Anyone make their own green wood sealer?

[Odie]

Anyone here have any "home brew" formulas for green wood sealer? If I knew how to do it, and if it's feasible, I'd like to make up some of my own. In the past, I've used some of the waxy/water based sealers from Craft Supplies USA, but it's 16 bucks per gallon, plus shipping. I do like it much better than using glue or paint. If I knew how, I'd like to make up some of the same sort of stuff.....that is.....if it's economically feasible.

Well, how do you make green wood sealer?

....odie

 

[John Abt]

I don't have a recipe, but you can buy AnchorSeal directly from the manufacturer for approx $11 a gallon (in 5 gallon tubs) but that also includes shipping. After almost a year, I still have some left.

If you buy a 55 gal drum (like some clubs do), the price goes to abot $4.50 a gallon (but the shipping is FOB New York.

The company is UC Coatings.

 

[Ken Grunke]

Anchorseal is a water-based emusified wax, according to the UC Coatings website:
https://www.uccoatings.com/prod_anchorseal.php.

That rules out parraffin wax, or common kitchen wax. I found through googling that Candelilla wax has a melting point lower than the boiling point of water, and this site has the formula for emulsified wax:
http://www.woodfinishsupply.com/CandelillaWax.html

I've found that parraffin wax works very well for end coating, and is the cheapest of all. Best to dip the end of the wood in a pan of melted wax, letting it soak in for a few seconds.

 

[Gil Jones]

Ken,
Thanks for that web site on wax.
Our club buys Sealtite 60 in a 55 gal barrel, and we sell it to our members for $5 per gal, or $25 for 5 gal container. It Looks, and works like Anchorseal.
Gil

 

[Ken Grunke]

Gil,
We should title you Mr. Resource of the woodturning world, you often come up with answers here and on other forums on how and where to get things.

Our club just bought a 55 gal. drum of Anchorseal, didn't get the exact price but I'm sure it wasn't as good as Sealtite.

 

[Gil Jones]

Thanks. I tried to attach the MSDS for Sealtite 60, but it is too large.
Here is their address and some data >>

ISK BIOCIDES, INC.
416 East Brooks Road
Memphis, Tennessee 38109

Ph: 901-344-5350
Fax: 901-344-5387

MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET
PRODUCT NAME:
SEALTITE 60 CLEAR
Date of Last Revision: 6/17/02
I. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS
APPEARANCE AND ODOR: Viscous pale yellow liquid with a faint amine odor.
BOILING POINT (INITIAL) (F/C): 212/100 DENSITY (Lbs/Gal) (Water @20C = 8.33): 7.66
VAPOR PRESSURE (mm Hg): >1 EVAPORATION RATE (nBuAC=1): <1
VAPOR DENSITY (Air=1): >1 SPECIFIC GRAVITY: 0.92
pH RANGE: 8.50 - 9.50 SOLUBILITY IN WATER: Disperses
II. HAZARDOUS INGREDIENTS (See Section X Also)
COMMON NAME CHEMICAL NAME C.A.S.# % OSHA PEL ACGIH TLV
Solubilizing Agent Alkanolamine 102-71-6 & 1-10 3.0 ppm 3.0 ppm
111-42-2
Emulsifier Fatty Acid @ 57-11-4 1-10 15.0 mg/CuM 10 mg/CuM
Ingredients marked with the sign of @ are hazardous as nuisance dusts in dry or granular products. These ingredients may not present a hazard in liquid products. OSHA's Hazard Communication (Standard 29CFR 1910.1200) requires hazardous chemicals to be listed and the MSDS to identify the hazards associated with the product. This information must be included in all MSDS's that are copied and distributed for this product.

 

[Hugh]

I have a question for those of you in a club that purchases a 55 Gallon drum of sealer and then sells small quanties to members.

What do you use to get the sealer from the drum to the small continer? Do you worry about shaking up the drum to mix before you pour/pump/syphon?

Anybody know the shelf life of sealer if kept at normal shop temps?
Hugh

 

[Bill Boehme]

I have a question for those of you in a club that purchases a 55 Gallon drum of sealer and then sells small quanties to members.

What do you use to get the sealer from the drum to the small continer? Do you worry about shaking up the drum to mix before you pour/pump/syphon?

Anybody know the shelf life of sealer if kept at normal shop temps?
Hugh

Our club keeps it in a barn that belongs to one of the members. We have it in a cradle so the drum lays on its side. A valve is installed in the bung so the only thing needed to get the Anchorseal out is gravity. The small bung must also be removed so that it can get air.

It is an emulsion so there is no need to shake the drum to mix anything. We have stored drums for at least a couple years with no problems in Texas weather.

Bill

 

[Hugh]

Bill,
Sounds easy enough. Now all I need to figure out is how to lift 55 gallons of sealer to get it into a cradle. I guess a ramp would work. I was thinking of a siphon (rubber hose with a clamp to control flow). Or some nice pump set up. But I think your idea would work best.
Thanks.
Hugh

 

[Steve Worcester]

The Dallas woodturners bought a drum dolly and a pump. Also, if you bring your own jug it is one price, club supplies the jug, another.

