# ebay wood



## Karda (Feb 11, 2018)

when you buy turning blanks from an online dealer they are shipped coated in wax not just the ends how do you care for such a blank if it is still green and you want to let it dry thanks Mike


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## Tony (Feb 11, 2018)

Leave it sealed and poke it on the end with a moisture meter. Leave it that way until it hits your desired percentage of dry. Tony

Reactions: Agree 1


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## gman2431 (Feb 11, 2018)

If the whole thing is waxed it will never dry .You need to remove some areas of the wax to let the moisture escape.


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## gman2431 (Feb 11, 2018)

And too add theres a huge difference be tween wax and anchorseal .One lets moisture out one doesn't .


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## Karda (Feb 11, 2018)

that is what I thought, what should I remove the wax with scrape or sand it off, what about anchorseal


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## Mike1950 (Feb 11, 2018)

I disagree a bit with above- waxed wood will dry- but very slowly. some woods like Black and white ebony need to be waxed- drying needs to be slowed- That said I hate wax- gets on tools and then back on wood. probably not so much an issue for turners but as a flat worker- I hate it

Reactions: Agree 4


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## Mike1950 (Feb 11, 2018)

Karda said:


> that is what I thought, what should I remove the wax with scrape or sand it off, what about anchorseal


what kind of wood


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## rocky1 (Feb 11, 2018)

Wax does breath, it just doesn't breath well. The thicker the wax, the less apt it is to breath though. If it's a thin layer, it will dry in time. The heavier the wax however, the slower it's going to dry down.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Karda (Feb 11, 2018)

Mike I don't know yet but one piece I am looking at is cherry 12x2, camphor 8x2 and rainbow poplar 10x2 larger thin for plates


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## gman2431 (Feb 11, 2018)

Well I disagree again...

People wax bottled beer to not allow the escape of carbonization and introduction of oxygen. Its also been a long standing debate whether or not it will allow wine to oxidize.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Mike1950 (Feb 11, 2018)

gman2431 said:


> Well I disagree again...
> 
> People wax bottled beer to not allow the escape of carbonization and introduction of oxygen. Its also been a long standing debate whether or not it will allow wine to oxidize.


I have 2 boxes of Bocote 1.5x6. when I got them They were 20+ dipped in wax. that was 3 yrs ago. now cut in half they are 9-10% . I live in desert- everything drys out here...... sooner or later.

Reactions: Like 1


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## rocky1 (Feb 11, 2018)

gman2431 said:


> Well I disagree again...
> 
> People wax bottled beer to not allow the escape of carbonization and introduction of oxygen. Its also been a long standing debate whether or not it will allow wine to oxidize.





Well, I'll just really confuse you from the ground up if you want to debate it...

I probably raised more than a few billion bees in my 50+ years now of dealing with the bugs, the larvae/pupae of which are sealed in their individual little bitty wax cells 5 - 6 1/2 days during pupation, (_and if temperatures drop in the hive impeding development, that can increase 24 to 48 hours_), and they don't suffocate, so... one has to assume that it breathes! At the end of larval stage, and through pupation the larvae/pupae essentially fills the cell, it's cramped in there; the cell is full of larvae that is predominantly fluid in nature at the time it's sealed. The skeletal structure, and features of the bee all develop during pupation, and at the end of the larval stage you have a grub there that is predominantly fluid wrapped in a thin skin, kinda like a water balloon inside an ice cream pail, it literally conforms to the size and confines of the cell, filling it. Not a lot of room for air, it's not like they have a reserve air supply there. Furthermore, bees breathe through their exoskeleton, the larvae breathe through pores in their skin, they don't have a snorkel to stick out the cell to breathe.

So wax has to breathe, or the pupae would die...

And, while one could argue the cell structure itself wasn't airtight, the bees fill it with nectar, which in many cases is 50 - 60% or more water, and while they fan the moisture from it to levels below 18% to preserve it, it doesn't leak out. So the cell structure has to be at minimum water tight.

Honey is hydroscopic however, meaning it is capable of absorbing moisture from the air around it, (_wherein we're talking trace amounts of water vapor_). To prevent it from spoiling, the bees seal the cell with beeswax to prevent said water vapors in the air from entering the cell and being absorbed by the honey, once they have fanned the moisture level in the honey below 18%. Because, below 18% moisture, the combined sugars, acids, and enzymes found in honey, do not support the growth of bacteria or yeast cultures necessary for fermentation, that cause honey to spoil.

And, since said water vapor is suspended in air, wax can't breathe or the honey would all spoil...

However, there is some oxidation takes place during the granulation process, and since granulation can and often does take place in the sealed comb... it has to breathe.



I know where you're coming from Cody, beeswax has long been used in canning of some foods to impede oxidation, wine bottles were/are dipped in it to seal them up, have been for centuries, but it does breath to some extent or there wouldn't be any bees to make it.

Reactions: Informative 3


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## DKMD (Feb 11, 2018)

For the species mentioned, I would leave the wax on the endgrain and remove it from the facegrain.


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## gman2431 (Feb 11, 2018)

But are we talking beeswax coating the wood or parrifin wax,Rock?... 

Either way my lathe would look like Mike's (I've seen it) if I waited around for wax . There it might breathe but I guarantee it doeant here . I dug a big piece of olive burl out of the back of cliffs barn that has been there prolly as long as ive been on earth . We sliced it with bandsaw and literally could see moisture on cut surface half inch in . I have other waxed pieces here with weight written on them from 10yrs ago that still weigh the same .

I'm just gonna believe if I wax my wood or buy it that way I'll be in a wheelchair before I can use it.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## rocky1 (Feb 11, 2018)

Those are telling factors... I'd maybe scrape the edges clean and leave the ends sealed.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mike Mills (Feb 12, 2018)

For me I would scrape the wax from the face grain except maybe 1/2 around the perimeter and the edges.
On the other hand I would probably just leave it as is until I rough turn it. Unless you wait maybe years it may not be dry enough to finish turn in one session.
An alternative would be to buy dry stock since it is only 2" thick. Lots of sawyers on this site with what seems to be a very wide variety of woods.
You may even have a local lumber dealer (NOT Lowes or HD) where you can choose the pieces.


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## Gdurfey (Feb 13, 2018)

more entertaining and mind challenging than watching a tennis ball go back and forth!!!!!! Er,.......sorry, going to leave it, but I was actually trying to be sincere, honest!!!

Reactions: Funny 1 | +Karma 1


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## Robert Baccus (Feb 15, 2018)

When you buy a carton of milk-- that is cardboard and paraffin--many times as waterproof as paint, lacquer or beeswax too. All "endseals" are water based parafins basically.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Karda (Feb 18, 2018)

thanks for all your information it very informative


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