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Paraffin Question

Richard Baker

Richard Baker

RIP
Joined
Nov 7, 2005
Messages
882
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Location
Wimberley, Texas
Does anyone use paraffin to seal log ends, bowl blanks, outsides of rough-turned bowls, or whatever, as opposed to anchorseal, latex paint, or ?? Since the idea is to slow/control the rate of moisture loss, not stop it entirely, am wondering if this is a good idea. Am trying it on a couple chunks of that oak until I get around to rough turning some pieces from it. I have an ample supply, left over from a defunct project of some years ago.
 
Yes. But,

You need it to be Smokin' Hot. I sometimes buy flatwood from an old gent a bit south of me. He cuts and air dries all of his stock. Watched him end-seal once, and he had a big pot of parafin boiling and smoking. He would then apply it to the board ends with a steel brush. He's got several 100k board feet of most any domestic wood that grows 'round here, and I have yet to find end-checking on any board in his barn. He heats the wax in an electric pot as wax fumes will ignite very easily.

Amazing guy who, at 140 lbs dripping wet, still does most of it all by himself at the age of 80.

m

Remember too that Anchorseal is little more than a parafin emulsion.
 
parafin

Richard-

I use parafin, but was taught a valuable lesson about how to use it effectively. The first load of wood I rescued for turning, I painted parafin onto the end grain. I made a mess of my driveway, and the wood cracked and fell apart. The problem with this scenario is that the parafin doesn't penetrate the wood because it cools quickly, congeals on the surface, and easily separates from the wood. Under these conditions some leftover latex house paint would have done a better job.

I attended a workshop at Craft Supplies last June. You probably know they process and sell a tremendous amount of wood for turners, sealed with parafin and in some cases also shrink wrapped. Rex was kind enough to share the secret of successful parafin sealing, which is get the parafin very hot (I like to see a few whisps of smoke), then dip the stock into the parafin. You'll actually see the air bubbling out of the wood, which is good, because you're also getting parafin penetrating into the wood and occupying the spaces voided by the air.

Obviously, this technique is not meant for the end of a log, or the feint of heart. I use it for processed blanks, and I'm very wary of the fact that parafin is highly combustible and getting very close to the combustion point with this approach. :eek: I keep an eye on the temperature of the parafin, have a lid handy to smother the pot (I've never had to do this. Yet.), a fire extinguisher within reach, no open flame (a cheap hot plate works fine), and lots of clearance.
 
I use an electric fry-pan to melt the wax. The cover serves as a nice top when the wax is cooled and being stored. Look for a deep 12 inch pan. They are cheep and have a thermostat control which is very important. I do the ends of all wood that is of appropriate size. Does a great job of sealing. But, you must be very careful not to over heat the wax.... it can easily cause a fire. You want it hot, but not too hot. Last winter I heated a batch to use on some bowl blanks and rough turnings. Was a bit impatient and turned the fry-pan on a high temp setting. Unfortunately, I forgot that my plan was to quickly heat the wax, dip my stuff, and turn it off. Was having too much fun turning I guess and I left the wax on the high heat for too long and set off the smoke alarm system in my house. However, I can say with confidence, that its better to have a smoke problem and face the fire department over a false alarm, than a fire. So I say again. Be careful.

Ron Wilson
 
Low-sudsing surfactant like calgon, well-chopped wax and a big blender sounds promising. Little bit of alcohol to keep from freezing, perhaps. Worth a batch try anyway. Start warm.
 
Personal opinion. With ready-made alternatives out there like Anchorseal, I'd give the parafin a pass. I actually used it briefly when starting turning and found it to be much more effort than was worth it. Also, can make a truly spectactular mess. Ended up giving away about 40lbs of it.

I also now use wrapping celophane. I've got a handled roll of it as is used to wrap boxes (available at any hardware store or K-mart) and use it to seal the end grain of fresh cut wood blanks. Although it is nominally waterproof, there's actually a fair bit of air flow around it unless you really layer it, but it's a temporary solution for really wet wood and works much better for partially seasoned stuff that I'm cutting into blanks to store for a while.

