Thread: How to seal green timber boards

Aperhaps for Q1 use Crommelons Water based bitument paint? Water Based Bitumen Paint: Waterproofing: Crommelin

I use ordinary paint (effectively what I have on hand) and paint the ends and a few inches up the sides to reduce any possibility of cracking.

Drying timber also needs airflow, will you get this in the hot water cupboard? The reason for this question is that I have some timber drying in an area that there is minimal airflow, and it is becoming spalted.

Thanks for this warning about air flow, cava, I shall have to re-think this as my HW cupboard has no air flow. How long was your timber in that environment for?

Within a few months spalting was evident. Most of the wood was/is Cootamundra Wattle and fruit wood (peach, nectarine).

This isn't too much of an issue for some who like spalting, but I am wary of spalted timber for health reasons. Most of my work is for kitchen/house use, so I tend to shy away from anything spalted.

If I was into box making, it would be a different issue.

George

Green boards are best sealed with wax (95% paraffin, 5% bees) for an inch, this is cut off when dry

Thanks dai sensei, can you please tell us where to get this wax and how best to apply it?

Originally Posted by Dengue

Thanks dai sensei, can you please tell us where to get this wax and how best to apply it?

I'd suggest that some might magically appear in a tin about frosty mango towards the weekend. or that boards mightbe able to head towards a kiln if that worked for you better. i'm definitely paluma way this weekend so I'll let you know when as it gets closer

Sounds great, John, looking forward to catching up again. Should be back on deck by then, all going well.

For the many millions of board feet of lumber that come out of our mills, the ends are usually sealed with some sort of spray paint.
I've used carpenter's glue and left over interior house paints ( water-soluble acrylics). They all bind well to the damp woods.

Stacked and stickered to air dry, out doors, under cover and not cooked in a shed, we expect the woods
to dry to an equilibrium moisture content of 12 - 14% at a rate of 1" per year.

Originally Posted by Dengue

Thanks dai sensei, can you please tell us where to get this wax and how best to apply it?

You can buy off Ebay. I melt waxes in a Wok or frypan and then hold the timber in until it stops bubbling (moisture reaction)

As I decant PVA glue from 3.8lt down into 500ml bottles I save and use the dregs from washing out the bottles after use to seal boards. Works well for me.

I was using "Log End Sealer" but had some very mixed results with that.

Yes the trouble with that end grain sealer it it stays tacky for ages and makes a right mess. Sticks to you as well as the wood. Any old paint you have or old PVA glue works fine.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by orraloon

Yes the trouble with that end grain sealer it it stays tacky for ages and makes a right mess. Sticks to you as well as the wood. Any old paint you have or old PVA glue works fine.
Regards
John

I think there are a few "log end sealer" products on the market. I was using the Caltex product but found it thin and not that successful at sealing. I see they now say it has a 12 month shelf life. Perhaps I had old stock but I'm certainly not purchasing another 20lt to find out!

Stacked and stickered to air dry, out doors, under cover and not cooked in a shed, we expect the woodsto dry to an equilibrium moisture content of 12 - 14% at a rate of 1" per year.]

Wouldn't it be better to be placed in a shed if it got warm from the sun during the day? Provided there was room for air movement around the stack, of course.

I imagined that being cooked was a good thing for drying out timber