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Coating a burl with Anchorseal

R

Ron Kaplan

Joined
Mar 3, 2010
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Location
San Marcos, CA (North San Diego)
Hi-
I recently aquired a couple of Maple burl caps and was not going to rough cut them for a few weeks. I coated the cut surfaces with Anchorseal and was wondering if I should coat the rough outer surface as well. Right now I have them in plastic bags to hold in the moisture, but I don't want to start a mold/mildew farm. It seems like it would be quite a mess to coat the outside surface and would effect my ability to create a finished natural edge.

Suggestions?
 
Hi Ron,
I'm not quite clear on the status of your caps -- do they have bark on or off?

If possible, take the bark off, so that you'll have an easier time if you are creating a natural-edge piece. (If the bark is stuck on tight, keep it in a plastic bag for a couple of weeks -- the rot will allow the bark to peel quite easily).

After the bark is off, I coat it with a layer of shellac. (You DON'T want to coat the surface with anchorseal if you are using the natural edge -- you'll have to scrape the bits of wax off!) Shellac will provide a protective coating that will not have to be removed later.

When I coat ANY wood with end-grain sealer, (especially burl!), I coat it once, then wait about 10 mins, and then spread a second coat while the first is still a little wet. I've never had any failures using this method. (This, of course applies to cut surfaces, not the natural edge).

Katherine
 
Ron, anchorseal on your cut ends is perfect. If you wax the barkside, the wood cannot breathe. It will spalt itself. A plastic bag is not needed, this to will cause spalting and may lead to some punky wood. I deal in hardwood burls, I wax the cut sides and depending on the size of the peices, they should stay green for years, just keep them out of the sunlight, partially covered, and you should be fine.
 
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Plus, you dont want any mold to penetrate your wood, which can happen over time.
 
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