To wax or not to wax....

[Vulthoom]

Now I know that many people (including me) wax the ends of freshly sawn logs before drying to slow down moisture loss and prevent cracking.

What I was wondering was, should I be waxing the edges of kiln-dried bowl blanks to prevent splits as they equalise to the new environment (i.e. my woodshed) or is this being over-cautious?

 

[big soft moose]

if they are fully kiln dried then this shouldnt be needed - after all kiln dried blanks are sold in shops which are (probably) a lot warmer than your workshop.

if however you have dried them yourself in a dehumidifier kiln this may be a sensible precaution depending on their moisture content and the heat in the workshop/woodstore.

also if you wood shed is very damp (which it shouldnt be really) you might want to wax kiln dried blanks to stop them from reabsorbing water.

 

[Anonymous]

If in doubt, seal them.
Moisture content is a changing equilibrium dependent on the ambient moisture levels.
Sealing will minimise re-absorption as BSM suggests.

 

[CHJ]

I seal them regardless, had one or two start to open on the endgrain when I did not get round to sealing same day as cut, despite the fact they seemed dry enough.

I cant believe that the vast quantities of sealed blanks on the stockists shelves aren't an indication of the risk factor if you don't.

 

[Vulthoom]

Many thanks all.

Erring on the side of caution I have gone ahead and waxed all my blanks.