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White Glue

William Rogers said:
I have see alternates for green wood sealer, but was wondering if white glue was a good choice. Much cheaper than the normally used sealer.
Click to expand...


Hello William.......I can't say about using white glue to seal roughed bowls......but, I have heard that it does work as a good substitute for anchorseal. Where are you buying your anchorseal? I've been buying mine from CSUSA since the 1980's, and it's performed very well for me.....inexpensive, too! This stuff goes a long way, and you don't even have to wash your brush between uses! :D.....just squeeze the excess out, and flex the bristles when you want to use it again, just to limber it up. I keep the brush in a plastic tube capped off to keep dust and dirt from settling on the bristles while not being used.

This is what I've been using:
https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/...term=sealer+green+wood&term=sealer green wood
I believe, in the beginning, CSUSA used to have their own label, but this Artisian brand is the same stuff. It lasts a long time, because only takes a very small amount to cover surfaces. A gallon will last me for several years!......so, I find it cheap to use! ;)

-----odie-----
 
The club that I belong to buys Anchorseal in 55 gallon drums and then sells it to members for $10 per gallon which makes it a very good deal. Not all white glue is the same ... Elmer's White Washable School Glue can be bought at Walmart for about $11 per gallon and it should be an acceptable alternative to Anchorseal. Other types of white glue might not allow moisture to escape.
 
I use paraffin or candle wax in a electric skillet at about 300 degrees. I did try some old Titebond a friend gave me and it helped but I do not like it as well as the paraffin. The glue may be a good answer for small scraps left from making large blanks. I have done some small blanks with mixed success with glue.
 
I used Elmer's on several big wedges I got from a neighbor a few months ago. After slathering on the glue, I put each wedge into a contractor garbage bag and tied it off. The wedge I put on the lathe last weekend had no crack or checks. I'm not sure if it was the bag or the glue. But either way, one of them worked.
 
How about member's experience with latex paint to coat the ends? Outlet stores can have it pretty cheap...and I'm cheap.
 
Latex paint will work, you need to apply several coats to get a good seal, if the blanks sit out in the elements for extended periods you usually need to reapply a coat of latex a year or two later. When I used latex paint (the discount cans) I would use a different color for the different wood types I was cutting up, this allowed me to readily identify the wood species of the wood blanks I have stacked up in rows drying.
 
I use PVA Drywall Primer (2 coats) ... about $10 per gallon at most home centers.
 
The purpose of Anchorseal is to slow down drying. Problems can arise from stopping the drying process. I'm concerned that some products such as plastic wrap, melted paraffin wax (AKA canning wax or candle wax), and shellac might be too effective in sealing the ends of logs.
 
I suppose like everything else, it depends on your climate and where you store the wood during drying. I have at least a cord of wood up on skids to keep off the dirt barn floor in a stall in the barn here in central PA. I have been using anchor seal on the end grain. Some woods crack length wise anyway, like smaller diameter Eastern red cedar. I get 3x3 of yellow poplar green from the saw mill and stack it in the barn in alternative directions with half inch air spaces between but without anchor seal. The poplar is dry within 5 or 6 months and does not crack or check like it would stored otherwise. My metal covered pole barn gets up to about 120 degrees inside on hot summer days. I am not sure what that does to the drying process that I would not have if the wood was kept at a more constant temperature.
 
I have had and still have some wood totally enclosed in wax. No problem except it does take longer to dry. About 6 yrs ago we were in Oregon and stopped by Cook Woods and bought a few pieces. They set in the shop and after 4 yrs I grabbed one and turned it and it was still damp. Many pieces of wood that Woodcraft sells for turning are waxed. I have measured some of it and it was still quite wet. If some one gets wood totally enclosed in wax I suggest scraping some of it off the side grain. If you want to wax wood, wax only the end grain Allyn
 
"I'm going to stick with the white glue and contractor bags for raw chunks until I see a better method."
Good plan and thanks for sharing your experience.
 
If you’re going to use paint don’t use the cheap stuff, it has very little acrylic in it and won’t slow down the moisture loss, and contains a large amount of clay which will rapidly kill a bandsaw blade. 100% acrylic paint will do an excellent job controlling moisture loss and is much less harmful to blades. I prefer green wood sealer as it dries clear, is harmless to blades and cutters, and allows wood to dry better than glue or paraffin in my location. Klingspor’s sells it at my local store for $17 a gallon. I think the best advice you could get would be from someone in your local climate. I see a lot of comments that would never work where I live, but that doesn’t mean they are wrong, just wrong for my climate ( north central NC). I’m sure they think the same about what I’m saying. I have the best results with wood that’s felled and processed in the winter, mainly January and February. Failure rate is less than 10% for me. Wood cut after mid March is around 35%. I have a ton of blocks that are 5 years old with almost no checks. I have some that are over 20. Other climates may see something totally different.
 
I had a chunk of white oak that would make a nice platter, but it's very wet. It's about 14" diameter, so I roughed it to just under 1 1/2" and coated it with Titebond III. (1:1 mix with water) I rinsed the blank first and let it drip, then painted the diluted glue on the damp wood and let it dry.

Our club went thru a 55 barrel of Anchorseal ($10/gallon) but we got to the end of it and probably won't be getting another. I find it to be a more messy, sticky job, so I decided to try this. We'll see....
 
I have been starting to use Titebond with a light spray of water on tenon and bottom of bowls to prevent cracking while drying. Also use Anchorseal and recently using wood sealer from woodchucks.com. Excellent results so far.
 
I remember seeing a Mike Mahoney video on him mass producing bowl blanks and he had a 5 gallon pail of white glue (elmers glue) that he used to seal his roughed-out bowl blanks.
 
I've used a couple of kinds of white glue for sealing green wood. I usually add about 10% warm water, so it covers well. Works great on cherry, apply, holly, elm, maple.
 
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