# Wood Spliting



## Mordi (Jan 15, 2014)

I have purchased several nice pieces of spalted and burl chunks of wood on this forum and they all have split :(
I sealed the ends with green wood sealer when I got the pieces and placed them in my garage flat on a table- but they still have split. The garage temperature does not vary much, as I am located in Southern California.

What else should I be doing to prevent the splitting?

Thanks,
Mordi


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## rdnkmedic (Jan 15, 2014)

Pray


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## Mordi (Jan 15, 2014)

rdnkmedic said:


> Pray



Anybody else have any suggestions? And please do not suggest "pray *hard*"


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## rdnkmedic (Jan 15, 2014)

I'm just kidding. Sounds like you have done it right. Might be the difference in humidity where you are.


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## Mordi (Jan 15, 2014)

Well, come to think of it, it has been dry lately....


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## rdnkmedic (Jan 15, 2014)

Try sealing the whole piece. Not just the ends. That will slow it down even more. If it is too dry then you could find a humidifier to put some moisture in the air. Maybe one of the guys from Arizona can help. Very dry there.


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## DKMD (Jan 15, 2014)

I've also had some success by placing sealed pieces and roughouts in cardboard boxes for a while to limit moisture loss. Anything that starts to mold gets pulled out of the boxes, but it seems to reduce checking for me with notorious things like fruit woods and oak.


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## Torque Turner (Jan 15, 2014)

I put some of my green wood in a very large ice chest, cover the pieces with an old towel, and replace with a dry towel every few days. I'll open the chest briefly each time I'm in the shop to let it air out. So far this seems to work.


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## Charles Neil (Jan 16, 2014)

Torque ,

Thats an excellent idea ..I have used plastic bags and paper towels in much the same manner


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## Patrude (Jan 16, 2014)

I have had good luck with green shavings. I cover the wood with green shavings and just let it sit. It will extend the drying time, but the stock will tend to remain stable. I have also had luck with smaller peices using plastic bags along with shavings. The one thing you face using plastic bags is that it provides an enviroment for mold so you need to check that occasionally. I am thinking your problem might be due to the dryer climate


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## Cody Killgore (Jan 16, 2014)

I have had some pieces that came to me that were fully sealed and still split. I have also had pieces that I fully sealed when I got them and they split. For woods that I know do some crazy things when drying, I put a thick coat of anchorseal 2 on them then the next day, when it does it's thing and goes clear/hardish, I put another thick coat. I haven't had much check on me with the 2 coat method. 

Although most of what I've done that with is small knife blocks. For bigger pieces, more coats may be needed


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## Schroedc (Jan 16, 2014)

I've found two coats of anchor seal seems to do the trick. I prefer the original anchor seal, other turners up here in MN have tried both and seem to stick with the original but that may just be due to our radical temp swings, also I've found that placing in a paper grocery store bag full of shavings can help.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Cody Killgore (Jan 16, 2014)

Schroedc said:


> I've found two coats of anchor seal seems to do the trick. I prefer the original anchor seal, other turners up here in MN have tried both and seem to stick with the original but that may just be due to our radical temp swings, also I've found that placing in a paper grocery store bag full of shavings can help.



Never tried original. Good to know!


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## Schroedc (Jan 16, 2014)

Cody Killgore said:


> Never tried original. Good to know!




www.uccoatings.com- direct from the manufacturer in one and 5 gallon pails, also, they ship free to "Eastern" states and apparently MN was for some reason considered Eastern so I'd think LA would be too......


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## barry richardson (Jan 18, 2014)

Bottom line is if you buy stuff green, your taking a gamble. Something you should factor in when buying. A dry piece that is sound, is worth waaay more than a green piece, where you take on all the risk, and not the seller... Green turning blanks for bowls and HF's fare better cause you remove most of the wood and relieve a lot of the stress on it...


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## Robert Baccus (Mar 31, 2018)

Don't make fences where there are none. Try 2-3 coats of any good endseal. Not anchor seal #1 or the horrible Tree saver crap--stay with the paraffin water based stuff.


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## Karl_TN (Apr 1, 2018)

If you plan on turning much then look up building wood kiln out of an old freezer or dishwasher to control the rate of drying.


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## Steve Walker (Apr 1, 2018)

If not sealed already, seal... I too use Anchorseal original, tried the #2 and didn't like it. Brown craft paper that comes on the rolls, or paper sacks from the grocery to limit air movement. The paper still let's the wood breathe, and lowers the mold chances.


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## Robert Baccus (Apr 1, 2018)

Sorry--my bad--anchorseal #1 is fine stuff--the #2 is crap designed to satisfy Calif. tree huggers laws. I use sealer by the gallon--everything I turn is sealed allover except vases/urns--they get it only on the outside--helps pull the wood grain together and prevents cracks and dries faster with the hollow open--I do many of this size stuff and very seldom have cracking problems. No kiln or microwave--just a big inventory. Just my biased opinion. I turn almost all green--I have to to find pieces large enough for urns--pith in the middle-the glue blocks seem to prevent basal cracking very well. It,s almost impossible to dry large pieces in the damp south--I keep my stach under a tarp and wetted as I hate big dry pieces to turn and deep hollow.


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