole log or is it better to split it first?

Does it stop the wood from splitting?

How much longer does it "preserve" the wood for?

 

[Monikieman]

From what I've gleaned (but easilly stand to be corrected) I would split the wood. It apparently always wants to split at the pith anyway.

I have an old wok that I use for tinder making, fat wood etc and just heat some candle wax and paint it on the end grain. Not sure how good it works as I use the wood just when I need it and make green(ish) wood stools etc.

Give it a go, nothing lost. Oh, PVA wood glue diluted is often used to seal end grain.

 

[Stew]

It's no good splitting the wood if you want to use it whole later.

The way I used to seal logs for woodturning was to melt candles in a pan and dip the log in if it would fit. Painting on is doable but a bit harder to achieve the desired result.

Time frame? No idea. It just slows the loss of moisture down but exact figures, no clue. The idea is to stop the splitting as the wood should shrink evenly throughout. Doesn't always work of course.

 

[bobnewboy]

Usually on more expensive woods the end grain is sealed with a hot wax dip or similar. If you are cutting and seasoning your own wood, then cheap PVA glue spread over the ends is best, unless you have plenty of wax around. Large whole logs are better split and then end sealed. This treatment doesnt preserve the wood at all, but just stops damage due to the most common drying checks.

 

[Philster]

I use cheap wood glue (PVA), works great. The reason for sealing the end grain is this - wood gives off moisture many times quicker from end grain than from long grain. So the ends of a log/plank dry much quicker than the middle and as it dries it shrinks. This then causes stresses in the drying log where the drier area wants to shrink but is restrained by the wetter areas - this causes splits and checks.
Hope this makes sense - I have found there is no way to rush the seasoning process. It just takes time - and some logs just want to split.
Cheers
Phil

 

[Robson Valley]

Waxes will not bind to the tree sap in a fresh log. Anything which mixes with water will do (paints, glues.)
The principle is to try to even out the rate of water loss from the cut ends with water loss from the sides.
Of course, whether you split/halve the log depends on what you hope to make from it.
Splitting certainly increases the rate of wood water side loss.

Natural cracking is unavoidable, big or little. Fruit woods crack readily, conifers much less so.
With painted ends, undercover outdoors, we expect wood to dry down to an air-dried moisture content of 12 - 14%.
I anticipate 4-6" cracking loss at each end.

A good western red cedar shake block is straight-grained and knot-free. It's a wedge of tree trunk,
24" tall x 12" wide x 8" thick. Of course, sizes vary to stay free of knots (they can't sell it.)
For wood carving, that means at least 4" off each end for 16" clear wood.