Anchor Seal

I have had more cracks and warping in the last six months than I have had in years. I know Anchor Seal changed their formula a year or so ago to be more eco friendly, but I'm wondering if they thinned it out. Anyone else having trouble?

 

Paul, I don't know what the change would be in a 'chemical' makeup, but I recall a demo with Al Stirt several years ago; he said that he regularly cut his Anchorseal with water, up to a 50-50 mix, and it had no effect on the drying of his roughed out work.

I've often done the same thing, cutting my Anchorseal with water and haven't lost any roughed out work to cracking -- that wouldn't have cracked anyway -- i.e., I left a wall too thick in one area.

 

I know mine settles quite a bit, so I have to shake up the jug.

Put on multiple coats, or thicker ones. Doesn't solve the problem of the current cracks, unfortunately there is no "crack-be-gone" formula

 

This issue is why I started using paraffin wax in an electric frying pan to seal the ends again.

I almost never lose anything using hot wax.
Its not edited yet, but I have the video footage for hot waxing how to coming up soon.
G

 

Paul,

I have seen some threads on other forums about this very thing, and AS supposedly DID change their formula. You can still get the original, but you have to get it from them, and you have to ask for it. They seem to call it the woodturners AS, so I guess a bunch of us have called and fussed about the new stuff. I got 5 gals from them a month or so ago, looks and applies and dries like the original.

Good luck, hope your cracking will cease and desist.......

Rich

 

I heard this is supposed to really hurt when it is pulled off quickly - especially in the bikini area!!

We'll miss you in St. Paul, George!

Rob Wallace

(BTW - I have taken the liberty of including images of your Ikea LED "Mega Lamp" system to show at the 'Gizmos and Gadgets' SIN session!)

 

Paul - FWIW - earlier this year I had ordered a 5gal Anchorseal 2 directly from UCCoatings. I planned to share it with other turners. I then read some comments from other turners about possible problems with A2 and drying turnings.

I called UCC, talked with a very nice rep, asked for their comments on A2 and turning, they said they had heard from other turners, wanted me to be a happy customer.

They sent me another shipment of original Anchor at no cost and told me to use the A2 for endsealing cut lumber.

 

Steve, I e-mailed UC and their President/COO replied and offered to send me a free 5 gal pail. This was very generous of him, but the replies I have been getting seem to indicate that the problem is something I'm doing, not the product. If it is indeed my problem I would feel guilty excepting his offer.

 

AS in bikini area

 

Anchor Seal 2 is a "green" friendly product and is WATER based. Experience has taught that at a minimum two coats are required to seal solid. I have heard of no problems with two coats on the log's.
Ron

 

"Oohhh ROB" (think Laura Petrie), where to begin:
SWMBO heard me laughing so I told her about this post. She had some unprintable comments about me, waxing my wood and bikini areas...
That's a different kind of waxing. For what I'm talking about, you need SHARP gouges and stuff.

I'LL miss me in St Paul, I was really counting on being there. The Hartford event was my first National and those days went by even faster than our local Totally Turning (which is quite large)
The only thing I regret about these events, is that even if I go, there is NEVER enough time to see everything and talk to all of the people I'd like to get to know better.

I hope the images of the Hydra are good enough to get the idea across. The more I use it, the more I like the ability to direct intense light to various areas of my work while spinning.

Have a GREAT time in St Paul!

 

George,

I'm in the same boat. Hartford was the first large turning event that Lauren and I attended. We knew we couldn't make the symposium this year, and was especially grateful for Totally Turning. Our first time there took the edge off missing St. Paul.

 

I commented to UC Coatings, the rep said that the #2 was developed to remove petroleum from the mixture to lower cost and to remove petroleum dependence from the picture. The rep said they had a few clubs on the east coast try it out and they apparently said they could not tell a difference. However, the rep also said that about 20% of customers don't think they are equally effective, so they plan to continue to produce the orignial A.S.

 

I've had mixed feelings about Anchorseal. Not necessarily the brand, and probably more about how I deal with wood storage, it just doesn't work as well as I thought it would.
Let me explain. I started using it by putting it on the ends of logs stored in the yard, in the sun and rain etc. All my logs cracked. I'm sure many of you have had that experience. then I started ripping the logs through the heart, sealing the ends. same problem. Maybe they lasted another week but still all logs cracked in fairly short order.
Now what I do is put 2 coats minimum on the logs when I first get them home. At least on the up end. I store them vertically if I can. The other end is on the ground which seals it quite well.
If I have time I split the logs which seems to help a little. What helps the most is getting them out of the weather and off the ground. I don't have place for that but have experimented with a few logs here and there.
what I try to do now is to go ahead and cut blanks if i can. I seal them with parafin wax using an electric skillet. for spindle blanks I just seal the ends. Bowl and vessel blanks I seal the end grain portions. This has worked extremely well for me since I work more than 40 hours a week and just don't have time to turn as much as I would like.
I have had very good luck using 2 coats of anchorseal on the endgrain of spindle stock. Seems to work about as well as the paraffin. I also use it on end grain sections of roughed out bowls and hollow vessels. It has cut down on my losses there a lot. I bought the last batch about 2 years ago so I don't know if that was before or after they changed it.

 

I am interested in using the skillet / parafin sealing method - can someone recommend a place to get a fairly large quantity of parafin at a price lower than the local grocery store?

 

The problem I've had with hot wax is that it doesn't adhere well to a damp surface which, of course, newly felled wood always has. I've had very good success with PVA adhesive which is water based and mixes with the sap. I always let one coat dry and then add another. I buy the PVA as a cement additive from a builder's merchants - its cheaper than actual glue. I can't comment on Anchorseal as I've never used it (don't think it's available here in the UK).

Bob

 

George Guadiane posted a video on youtube showing how he waxes his freshly cut blanks. (I recommend the video if you can find it.) In the video, George says he buys candles at garage sales. The garage sale candles cost a lot less than what the grocery store charges for an equivalent amount of paraffin. Of course, the candles may be scented, colored, and might contain a mixture of waxes, but I doubt that'll make a difference to your blanks.

 

Sometimes I've got the sweetest smelling, most beautifullest colored blanks at the chapter wood raffle.

I second the garage sale route. My wife keeps me stocked in more candles than I can use! The large pillar candles contain a lot of wax - old crayons are good to throw in the broth too.