What to do with a wax coated block?

[Wade Lippman]

I bought a wax coated block. The clerk told me it was 3 months old and it would be dry in about a year.
Does that sound right.

[John K Jordan]

I bought a wax coated block. The clerk told me it was 3 months old and it would be dry in about a year.
Does that sound right.

What size? What wood? And what will you use it for? (A higher moisture content might be fine for some uses.)

The drying time depends on more that what the clerk said. I think it depends on the size and surface area of the block, the species, the starting moisture, the thickness of the wax coat, and the temperature and humidity in the drying area.

I use a Wagner pin-less moisture meter to check my blocks. I checked one big block of cherry crotch (sealed all the way around) a few days ago and it was still at 12-15% after maybe 8 years. (I usually get to 9 or 10% in my heated, air conditioned shop.) Note that a pin-less meter will only check 3/4" or maybe 1" from the surface, but the inside of a wax covered block tends to be fairly uniform since it is drying so slowly.

If you have a good scale you can weigh the block now then once a month. If the weight is still dropping after a year the block is not dry enough.

You can't really go by this, but the old "rule of thumb" for air drying lumber is one year per inch. Some say one year/inch plus one year. This is pretty crude and doesn't consider species but might give an idea of the time involved. Some species dry much quicker than others. My 3" thick dogwood is still too wet inside after 4-5 years to turn a lidded box (what I'm turning now was cut 10 years ago) but Eastern Red Cedar is dry much sooner.

JKJ

[Len Mullin]

No Wade, it doesn't sound right. If the block is completely covered with wax, there is a good possibility that it will never dry. The moisture cannot escape through the wax, at least that's been my experience. I remove the wax from the ends of the block, and I stand the block on it's end on a rack to dry. I store my blanks so that the grain is in the up and down direction, I don't lay my blanks down. I find that storing the blanks on their ends, helps them to loose moisture easier and faster. It makes sense to do it that way, after all that's the way the sap runs, up and down.

[John Keeton]

I think I would prefer to leave the ends waxed, but scrape off the other four face grain sides. That would provide a slower drying rate and perhaps avoid end checking. As John has noted, it will take years for a fully waxed block to dry.

[Robert Willing]

Wade: I have found that wax coated wood needs to be dried because it will split, so I dry it in the microwave 45 sec at 50% power several times and weigh just before each zap. The wax will be hot so pick it up with care. I like to make game calls and the olive wood/waxed will split if not dried. Just stop after the weight does not change.

[Wade Lippman]

Chakte Vita, 6x6x3. Meter says it is now 19%.
I will scrap some wax off the faces and test it again in 6 months. Thanks.