Is any commonly available material suitable? Oil paint? Latex paint?
Polyurethane (oil or water)?

I only have a small amount to do and would just as soon not have to buy
stuff unless nothing I have will work. Thanks.

i think you can use any number of products as long as it remains
flexible. i have had good luck with black jack roofing cement. tried
parafin wax once, that didn't work..it cracked and fell off as the
logs dried.

Toller wrote:
Is any commonly available material suitable? Oil paint? Latex paint?
Polyurethane (oil or water)?

I only have a small amount to do and would just as soon not have to buy
stuff unless nothing I have will work. Thanks.


I bought a 102" piece of 2 x 8 koa (still green) when I was in Hawaii
two years ago. The chap I bought it from cut it into 25" lengths, then
glued a single layer of newsprint paper on each end of each piece with
white glue. Two years later the wood is ready to work, and there is
absolutely no checking or cracking.

--Steve

Toller wrote:
Is any commonly available material suitable? Oil paint? Latex paint?
Polyurethane (oil or water)?

I only have a small amount to do and would just as soon not have to buy
stuff unless nothing I have will work. Thanks.

Latex paint is a bad choice becasue latex paint is, by design,
permeable to water vapor.

I've had good luck with paraffin, but don't doubt it can
fall off later if the log is very wet when first applied. Old
glue or old shellac would be fine, as would fresh.

Roofing cement seems likeit would be kind of messy
but effective.

--

FF

"marson" wrote in message
oups.com...
i think you can use any number of products as long as it remains
flexible. i have had good luck with black jack roofing cement. tried
parafin wax once, that didn't work..it cracked and fell off as the
logs dried.

A couple years ago i bought an auction bin that included a can of "instant
patch". I never got around to either opening it or throwing it out. Turns
out it is thick paste of asphalt with fiberglass mixed in. Goes on nicely;
on my hands it is waterproof and durable. Ought to work...
(next time I will use gloves)
Thanks

"Toller" wrote in message
...
Is any commonly available material suitable? Oil paint? Latex paint?
Polyurethane (oil or water)?

I only have a small amount to do and would just as soon not have to buy
stuff unless nothing I have will work. Thanks.

How long down? Conventional practice leaves them uncoated, since end checks
are largely self-limiting and the sticks are cut long. Down for more than a
week in spring weather will have "coated" the ends with dry wood.

"George" George@least wrote in message
...

"Toller" wrote in message
...
Is any commonly available material suitable? Oil paint? Latex paint?
Polyurethane (oil or water)?

I only have a small amount to do and would just as soon not have to buy
stuff unless nothing I have will work. Thanks.

How long down? Conventional practice leaves them uncoated, since end
checks are largely self-limiting and the sticks are cut long. Down for
more than a week in spring weather will have "coated" the ends with dry
wood.
They were in the tree on Wednesday.
Unfortunately they are 4' long, so I can't afford to waste the ends to
checks.
So you are saying I should paint coat the pieces I haven't gotten around to
cutting ASAP.

Pruning spray for a small job. Any asphalt, hide glue, or paint will
make a good sealer.
Bugs

In article ,
"Toller" wrote:

They were in the tree on Wednesday.
Unfortunately they are 4' long, so I can't afford to waste the ends to
checks.

I've had zero luck using latex paint. I've heard that diluting white
glue 1:1 and painting it on works well though I recommend the following
for pieces like yours that can be handled easily:

Pick up a Fry Daddy, Fry Baby or electric skillet from a yard sale,
thrift shop, etc. for a buck or three.

Melt old candles (my wife picks up pillar candles at yard sales for 25,
50 cents or a dollar) and maintain a temp below the smoking threshold
for the wax.

Dip the ends of the wood into the wax and let it "fry" for 10 seconds or
so. This will ensure good adhesion with the wet wood. Let cool for a few
minutes while you dip the rest and then quickly redip to add a second
coating - just a quick in, pause for 1/2 second and out.

Unplug the fryer and allow the wax to remain until next time. Just drop
"new" candles into the fryer and let em melt along with all the other
wax. Old crayons sitting around? Put 'em to work for you! Wicks in
there? Bugs in there? Bark and sawdust in there? Who cares! It still
works and it ain't no beauty contest.

I milled up my own "lumber" from some apple a few months ago -
double-dipped in the hot wax and have had no wax adhesion issues or
checking, though the piece closest to the pith has cupped a bit. I
routinely use this method for my wet bowl turning blanks - just roll the
edge through the wax in a shallow fryer.
--
Owen Lowe
The Fly-by-Night Copper Company
__________

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
Corporate States of America and to the
Republicans for which it stands, one nation,
under debt, easily divisible, with liberty
and justice for oil."
- Wiley Miller, Non Sequitur, 1/24/05

"Toller" wrote in message
...


So you are saying I should paint coat the pieces I haven't gotten around
to cutting ASAP.


Absolutely. In the log you can staple some cardboard over the end to hold.
I harvest bowl blanks off logs in my yard, and I just heap the working end
with shavings from the chainsaw.

Once they're boards they'll behave much better, because the risk of radial
checking will be gone, though you _will_ shelter them from direct sun.
Don't imagine you'll have the high relative humidity Steve's friend had in
Hawaii, which is why the greater level of protection.