Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
red maple log sealing help
Brad Risley
>A neighbor down the street has 2 red maple logs out for recycle. They are 18 to 20 inches in dia and each about 5 ft long. I want to pick them up for practice bowl/ platter blanks. Should I cut them up now or wait until I have time to turn them? Also more importantly how should I seal them? I have oil and latex paint and primers on hand but no immediate access to any anchorseal. Help!!
Brad in Fla
Re: red maple log sealing help
Barbara Gill, Remlik Virginia
>I would seal the ends of the logs with what you have now and order 5 gal of Anchorseal from U.C. Coatings. With shipping it will be around $50. After you have a good end coat Cut the logs up into blanks. I seal the whole blank once and the ends twice. This is to try to avoid having cracks open up in the face of thick pieces of wood. I sticker the blanks in a stall so I can keep track of what I have. If you pile them up one on top of the other they might get some nice spalt; keep an eye on them. If you don't have the room or time, just keep the ends sealed real well and cut off what you need and reseal the ends. Those are pretty big logs and if you are just interested in practice wood, the loss won't be that big a problem.
Re: red maple log sealing help
DaveZ
>What Barbara said pretty much sums it up. I'm not sure how much difference there is between Florida red maple and red maple in NY. But up here, it's better than practice material. I have good results roughing out the bowls and anchorsealing them. This maple will warp a little, but not crack. The grain and color are nice, tears out real bad when wet but that gets better as it drys.
Re: red maple log sealing help
Brad Risley
>Thanks for the response. I have just started to get involved in turning. These pieces showed up next to the road last night and I want to take advantage of them while I can. I will have lots of access to oak, maple and pine limbs and trunk sections. Trees grow like weeds here. These are probably the biggest maple I will get so I should put them aside until my skil level improves. Tahnks again.
Brad in Cocoa
Re: red maple log sealing help
Brad Risley
>This would be practice material only because it is free. As I told Barbara I think I will put these particular pieces aside til later. I will have plenty of oak and pine logs and limbs to choose from this summer.Thanks for the input.
Brad in Cocoa
Re: red maple log sealing help
Jim Rutten
>There's a woodcraft in Orlando. They don't carry anchorseal but have a green wood sealer that works just like it. Also, a great place to go and dream.