protecting crotch wood

[Josko Catipovic]

We're about to mill some large cherry crotches into 5/4 slabs, and Im worried about them cracking. My plan is to coat them with melted paraffin as they come off the saw, but if there's a better idea, I'd love to hear. They'll be stickered outside, covered for a year and then moved into an unheated garage. We're expecting some loss, but would like to minimize it.
Thanks in advance..

[John TenEyck]

The gold standard is to soak them in Pentacryl, but the cost is prohibitive IMO. Your plan is what I follow when I cut green wood bowl blanks, except I bring them indoors immediately. None have cracked yet and some are 3" thick, but they typically aren't crotch wood. Your plan seems appropriately cautious.

John

[Bill Howatt]

Woodturners often use Anchorseal which is water-based but dries in with what looks like a waxy coating. Your plan of leaving them outside and then moving to unheated garage is good. There should be ventilation and direct sun beating on them should be avoided. The problem areas are where the end-grain is exposed since that is where most moisture is lost quickly so for better protection, I'd put on a couple of coats on the end-grain. You may even get advise to not bother sealing the exposed side grain but I think I would put some sealer on the crotch area. Unfortunately, total sealing is one thing but you do want the wood to slowly dry or what's the point. Also, maintaining moisture for long periods of time can cause mold - this is a problem with high-sugar woods like hard maple.

[Wes Grass]

A friend of mine uses the cheapest latex paint and rollers he can find.

[Josko Catipovic]

Thanks guys, but the Gods of gorgeous crotchwood must have been elsewhere yesterday. All we got was cracks, hidden knots, bark inclusions and even a piece of old barbed wire. They sure looked great from the outside, though.