# waxing ends of slabs



## brown down (May 3, 2013)

I have been slabbing out the black locust i have, amazing grain and feather in a few of the pieces! I am going to be air drying this stuff, should i wax the ends of the boards or not???


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## Kevin (May 3, 2013)

Yes! Always, unless you're spalting something. 

:yes:


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## brown down (May 4, 2013)

Kevin said:


> Yes! Always, unless you're spalting something.
> 
> :yes:



your the man kevin thanks


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## jimmyjames (May 4, 2013)

I have been waxing the ends of my slabs as well as about 2" of the face of the slabs from the ends, seems to be working pretty well, on about 70 slabs I've sealed this way I have found almost no checking at all, one stack of 8/4 lumber that I cut at the same time somehow I missed waxing one end of the stack and there were checks galore, even if you don't want to spend the money on anchor seal or wax, some old latex paint will do the same thing, just put a big fat dripping coat of it on the ends. If your slabs have already started to check , cut the ends off so there's no checks and then seal it, that's what I did to that stack of lumber that didn't get sealed and it hasn't developed any more checks as of yet.


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## Mike1950 (May 4, 2013)

jimmyjames said:


> I have been waxing the ends of my slabs as well as about 2" of the face of the slabs from the ends, seems to be working pretty well, on about 70 slabs I've sealed this way I have found almost no checking at all, one stack of 8/4 lumber that I cut at the same time somehow I missed waxing one end of the stack and there were checks galore, even if you don't want to spend the money on anchor seal or wax, some old latex paint will do the same thing, just put a big fat dripping coat of it on the ends. If your slabs have already started to check , cut the ends off so there's no checks and then seal it, that's what I did to that stack of lumber that didn't get sealed and it hasn't developed any more checks as of yet.



Not that I am an authority but the anchor seal goes a long ways and it is what it is made for. I do not think latex paint is a good replacement.


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## brown down (May 4, 2013)

Mike1950 said:


> jimmyjames said:
> 
> 
> > I have been waxing the ends of my slabs as well as about 2" of the face of the slabs from the ends, seems to be working pretty well, on about 70 slabs I've sealed this way I have found almost no checking at all, one stack of 8/4 lumber that I cut at the same time somehow I missed waxing one end of the stack and there were checks galore, even if you don't want to spend the money on anchor seal or wax, some old latex paint will do the same thing, just put a big fat dripping coat of it on the ends. If your slabs have already started to check , cut the ends off so there's no checks and then seal it, that's what I did to that stack of lumber that didn't get sealed and it hasn't developed any more checks as of yet.
> ...


 I have about 40 gallons or so in storage at my buddies work, i had about 4 gallons left, i didn't know if they needed it or not due to the pith and all removed and really never saw any waxed at the local lumber mill. they may use something else who knows.
thanks everyone, i have my stack waxed, i just have to go to the lumber yard on monday and get some stickers to stack them
I bought 55 gallons last year, freight only cost me $100 if i remember right and came out to a little over $5 a gallon which is a heck of a lot better when you buy 5 gallons for $80.
now i am out of logs :dash2::dash2: have to go over to my buddies where the locust are stored and get another load

by the way he has tree service guys that drop off logs all the time. he has white birch in sizes i have never seen before. like around 2-3 ft diameter! one huge crotch piece and a 20 ft maple log i think i am gonna get! wonder if the birch would be worth the effort or not?? another giant log that we have no idea what it is that one is about 4 ft round


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## jimmyjames (May 4, 2013)

99% of the hardwood lumber you see at the lumber yard has had its ends trimmed after being dried and during the grading process, the reason for this is that the ends of the lumber I chainsaw cut from when the logs were cut and a pretty knarly, plus a significant amount of the lumber checks on the ends so they cut that off , the reason the commercial hardwoods check even when sealed is they're kiln temps are so high and they dry lumber really fast, most with less then a 2 week dry cycle by the looks of the commercial kiln schedules I have looked at.


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## Mike1950 (May 4, 2013)

jimmyjames said:


> 99% of the hardwood lumber you see at the lumber yard has had its ends trimmed after being dried and during the grading process, the reason for this is that the ends of the lumber I chainsaw cut from when the logs were cut and a pretty knarly, plus a significant amount of the lumber checks on the ends so they cut that off , the reason the commercial hardwoods check even when sealed is they're kiln temps are so high and they dry lumber really fast, most with less then a 2 week dry cycle by the looks of the commercial kiln schedules I have looked at.



Also with walnut they like to steam it to blend the sapwood in. net result is it -in my opinion dulls the walnut. I prefer air dry. But then again my climate works very well for air drying- low humidity and very warm temps from now till Oct. Also I like the sap wood. I think the lumber checks to some degree no matter what on the ends. Time will tell with your pile. I have 10'x 22" wide 5/4 rough that are flat straight- some end checks. not a fluke- 25 of them no sealer- 5-12 yrs old.


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