# Anchor Seal



## Treeguy (Mar 20, 2013)

All,

It appears Anchor Seal is a standard here on the site. I seal all of my timber within an hour of cutting with UC Sealer. It is a red waxy sealer that prevents checking and cracking on the ends which tend to dry faster than the rest of the board. Is this the same thing as Anchor seal? or do I need to add a processing step? any and all advice is welcome. Thanks. The Treeguy.


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## Kevin (Mar 20, 2013)

AS is made by UC Coatings - same company. I never cared for the original AS as it was too thin, so I had my own formulated by a company in Oregon. However since UCC came out with AS2 I just love it, and use it exclusively now. I do not care for the colored waxes for two reasons, they are messy as hell and I cannot see through them when I mill. I like to be able to read the log and without the translucent wax as in AS2 you cannot see the log.


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 20, 2013)

Treeguy said:


> All,
> 
> It appears Anchor Seal is a standard here on the site. I seal all of my timber within an hour of cutting with UC Sealer. It is a red waxy sealer that prevents checking and cracking on the ends which tend to dry faster than the rest of the board. Is this the same thing as Anchor seal? or do I need to add a processing step? any and all advice is welcome. Thanks. The Treeguy.


It sounds like a similar product that would do the same thing. But you might want to check prices, and anchor seal is even available in 55 gal drums.


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## EricJS (Mar 20, 2013)

Jim, anchorseal is a great product but anything that will seal your timber will work. I've used latex paint and had very good results.

With that said, I love anchorseal because I can seal an entire turning block or burl and still see the wood.


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## ssgmeader (Mar 20, 2013)

EricJS said:


> Jim, anchorseal is a great product but anything that will seal your timber will work. I've used latex paint and had very good results.
> 
> With that said, I love anchorseal because I can seal an entire turning block or burl and still see the wood.



I'm glad someone started this thread. I recently came into some green wet Apple and started doing some processing. I had heard about just using latex paint (which I have an abundance of for free) and figured I'd just use that . The pieces are smaller turning blocks so the endgrain being opaque doesn't bother me. Any other major noticeable differences other than the Anchor seal being translucent?


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## EricJS (Mar 20, 2013)

ssgmeader said:


> EricJS said:
> 
> 
> > Jim, anchorseal is a great product but anything that will seal your timber will work. I've used latex paint and had very good results.
> ...



FYI - Most fruit wood is hightly prone to splitting, so make sure you seal it very well. :yes:


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## ssgmeader (Mar 20, 2013)

EricJS said:


> ssgmeader said:
> 
> 
> > EricJS said:
> ...



Yeah I knew that. I've had some of this apple before and it checked not even a day after trimmed to blocks before. Started at a 50% moisture reading on my meter. Funny enough I've processed Cherry before with out sealant and almost no checking occurred and that was letting it air dry. Apple seems to check super fast though.


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## DKMD (Mar 21, 2013)

There's definitely a difference between latex paint and the wax emulsion sealers. Although both work better than nothing, I've had better luck with the wax products like anchor seal. Lots of folks use melted paraffin wax for sealing turning blanks, but it doesn't really allow much drying and can separate from the wood surface. I think of the paraffin and latex options as being less permeable than the wax emulsions. All will slow moisture loss, but I think the anchor seal is best suited for sealing turning blanks for long term storage. If I were just sealing logs for temporary storage, I'd try whatever I had in hand.


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## DavidDobbs (Mar 21, 2013)

I think Anchor Seal is a over rated sealer. But that is me I say it as I see it.
I use a mix of 3 parts Titebond II 1 part water. Works way better than the other. Plus you can see all lines such as spalt an all colors
Any glue mix will work but the Titebond II will let the colors an lines show 
much better.


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## Kevin (Mar 21, 2013)

AS2 is a little cheaper, and I can use the same brush forever just wrap in a bag. Never tried TBII + H20 so I won't knock it. How long does the glue mix take to dry?


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## DavidDobbs (Mar 21, 2013)

The glue mix is fairly thin after it is cut so I guess its a couple hours to dry.

I cut enough blanks to cover my glue/ drain pan then glue them up let them drip off. I have a couple other sheets of hardware cloth I move them to to finish drying after they stop dripping. I double stack them then put them away the next day. Sometimes a couple will stick together after they are stacked not often but they pop apart.

If it is going to the kiln sometimes I will double dip the better woods
or some that are more likely to check.
I just picked up a gallon of Titebond II today at the blue & gray Big Box it was $17.97 They only had one gallon today. But the look on the ck out gals face when you buy 3 or 4 gallons they don't understand...................lol

The other reason I started using the glue mix it is so handy. I have to go into Woodcraft or Rocklers to get the AS II. They are both about 45 miles. The wife drives buy them both every day to go to work but she now carpools with another gal. So it is not as handy as it was.
Buy a small jug/bottle of TB II an try it. The regular Titebond works but it will not dry clear. It dries kinda a white wash looking color which is fine for some woods. But not if you want to see the grain,lines or color


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## Kevin (Mar 21, 2013)

It would slow my process down dramatically with all those extra steps and slow drying times. If I were not sealing so much wood I might try it. It's what works for you though and that's cool.


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## DavidDobbs (Mar 22, 2013)

Maybe I made it sound like a long deal. It is the same way I done it when I used Anchor Seal. Maybe I do it wrong? I dont even brush anything that will fit in a 5gal bucket.
Just dip it in an set it in the drain pan. I did 60 mud cured Osage blanks in maybe 10 mins. max.

Maybe the Anchor Seal I have had was bad. I have not been able to stack it for a coulpe days. Maybe the IL weather.


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