Dietrich
 
I first used something called "Seal Tite 60" to seal the end grain of blocks of wood. If I remember right the label said it was 60% parafin. Anchorseal should be about the same. I did try melted parafin at one time. It seemed to work if I held the wood in the hot wax for a short while. I think that Anchorseal is much easier. I just keep an old peanut jar full of it with a 2" brush near. I do not even clean the brush after using. A coat or two seems to work. No fire hazard.
Hugh
 
For all the work, cost of buying smaller amount of parafin (under 100 lbs) and the energy required to process your stock, a gallon of anchorseal is much cheaper and easier to use.
 
Sealed Wood Tonight Gloat!

I have had a gallon of commercial seal for about one year. I have sealed quite a bit of wood with it. My first gallon, I've been pleased with the amount of wood that I have sealed.

I brought home some Mulberry today. Got home and the pear branch that blew down Monday night was cut and waiting. So I hauled it home and got it all sealed.

Some nice bowl and platter blanks. Up to 8 inches. Lots of small stuff for bottle toppers, ornaments etc.

John :cool2:
 
Commercial sealers are great. Some folks have suggested they are easier and cheaper to use than paraffin wax. Well.... I am not so sure. I have to find the sealer, find a brush, apply... sometimes a messy project, clean the brush, etc. With hot wax all I do is heat the wax in a frypan, dip, and turn off the frypan. Easy. Now, for those items you can't dip in the wax, commercial sealer is certainly the best.
 
Thanks to all for your replies. Sounds like my paraffin plan will work. I have a temperature-controlled hot plate, aluminum pot, and several hundred pounds of paraffin, all left over from previous lives. So will just press on as if I knew what I was doing. Good tip, I think, about getting it hot but not TOO hot. My two oak test blanks, maybe 8" thickx14"x18" long have not checked after a couple weeks, which bodes well. Thanks, y'all.
 
cold wood

Be sure the wood itself is not too cold. I tried using parafin once when the temp was close to zero. It set up so fast that it flaked off and I lost several pieces to checking the next summer before I realized what was happening.
 
Wood Too Cold

That sounds like good advice for most places. But cold is seldom a problem in this area, especially this time of year. It's 100 to 115 F in the hot end of the barn where most of the wood is stored. I usually let it adjust to the shop temp. and humidity for a couple days (heated and A/C end of the barn) before starting to turn it.
 
I've been using anchorseal for years. I don't think it works as good as wax. I haven't used wax often because I didn't have a good way to melt it. I'm going to try the frying pan. Any wood I have purchased that was sealed properly in wax has held up very well. The wood that I have sealed using amateur methods such as carving off chunks and melting with a heat gun or trying to melt it, carry it outside and then pouring did not work much better than anchorseal, at least on wood left out in the sun unprotected.
Smaller pieces that I sealed by dipping in a hot pan and storing inside have lasted a very long time.
So the bottom line is, storage of the wood is as much or more important than how you seal it, at least in my opinion. Storing the wood off the ground, under some sort of shelter out of direct sun and reduced wind movement are probably the most important thing. Next comes sealing the ends and removing the heart of the wood.
 
Sealing Wood

Hi! to All,

After the 2004 hurricane season, when we had two direct hits, there were thousands of trees down and with the help of a chainsaw and a 5 Gal. can of AnchorSeal, I accumulated enough wood to last for a few years. I have no complaints about AnchorSeal. It has done well on Oak, Seagrape, Norfolk Island Pine, Australian Pine, Hoop Pine, and about a hundred other types of wood. Could not have done it with paraffin due to the time factor. :cool2:
 
Question for all the parafin users...Do you coat all sides? Or just the end grain? If you seal all sides of a block - does it dry out at all? Sometimes when I seal wood with Anchorseal - I seal all the sides, but the wood seeks to dry anyway. What about sealing roughed out bowls with parafin? One would need a very large container of parafin!

