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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Qld Australia
    Posts
    175

    Default Sealant for end of fresh cut logs

    Hi, I am after some info, a friend of mine has offered me a Blackbutt tree that he is about to cut down soon, as it will be a few days before I can get to rough turn the logs on a lathe, I was after info on what would be a suitable sealant for the ends to help stop cracking? and also how long approx would the logs last after sealing before they would start to crack or if they even would start to crack once they are sealed? I am in Qld and the weather is starting to warm up now. He said the logs would be about 12" to 18" wide and I intend to turm them into bowls and cutting boards provided they aren't full of borer holes etc.

    Cheers

    Ed.

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    27,757

    Default

    They should be sealed immediately after they are cut.

    The best thing to use is something like "End check" but if you can't get a hold of it the there are a number substitutes like molten wax or several coats of latex paint.

    Logs will last indefinitely if they are well sealed.

    Depending on the timber itself and the conditions under which they are stored they still might split but hopefully not as much as if they are not treated.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Rochester, vic
    Posts
    310

    Default

    Hi there.

    We have been using old water based house paint to seal the ends of our mill logs for many years now. A few good coats and I find the cracking is minimal, even after a few years lying in the paddock. Every year I just call a the local painters and offer to clear out their shed of left-overs and mis-tints for a few beverages in return. However, for the milled boards I use Caltex Timber Sealer.

    Cheers

    James

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Oberon, NSW
    Age
    63
    Posts
    13,354

    Default

    Personally, I think you can't go past Mobilcer-C if you can find a supply.

    However, that said, almost anything is better than nothing: scraps of old house paint, dipping into molten wax or even the old "polystyrene dissolved in turps" trick.

    At a pinch I've even dissolved old plastic gar-bags. (Not the cleanest brew to work with and stank to high heaven to boot... I suspect that OH&S would've had a gripe or two about my running around the bush with a tin of it... if they'd known. )
    I may be weird, but I'm saving up to become eccentric.

    - Andy Mc

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Qld Australia
    Posts
    175

    Default

    Thanks fellas for the info, I will have a look around to see what is available to me locally, now that I know what to look for.

    Forgot to ask , once I rough turn the bowls to about 25mm thick or 90%, do they have to be completely paint sealed for drying or are they okay to sit raw then?

    Cheers.

    Ed.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Cedarton
    Posts
    4,905

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BobL View Post
    They should be sealed immediately after they are cut.

    The best thing to use is something like "End check"

    .
    Mapleman

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Bundaberg
    Age
    54
    Posts
    3,402

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Ed.. View Post
    Thanks fellas for the info, I will have a look around to see what is available to me locally, now that I know what to look for.

    Forgot to ask , once I rough turn the bowls to about 25mm thick or 90%, do they have to be completely paint sealed for drying or are they okay to sit raw then?

    Cheers.

    Ed.
    Can't remember who it was, but a reasonably famous Australian wood turner advocates roughing the bowls and platters out and then "drying" them submerged underwater in an old 40 gallon drum for about 6 months. The principle being that drying timber isn't so much removing the water content but more the sap; by having the bowls underwater the sap is drawn out much quicker. Once the batch is ready he just leaves them to air dry for a few days before finishing them off. The process makes the wood all black and slimy when it comes out of the drum but only on the outside; this gets removed when back on the lathe.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Maitland
    Posts
    38

    Default

    If you have to buy paint we've found wet area water proofing membrane from bunnings is excellent. Two coats and it will even seal any cracks that are already present...even 10-15mm wide!

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Bouvard - Western Australia
    Posts
    325

    Default

    Nearly all the guys at Home use a sealer from Caltex.
    Bought in 20l drums & decanted into 1L containers, works out about $12 per Litre.
    HTH

    Col
    Chucks are like potato chips....you can't have just one.

    www.bouvardbush.com
    http://www.mandurahwoodturners.com/

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    27,757

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BlackbuttWA View Post
    Nearly all the guys at Home use a sealer from Caltex.
    Bought in 20l drums & decanted into 1L containers, works out about $12 per Litre.
    HTH

    Col
    I have used quite a few litres of the Caltex end sealer and it is good stuff.
    Unfortunately the bulk price is not much of a saving over the price of the Carbatech End Check ($27 for 2L)
    As a hobby miller I go through about 2L or sealer in one day of milling so I needed to find a bulk supplier.
    A few years ago I contacted a Mobil distributer here in Perth to get a quote on an end sealer called Mobilcer-195 which was the replacement for Mobilcer-C.
    A 200L drum cost only about $280 but couldn't see myself using it all so I didn't buy it.
    On reflection I should have bought it and on-sold it, I could have easily recovered the entire cost of the drum.
    I just had a look for Mobilcer-195 on the web and can't find any Mobil end sealer so I guess its the Caltex stuff or house paint.

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    3

    Default Sealing a log

    Quote Originally Posted by Ed.. View Post
    Hi, I am after some info, a friend of mine has offered me a Blackbutt tree that he is about to cut down soon, as it will be a few days before I can get to rough turn the logs on a lathe, I was after info on what would be a suitable sealant for the ends to help stop cracking? and also how long approx would the logs last after sealing before they would start to crack or if they even would start to crack once they are sealed? I am in Qld and the weather is starting to warm up now. He said the logs would be about 12" to 18" wide and I intend to turm them into bowls and cutting boards provided they aren't full of borer holes etc.

    Cheers

    Ed.
    Hello Cheers: 180 degree bees wax on dry surface is the best for the job although no sealant will stop degrading of the raw material, only slow it.

  13. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    the sawdust factory, FNQ
    Posts
    1,051

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BlackbuttWA View Post
    Nearly all the guys at Home use a sealer from Caltex.
    Bought in 20l drums & decanted into 1L containers, works out about $12 per Litre.
    HTH

    Col
    You're getting had there. We're paying $120 + GST for the same 20L drum.

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Queensland
    Age
    37
    Posts
    2

    Default Endcheck

    Hi Ed,

    I'm from a company called RLA Group, we have a product here that we stock here in QLD used in applications as you have described below.

    If you are still interested or for more information please email me your contact details to [email protected] & I will get back to you.

    Kind Regards





    Quote Originally Posted by Ed.. View Post
    Hi, I am after some info, a friend of mine has offered me a Blackbutt tree that he is about to cut down soon, as it will be a few days before I can get to rough turn the logs on a lathe, I was after info on what would be a suitable sealant for the ends to help stop cracking? and also how long approx would the logs last after sealing before they would start to crack or if they even would start to crack once they are sealed? I am in Qld and the weather is starting to warm up now. He said the logs would be about 12" to 18" wide and I intend to turm them into bowls and cutting boards provided they aren't full of borer holes etc.

    Cheers

    Ed.

  15. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Lindfield N.S.W.
    Age
    62
    Posts
    5,643

    Default

    I see that Redpoint in Kempsey list End Check in 20L, 200L and 1000L quantities and say that they ship Aust-wide. (Disclaimer: I have no connection with them and have not used them)

    Aftek

    (Google was my friend)
    Cheers

    Jeremy
    If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly

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