I recently cut down a large cherry tree on my property. I wanted to bandsaw some bowl blanks out of some of the sections. Can I just use straight, melted parafan wax to seal the blanks? I have purchased blanks before that fell like they are just dipped in wax but I wasn’t sure if something else should be added.
Also, I save a large section (~10′ long) that has a crotch. I wanted to get this milled. If the crotch is any good, how should I keep them from cracking as I air dry them?
Thanks,
Brian
Replies
Brian—
The first thing to do is seal the ends of the cherry logs, assuming you aren’t going to saw up the logs immediately into blanks. The exposed end grain on the logs allows moisture to release from the wood way too quickly, which cracks and distorts the wood. Covering the end grain is your first priority. Paint, wax, or whatever, will work to slow down this moisture transfer. Or you can use any number of commercial products designed for this. Anchorseal is one such product.
You can melt paraffin to seal your bowl blanks, although it may not stick particularly well. The same stuff you use to seal the ends of your logs can be used on the blanks. Or, again, use paint, but it isn’t particularly pretty, and it may be tough to get off later. Concentrate on sealing the end grain, although it won’t hurt to seal the entire blank.
As for crotch wood, you should treat this as you would any end-grain portion of a log or slab, since much of it is end grain. Give it a coat or two of your sealer, and stack it with your bowl blanks so air can circulate around it and the blanks freely by slipping wooden sticks under and above the stack, a process called stickering. If the crotch is really gnarly looking, you might even clamp some stout boards above and below to restrain warping.
Best of luck!
—Andy Rae
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