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| What is this wax on the wood I buy? https://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=55301 |
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| Author: | guitarmaker78 [ Tue Oct 11, 2022 5:04 pm ] |
| Post subject: | What is this wax on the wood I buy? |
I'd like to rewax the wood after I cut it. Some of it is covered on the end end grain and some is completely covered. I have paste wax and am pretty sure that's not what it is. |
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| Author: | Pegasusguitars [ Tue Oct 11, 2022 5:16 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What is this wax on the wood I buy? |
Coulds be a product commonly referred to as "water wax". Could be just common paraffin. Water wax is applied cold, so not too dangerous. Parrafin can be bad news. It needs to be heated for application and can quickly soak into the some endgrain causing you to lose several inches of wood. Especially happens on softwood. I prefer a couple of thick applications of latex paint.-Bob |
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| Author: | DennisK [ Tue Oct 11, 2022 5:29 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What is this wax on the wood I buy? |
I hate wax because it's such a pain to scrape off. Personally I don't bother sealing most already-dry woods since they don't seem to split anyway. Only brittle hardwoods like rosewood. And for that I coat the endgrain with thin CA to bond any invisible splits that have already started and strengthen the wood against future splitting, in addition to slowing moisture change. If there are visible splits, humidify the wood to close them before applying thin CA. Shellac also works to seal against moisture without having to deal with the wax later, and is more pleasant to work with than thin CA. |
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| Author: | Clay S. [ Tue Oct 11, 2022 8:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What is this wax on the wood I buy? |
Paraffin (canning wax) was commonly used. In the cabinet trade we would just whack off the first inch of wood to get rid of the wax along with those invisible end checks. If I were wanting to reseal the end I would paint it with latex paint as Bob suggested. |
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| Author: | TRein [ Wed Oct 12, 2022 6:43 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What is this wax on the wood I buy? |
Paraffin is often encountered in woods processed in India and Asia. Most professional sawyers in North America use Anchor Seal. |
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| Author: | Kevin Waldron [ Wed Oct 12, 2022 11:14 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What is this wax on the wood I buy? |
Probably a product called Anchorseal https://uccoatings.com/products/anchorseal/ |
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| Author: | rbuddy [ Wed Oct 12, 2022 11:27 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What is this wax on the wood I buy? |
I really hate waxed wood. A pain to remove and in the case of dipped wood the wax hides the blems and defects I'd like to see as a buyer. Not only that, the wax can interfere with glue and finishes. If I thought wood was subject to end splits do to improper drying before milling I'd use shellac or even better, wrap the ends in plastic stretch pallet wrap. Does basically the same thing and leaves nothing behind. Precious guitar woods are often small enough you could wrap the whole board if you knew it wasn't thoroughly air dried. It slows the drying process and provides some help with cracks, checks, etc. Once wood is properly dried I see no reason to "seal" ends. In fact I'd rather have stress relieved and cracks show up before I build a guitar than after. My demonstrating serious OCB on wood buying I have no problem adding wood to the stash 5-10 yrs (or 40+) before I build with it anyway. YMMV |
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| Author: | DennisK [ Wed Oct 12, 2022 1:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What is this wax on the wood I buy? |
rbuddy wrote: Once wood is properly dried I see no reason to "seal" ends. In fact I'd rather have stress relieved and cracks show up before I build a guitar than after. The only time you really need it is if you have rosewood and similarly brittle backs stacked directly on top of eachother and exposed to sudden humidity drops. The endgrain loses moisture much more quickly, so it tries to shrink while the rest of the piece is still swollen, causing stress and cracks. Most woods are tough enough to hold together, and narrower pieces like sides seem to be ok. |
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| Author: | guitarmaker78 [ Fri Oct 14, 2022 9:05 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What is this wax on the wood I buy? |
Kevin Waldron wrote: Thanks! |
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| Author: | Mike Collins [ Sat Oct 15, 2022 7:11 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What is this wax on the wood I buy? |
I use shellac. Brushed on It will sink into the end grains that way. Mike |
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