 

[Randy Rice]

The cradle and special valve that Steve is talking about came from UC Coatings. They were worth the extra cost.

You strap the upright barrel to the cradle and then tip it to horizontal.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Bill,
Sounds easy enough. Now all I need to figure out is how to lift 55 gallons of sealer to get it into a cradle. I guess a ramp would work. I was thinking of a siphon (rubber hose with a clamp to control flow). Or some nice pump set up. But I think your idea would work best.
Thanks.
Hugh

No need to lift it up on a cradle -- we just tilt it over onto a low cradle.

The valve that we use sometimes clogs up because we do not clean it between uses. A large ball valve might be a better choice.

Bill

 

[Barbara Gill]

I have my own 55 gal drum as I operate a sawmill as well as turn. Our farm manager and I tipped the drum onto a low platform with no trouble at all. The drum is secured with a 2x4 on each side. I bought the valve hardware from Anchor Seal. If you order the product and plan on keeping it in am unheated area, get the antifreeze version.

 

[Rob Wallace]

We used an inexpensive barrel pump....

Hugh asked about pumping from the 55 gallon barrel of Anchorseal - we just bought one from UC coatings this past summer before the price went up. To dispense the product, I bought an inexpensive stainless steel barrel pump (....about $ 22) from a local Northern ("Hydraulics") store (also available via the web), which will be re-useable for future Anchorseal purchases.

We dispensed all 55 gallons of Anchorseal all at one time (after we had rolled/mixed the barrel) into plastic milk jugs we had saved prior to receiving the barrel, or into member's 5 gallon containers. Draining the barrel all at one time insured that everyone's product was uniformly mixed, so we didn't get separation, etc. over an extended dispensing period, and it made it very convenient to subsequently distribute the product to our members. We washed the pump thoroughly after the dispensing session (it took only about 90 minutes), so the pump is ready for the next barrel we get, and was "paid for" by the revenues derived from the first group order. We also bought the "winterized" version, for a bit more $, which is essentially the addition of some alcohol to the drum prior to shipping. Even with these additional expenses, the cost per gallon was less than $9.

BTW - UC Coatings was excellent in terms of customer service and arranging delivery to the barn of one of our members on an acreage outside of town.

Rob Wallace

 

[WarrenSearls]

Sealtite 60

Just (01/04/07) talked to the folks at ISK Biocides regarding Sealtite 60. Due to a fire at their production facility Sealtite 60 will not be available until at least late Spring or early Summer. They referred me to UC Coatings the maker of Anchor Seal. Our club, Central Arkansas Woodturners, Inc., has used Anchor Seal with good success. The shipping charge for 55 gallons is a mite high.

A word of caution to anyone who is going to use parrafin - it has a very low flash point and open flames should be avoided.

 

[MichaelMouse]

A word of caution to anyone who is going to use parrafin - it has a very low flash point and open flames should be avoided

Get a low-sudsing surfactant, a big blender, warm water and parrafin. Puree and emulsify your own. Add some alcohol if you'd like, to keep from freezing.

Or - go to a janitor supply place and get some water emulsion wax in the 5-gallon buckets.

 

[Stuart Ablett]

I'll jump in here, as I have something to contribute, and to say "Hi"

I live in Tokyo Japan, the various "Green Wood Sealers" are not available here, as far as I can figure out.

I've asked around and no one seems to sell it. Well then, what do they use?

They use regular white glue, mixed 2/3 glue to 1/3 water.

I contacted the wood importers, they said the same thing, I contacted a couple of wood sawyers, they said latex paint, or glue, mixed with water.
I even ran into an arborist, and he gave me the almost used up tube of stuff they seal up cut branches with. It was basically white glue, with some orange dye and some herbicide to keep out the bugs, it was rated to last one year, outside.......

Thus, I've been using the thinned glue, and it works well, I've not done the Anchorseal stuff, as I started woodturning while here in Japan.

I find the glue and water mix is best done with hot water, not really, really hot, but hot. I then use a paint stirring thing in my drill, and stir it up for a few minutes.

Sure is cheap, I can buy a big bag of glue (a refill thing) for a few bucks, and make enough sealer to do a whole bunch of bowls.

FYI

Cheers!

 

[George Guadiane]

Excellent Point!

Just (01/04/07)
A word of caution to anyone who is going to use parrafin - it has a very low flash point and open flames should be avoided.

I really LIKE paraffin... The results are less "greasy" IMO. I use Anchorseal on logs or whatever is going to be stuck outside, where an electric frying pan is not an option, but that is what I use to heat the wax. Garage sale specials $5.00 each till the legs break or the electric drops dead.
The sealed element really lowers the chance of starting a fire... BUT, care IS important, because the vapors are not healthy and they COULD CATCH FIRE.
No frying pans on gas stoves please.