# thompsons water seal used as log end grain sealer?



## hdtech (Apr 23, 2013)

does anyone know or has anyone used Thompson water seal to seal the end of a fresh cut log. I'm looking for an alternative to anchor seal that I can get locally. small town life is great except for when your looking for certain things. I hope this is the correct forum to post a question like this.


----------



## hamish (Apr 23, 2013)

Anything is better than nothing at all. 

Mud should even work, acutally should work very well.


----------



## TPA (Apr 23, 2013)

I would suspect that good ol latex paint would do better than Thompsons, but I have nothing to back that up.

I go to the big home stores in the paint area and find the shelf where they put the mistake paint that is marked down and look for any exterior paint they have. 

I have never tried anchor seal either, so I cannot compare its effectiveness against latex paint.


----------



## rjb (Apr 23, 2013)

i am new to this but some of the members on this sight suggested usin latex paint for a cheep alternative and so far so good. to my understanding and someone please corect me if im wrong but the end cut of a log is like a bundle of straws and all you are trying to do is plug the ends of the straws (log end) so that the slab or log will dry evenly insted of drying on the ends first making them split and crack


----------



## qbilder (Apr 24, 2013)

If it's something I REALLY REALLY want to keep in good shape, such as exotics, intense figure, burl, etc., then I use Titebond wood glue & paint it on all the exposed faces just like you would Anchorseal. It actually works better. Not only does it seal, but it binds as well. It's expensive but not terrible for what it does, and well worth the $5 or so per bottle to keep it in the truck when wood gathering. It's cheaper to buy it by the gallon jug. I suspect Elmers or any other brand of yellow glue would work just as well. I just use Titebond because it's what I use when building. Give it a shot. Might surprise you.


----------



## hdtech (Apr 24, 2013)

View attachment 292188
View attachment 292189

these are a couple of the pieces I'm trying to save. I believe them to be red oak but not sure. I'm new to the milling game and these were dead trees when I cut them. no leaves or anything to help identify them. but within a few hours of milling them they begin to split. starting from the middle of the width and nothing I've used yet has done anything to stop it. it's slowed it some but still splitting. I'll try your titebond method and see what it does for these. thanks for the help.


----------



## Stu in Tokyo (Apr 24, 2013)

qbilder said:


> If it's something I REALLY REALLY want to keep in good shape, such as exotics, intense figure, burl, etc., then I use Titebond wood glue & paint it on all the exposed faces just like you would Anchorseal. It actually works better. Not only does it seal, but it binds as well. It's expensive but not terrible for what it does, and well worth the $5 or so per bottle to keep it in the truck when wood gathering. It's cheaper to buy it by the gallon jug. I suspect Elmers or any other brand of yellow glue would work just as well. I just use Titebond because it's what I use when building. Give it a shot. Might surprise you.



I can't get anchor seal over here in Japan, so I use the regular wood glue, but I thin it about 1 part water 2 parts glue, it dries a bit faster and goes on easier, and seems to get into more nooks and crannies too, not to mention a bag of glue goes further this way. Use warm (NOT HOT!) water it makes mixing it easier, I put it in a big jar and then use my paint mixer and a cordless drill.

Cheers!


----------



## Stu in Tokyo (Apr 24, 2013)

hdtech said:


> View attachment 292188
> View attachment 292189
> 
> these are a couple of the pieces I'm trying to save. I believe them to be red oak but not sure. I'm new to the milling game and these were dead trees when I cut them. no leaves or anything to help identify them. but within a few hours of milling them they begin to split. starting from the middle of the width and nothing I've used yet has done anything to stop it. it's slowed it some but still splitting. I'll try your titebond method and see what it does for these. thanks for the help.



I agree it looks like Oak. The splits sound more like stress fractures, the wood might just have those in them, and there is nothing you can do about it. You don't know how or when the trees were felled, could have come down during a storm, which could put a lot of cracks in the wood.

Pretty wood for sure!


----------



## hdtech (Apr 24, 2013)

the trees were only on the ground a few weeks before I got them and I cut them into manageable pieces that I could get onto my trailer. the guy I got them from loaded them for me with his tractor with root grapple attachment and was pretty easy on them. I was thinking the cracking is happening cause it's dead wood. they have been dead long enough that the bark is starting to come off in some places. but seeing has how I'm very new to this I figured they would be good for practice. if I messed up some how it wouldn't be that big of a deal. especially seeing as he was goin to burn them.


----------



## rarefish383 (Apr 24, 2013)

Isn't Thompsons Water Seal kind of expensive? I'd go with the latex paint. I can't get Anchor Seal around here either, so I bought a gallon on line. It was kind of like job security, the UPS guy brought it, made my stock go up a little, Joe.


----------



## qbilder (Apr 24, 2013)

Looks like some really nice, knotty white oak to me. The dark heart with heavy ray fleck and slow growth pattern indicate white oak. Beautiful stuff for tables or stools, etc. Perfect for rustic appearance. Once I get it finished, I'll post a pic of a white oak live edge TV table I'm making for the FIL. I filled the cracks & such with the 3M black filler I mentioned in another thread and it turned out great.


