Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
Anchorseal 'classic' or '2' Which is better?
Bob Entwisle in NJ
I've been gifted with a couple of Apple logs that I'd like to harvest, and know I need to seal them up as soon as possible.
What's better Anchorseal 'classic' or Anchorseal '2'?
Thanks in advance,
Bob in NJ
makes no difference
GaryG in MD
Anchorseal will not help much on apple.
Apple is going to crack, regardless, unless you do the right things.
Remove the pith and the small rings!
Double paper bags changed daily.
Cool and dark.
Rough to form @10% ASAP.
More bags.
More cool and dark.
Pray! ...GG
controversy
John K Jordan
Bob,
If you google "anchorseal vs anchorseal 2" you can see discussions about this. I personally don't know since I still have a little left from buying a 55 gallon drum.
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As for preserving the blanks, you left a lot to the imagination, specifically the size of the blanks you want to save and when you plan to turn them. Big chunks for green turning in a month? Smaller pieces? Pieces to turn dry?
Experiences with apple also vary. I've harvested apple and other woods with the reputation of being quite unstable. I've been real "lucky" so far.
I think success with crack-free blanks "depends".
Just coating the ends of the log sections and waiting will probably lead to lots of cracks. Cutting the round in half and removing a thick slice by the pith is better but still might crack. Slicing the round into smaller turning squares can work well. I use the bandsaw to process almost all green wood into smaller blanks.
Success might depend on where you live and the average humidity. Perhaps on the season. Certainly on the specific tree and where it grew. Definitely on how it is stored. And how it is cut and what to size and shapes (i.e., for what purpose).
I usually cut wood into smaller pieces, from 1" to 4" squares for spindle turning and boxes and such, and some 2"-3" thick for platters and bowls. I usually cut these so any pith is towards one corner and I'm careful to remove all wood near the pith and elsewhere that already has cracks.
I coat blanks immediately with anchorseal on the ends. For unstable species I also coat the sides of the blanks that are close to tangent to the rings. I don't coat the sides that are closer to perpendicular to the rings. I also double coat the ends of bigger blanks and any areas with convoluted grain, crotch feathering, etc. I find this goes a long way towards reducing cracks even with wood notorious for splitting like dogwood and persimmon.
When the wax is dry I usually put most of the wood into plastic tubs, open at the top. I turn dry wood so I let blanks dry for years before using, depending on the thickness. Most of the wood I'm turning now has been drying for 2 to 10 years.
I do this since wood shrinks far more tangentially than radially. My theory on this method evens out the drying and slows the rapid drying where the wood is most likely to split, at the tangents and end grain and let it escape unhindered on the radial surfaces. Putting the larger pieces in tubs or somewhere else that slows down air flow might also help. I'm guessing that putting them in paper bags would do the same thing. Or if you have the space, burying the blanks in shavings, like some people do for thick rough-turned bowls.
Here in TN the humidity is high much of the year, even in my lightly air conditioned shop. That probably helps a lot.
JKJ
Re: Anchorseal 'classic' or '2' Which is better?
Roger Chandler
Every turner that I know of that used "AS- 2" went back to the "AS-classic". As the 2 needed additional cats, and still was not as good at sealing as the original. I use stricktly the "Classic" Anchorseal in my shop.
Re: Anchorseal 'classic' or '2' Which is better?
Joe Meirhaeghe
I've used both. I find the original classic works much better for me. I defiantly saw the classic sealing better & lasting longer then the newer anchor seal 2. Given a choice I would only buy the original anchor seal.
Our club buys it by the barrel ( for resale to club members) & tried the newer #2 once but had a number of members
not like it as well as the original so the club went back to the original too.
Re: controversy
Brad Vietje
Excellent response from JKJ!
I'd only add that in my experience, the best 2 things you can do are to rough turn it -- green -- as soon as possible, and then take whatever measures you will to slow the drying, or finish turn it green, wet sanding and all, getting it quite thin.
I've made a few really chunky Apple bowls taking advantage of the weight and density of the wood to create a massive-feeling bowl (roughly 1" thick when finish turned), but those I waxed all over, and dried for 3-4 years before finish turning. From what I understand, in some areas of the country, that would be nigh on impossible, but worked OK because we have pretty humid summers, and I store them in a barn with a dirt floor.
I have zero confidence in trying to hold off cracks with Anchorseal other than storing big logs/chunks until I have time to get to them. I've got one on the ground in the shade on the north side of my barn that I've stored for about 3 months, and will probably take a big chunk off tomorrow and see how it goes.
In the worst case, you'll get some deep cracks, and I have had pretty good luck cutting/splitting out bottle stopper blanks or small spindle pieces from the wood between the cracks. Good luck!
Safe spinning,
Brad Vietje
Newbury, VT
Re: Anchorseal 'classic' or '2' Which is better?
Roger Chandler
Sorry...that was supposed to be need additional coats of anchor seal......that "stewpid ought-tow-spell" that my ipad does sometimes just substitutes its own words it thinks should be there! I am going to have to turn that feature off before it gets me in trouble! 
autocorrect
John K Jordan
I told a guy just this morning: "I turn the autocorect off. I'd ruther be incorekt with my spelun then mistunterstoood."
His message to a client changed "while" to "wedgie" and the guy wrote back, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you out with that."
JKJ
Re: autocorrect
John Jordan
If it is an old apple tree with a fairly big, straight trunk, the wood is likely pretty stable. I guess they were grafted onto a certain rootstock. More recent trees are hybrids that are crooked and small, and quite volatile as several folks have said. But don't assume all apple is hard to deal with. The UK is full of orchards with big trees that have straight trunks, and I have had several here in TN over the years.
John