A total different subject - the other day I hit 150 messages and became a "Sledgehammer". Jeff - I always want to be a "Sledgehammer". Cool name!

Sledgehammer Hugh
 
Hi Sledgehammer! The names are assigned based on how many posts you have made. Steve and I thought this would be fun and it has been! The monikers and the posting levels are listed in the Help, Rules, and FAQ menu item (upper left).
 
Hugh said:
Question for all the parafin users...Do you coat all sides? Or just the end grain?
Click to expand...

Remember that wood is like a bunch of straws. Your goal in sealing end grain is to equalize the rate of moisture loss between the end grain and the face grain. Slow the end grain loss to a rate much closer to the face grain loss. Parafin or anchorseal goal is the same. On a roughed out bowl, I re-coat the end grain again. (4 places now) :cool2:

I have one of the plastic coffee containers with a tight fitting lid. I keep a small amount of anchorseal in the container with a brush in there. Never have cleaned the brush. Two years now. Just open and use. Add more anchorseal as needed. You can dip pieces up to the width of the container about 3.5 inches diameter. Works for me.

John :) :cool2:
 
Last edited:
Hugh in reply to your Question I generally Dip to a depth of 1"/1½" for Logs and Square Blanks [the 2 end grain ends only] for Round Bowl Blanks I Dip to 1" all the way round the Circumfrance as shown in my Article.

Large Items, with the set up I have, are more of a challenge but I do coat the Hot Wax with a Brush succesfully when I cannot Dip.

The secret is to ensure the Wax is Clear, if it looks "Milky" then Water/Moisture is trapped between the Wax and the Timber, and therefore is likely to fall off in time, this may require some additional Heat i.e. a Hot Air Gun works well.

In my opinion Wax is more cost effective but you are limited by the size of Reseptical you Melt the Wax in [in my case 10" is the maximum for a straight Dip].

Richard
 
John,
I asked the question about painting all sides for a couple of reasons. 1) I have purchased exotic wood and it had/has wax on all sides. I was wondering if it was still drying out (as I have not used very much of the wood that I have purchased). Too much free wood out there - there is never too much free wood really. 2) Sometimes when I try to dry some woods - Oak, and others - and I paint the end grain with Anchorseal, I get cracks on the sides. It seems to dry out too fast. 3) When I rough turn a bowl out, I paint all of it with Anchorseal and let it dry. It still drys out through the Anchorseal. I guess I was wondering if the parafin created a more perfect seal and did not allow the wood to dry?
Hugh
 
Sealing the sides

I've had problems with bad cracks in the sides as well. The last couple of years I've been using shellac to seal the sides on the thicker pieces. A single coat of standard 3 pound shellac on pieces 2" - 3 1/2" thick and two coats on pieces over 3 1/2" thick. On the bigger pieces I often also put a coat of shellac over the Anchorseal on the ends as well, especially if I see a lot of pin-holes when I apply the Anchorseal. This seems to really reduce the cracking problems.
 
I'll throw a couple of thoughts in here. I have not done any of this as so far I haven't had a need, but when I was young, my mother canned fruits and vegetables. She used a double boiler on a gas stove to melt the paraffin. For those that are too young to know about these, it's a pan that sits partially inside another pan. You put water in the bottom pan then put the upper pan in. It has a ridge in it so it only goes part way into the lower pan, just enough so it's at the water level. You then put the pan on a stove and whatever you want to heat in the upper pan. It never gets hotter than the temp of the boiling water, so you don't burn whatever you're heating.

I'm pretty sure wherever you can buy canning supplies will also carry parafin. I haven't looked for it in a long time, but it was in 1 pound boxes sliced into about 5 or 6 strips. I've seen it in grocery stores and small 'hometown' hardware stores before, right in with the canning jars etc.

Paul
 
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