----------



## hdtech (Apr 24, 2013)

I am looking forward to seeing your completed project. that's one of my favorite parts of these forums is seeing what others are doin with wood they cut and make into furniture or whatever. that's the main reason I'm trying to get the milling and drying going cause it's just way to damn expensive to maintain a woodworking hobby when you have to go and buy all the material and hardware. most of the really figured wood pretty much no matter what type it is is getting extremely expensive. and if your wanting to make stuff for your own home it'll bankrupt you.


----------



## hdtech (Apr 24, 2013)

rarefish383 said:


> Isn't Thompsons Water Seal kind of expensive? I'd go with the latex paint. I can't get Anchor Seal around here either, so I bought a gallon on line. It was kind of like job security, the UPS guy brought it, made my stock go up a little, Joe.



not when you have idiot in-laws who buy 10 times the needed amount of everything to do a project and then change their mind about using what they just bought. that's why I ask about it. cause I have about 5 gallons of it just sitting there. it's about the same consistency, meant to do roughly the same thing as anchorseal and it's free


----------



## Nato (Apr 24, 2013)

I never have used anchor seal. I use old latex paint on the lumber i really don't want to lose. It seems to work, but i usually put 2 coats on. The first coat really soaks it up. I just ask friends, neighbors, guys i work with etc. for their old latex paint. I haven't run out yet. Most of the lumber mills around here have STACKS of what looks to be "untreated" logs. Sometimes i wounder if it is really necessary to do. I figure it can't hurt though so why not?


----------



## hdtech (Apr 24, 2013)

Nato said:


> I never have used anchor seal. I use old latex paint on the lumber i really don't want to lose. It seems to work, but i usually put 2 coats on. The first coat really soaks it up. I just ask friends, neighbors, guys i work with etc. for their old latex paint. I haven't run out yet. Most of the lumber mills around here have STACKS of what looks to be "untreated" logs. Sometimes i wounder if it is really necessary to do. I figure it can't hurt though so why not?



I can say with certainty that yes some kind of end grain sealer is needed. the very first log I milled I left just as it was and within a week of having it stacked to dry the 8 slabs I got from it split right down the middle from end to end.


----------



## qbilder (Apr 24, 2013)

Where the sealer makes the biggest difference, IMO, isn't on the log but rather on the lumber as it is dried. I know a few who seal the ends of the boards before drying, and others than seal the logs before milling. Either way you have sealer on the end grain before the lumber is dried.


----------



## Nato (Apr 24, 2013)

Does anyone know if you would seal the ends of your lumber if it was going directly into a dehumidification kiln? say a Nyle L53?


----------



## hamish (Apr 24, 2013)

Nato said:


> Does anyone know if you would seal the ends of your lumber if it was going directly into a dehumidification kiln? say a Nyle L53?



Yes.

The same principle applies as to air drying. The end will dry faster than the rest of the board in a kiln also.


----------



## Brian Harnett (Apr 24, 2013)

I have used thompsons but I think latex paint works better, though I have not done side by side testing, I would apply a second coat after a few days the stuff seems to soak up a lot.


----------



## Sawyer Rob (Apr 24, 2013)

Long ago i tried to be cheap and use latex paint, i tried it several different ways, but i finally figured out i was wasteing my time. I guess "at least" it made ME feel better that i was doing "something"...

Then i bought some Anchorseal! What a difference! I buy it by the 5 gallon bucket and it will last me quite a while, as i only use it on higher quality logs. 

My second choise on something small would be, melted wax...

SR


----------



## Sawyer Rob (Apr 24, 2013)

qbilder said:


> Where the sealer makes the biggest difference, IMO, isn't on the log but rather on the lumber as it is dried. I know a few who seal the ends of the boards before drying, and others than seal the logs before milling. Either way you have sealer on the end grain before the lumber is dried.



I seal the ends of the logs, and with paint the grit is hard on blades... On painted dry lumber, i had to cut the ends off my boards for the same reason, hard on tools.

NOT SO with Anchorseal! You can saw right through it....no problem at all.

SR


----------



## scogar (Apr 25, 2013)

No idea comment on what is better to machine when the wood is used but I have used old wax, old wood glue, and old latex paint. I did not do side by side comparisons but I have been pretty happy with all three. The wax has been used on smaller things that I can dip in a crock pot where I keep the old wax, the glue was some bad (earlier frozen) yellow aliphatic glue (it even kinda smelled bad) that I used to seal the ends of riven hickory billets split from logs that I wanted to save for axe handles, etc. These remain perfect...I did not thin the glue and it was a bear to apply as a result. It was also thicker than normal due to the freezing I think. I still have some and hesitated to use it due to how hard it was to apply even though it worked perfectly (but I didn't think of thinning it with water...that I will do next time).

Lastly since I have been milling (started this year) all of that pine has been sealed with crusty old latex paint. The stuff that is out of the sun (I know sun is not good but the wood would have been burned anyway) has remained pretty darn good though it is at most 8 weeks AM old (AM=After Milling).

My thought on Thompsons is I am surprised it is capable of working but hey you guys know, I just never guessed it was an option. No comment on Anchor Seal - I'm sure it is great stuff but I make do with what I have and have been happy with the three alternatives I have used

Scott


----------

