Roughed Green Wood and Anchorseal

[Mike Minto]

Does anyone here use Anchorseal, or other wax emulsion, on their roughed-out green wood forms, to keep them from cracking? Seems like this should work well, and I've recently coated a couple of bowls with it to see how it works. Also, if a piece of wood is completely covered in wax, will it lose moisture at all?

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Mike
I cover the outside, bottoms and any end grain on the top openings of all my vessels with anchorseal. I do not put any inside the rest of the vessel. the I hang them upside down.
I've had great sucess doing them this way.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I watched a couple of demo's by Mike Mahoney and on his DVD From The Tree To The Table he uses anchorseal. I am experimenting now with about 20 bowls that are totally anchorsealed like he does his. So far not one has cracked. They are cherry, maple, locust, ash and mulberry.

[Dennis Ford]

I use it for difficult woods or when roughing out during hot dry summer weather, it definitly slows down drying which reduces the cracking. Even if you completly coat the piece inside and out, it will still dry (slowly). On deep pieces or HFs, I only coat the outside.

Blowing out excess moisture with air pressure or some initial drying before coating the piece will reduce staining from mold.

[Donny Lawson]

I've roughed out a few bowls and I just seal the end grain with anchorseal and then bag them.I haven't looked at them since so I hope this works.
Donny

[Kirk Miller]

I took a class through my turnign club. The instructor was production turner for quite a few years so he put quite a few bowls out. He said to cover only the ned grain, on the inside of the bowl, and the oustide as well

[Dan Forman]

I've been just bagging them right away, no Anchor Seal, no failures yet. Take them out of the bag in about three weeks, let sit another two months or so. This is for bowls, haven't done a hollow form yet. This method is suggested by Leo here, as well as turning author Ernie Connover.

Dan

[William Bachtel]

I have been using anchorseal for years, and have sealed l00s of bowls. I cover the ENTIRE bowl and have never lost a bowl. I turn the bowls green, and then let them sit for 2 days 3 most, and then seal the ENTIRE bowls, they dry just fine. I year is what I usually wait. I date and weight the bowls also.

[Mike Minto]

I'm wondering why this hasn't come up much when discussing drying green wood to prevent cracking - a fairly common discussion here. all the talk about kilns, DNA, bagging, wood shavings, yada yada...this is so simple; if this works as well as the folks in this thread are saying it has for them, and i'm seeing it work, why is this not the answer of choice?

[Allen Neighbors]

I'm wondering why this hasn't come up much when discussing drying green wood to prevent cracking - a fairly common discussion here. all the talk about kilns, DNA, bagging, wood shavings, yada yada...this is so simple; if this works as well as the folks in this thread are saying it has for them, and i'm seeing it work, why is this not the answer of choice?

Mike, I think it's not the answer of choice, mainly, because what works in one part of the country, may not work as well in another part of the country.
I live in NW Texas, where it's hot, dry, and windy, the majority of the spring, summer, and fall. If I just bag, bare... or just coat the outside end grain on roughed-out bowls, the majority of them will crack. If I coat all the outside, and end grain on the inside and then bag, a few of them will crack. If I coat the entire bowl, and then put it in my refer kiln, I save most of them, and that may depend on the types of wood. And I think that could also depend on how many of them I put in there, or how much other green wood that is in there with them... This is a harsh country that I live in, so what works for others may not work here. JMO.

[David Epperson]

I'm wondering why this hasn't come up much when discussing drying green wood to prevent cracking - a fairly common discussion here. all the talk about kilns, DNA, bagging, wood shavings, yada yada...this is so simple; if this works as well as the folks in this thread are saying it has for them, and i'm seeing it work, why is this not the answer of choice?

There's a tradeoff between drying without cracking, and drying fast enough that you don't forget what it was you are trying to do with that particular piece. Faster methods are more likely to produce cracks, the slower methods are more reliable, but well, slow.