I'm new to woodturning and I recently acquired some logs that have just
started to rot. There is a lot of spalting on some pieces and I want to seal
them for later turning. I read somewhere that I can use latex house paint as
an end grain sealer. Is this a good idea and is it going be sucked up into
the wood in any way. Will sealing stop the rotting? Would it be wise to cut
the short logs up into turnable pieces before I seal them.

Thanks

"Logs" of what length and species? Is the bark firm or loose, and where
have they been?

Logs with firm bark can be left unsealed, the end trimmed and chunks taken
off as required, with seal on the fresh cut. The spalting will cease when
they dry below about 20% moisture, and the extent of the spalting depends a
bit on where they've been. For instances, logs lying directly on the ground
should have spalting on the low side pretty much full length. Logs up on
skids may only have significant spalting for the first foot or so from each
end.

IF you buck them to width plus about 3", you should coat the ends and saw
through the heart to minimize drying damage, but the best thing to do is to
rough them out thick - rule of thumb is 1/10th diameter - store where
they'll dry slowly, and turn to true in maybe six months or so. Lot of
different "methods" to control drying damage. All based on maintaining
minimum moisture gradient from inside to outside. Once you take the
interior out, no more moisture can run from within, so you slow the loss by
humid circumstances, occlusive coatings, or other methods, according to
others.

If you don't care about round, you can turn them thin, and depending on
grain orientation and species, there may not be enough internal stress to
significantly deform them or allow a steep gradient to crack them.
Warning, though, severe spalting is a challenge to keep from "pecking out"
the more decayed regions, especially when damp.

"TT" wrote in message
...
I'm new to woodturning and I recently acquired some logs that have just
started to rot. There is a lot of spalting on some pieces and I want to
seal
them for later turning. I read somewhere that I can use latex house paint
as
an end grain sealer. Is this a good idea and is it going be sucked up into
the wood in any way. Will sealing stop the rotting? Would it be wise to
cut
the short logs up into turnable pieces before I seal them.

Thanks

In article , "TT"
wrote:

There is a lot of spalting on some pieces and I want to seal
them for later turning. I read somewhere that I can use latex house paint as
an end grain sealer.

In addition to George's and Andrew's replies I'd like to add that latex
paint hasn't worked well for me at all. What's worked beautifully and is
quite inexpensive if you or a family member is a yardsailer is to look
for a 2-3" deep electric fry pan (the one's I see (and use) are about
12"x12"). Also have your scrounger look for candles. People sell those
big column candles for a buck or so; save all the holiday candles you
can get a hold of; etc. Melt them in the fryer on low heat and walla!
you have a bomb-proof end sealer. Just dip the ends of your logs into
the pan for a 3 or 4 seconds and let the excess drip off. Once the wax
has hardened give it a very quick second dip - just in and out.

When I have logs too large for the fryer I'll resort to an emulsion
sealer like AnchorSeal as I've found the fryer wax doesn't adhere well
to the log when it's painted on.

_____
American Association of Woodturners
Cascade Woodturners Assoc., Portland, Oregon
Northwest Woodturners, Tigard, Oregon
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