Anchor Seal
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You can also get original and 2 from Amazon and other retailers

I have no experience with Anchorseal (AS) I, but I have perhaps in one log out of 50 seen end cracks form after sealing with AS II.  Perhaps those wouldn't have cracked with AS I, perhaps they would have, but I have no reason to say AS II is junk.  I've been slammed before for saying this because I didn't have comparative experience with AS I, so take my experience with that in mind as you decide which product to try.  Of course I have had the opportunity to mail order AS I, but as a small business I minimize making mail orders, especially to warehouse-only sites.  I buy AS II from a local Woodcraft store to support a local business and their employees.  My understanding is that AS I uses wax derived from petroleum while AS II uses a wax derived from plants, a renewable source.  That may or may not be relevant to you, it is important to me.

Would'nt something like Exterior latex paint or concrete sealer do just as good at a much cheaper price? Just trying to find out for my own future use. I haven't tried to use any green wood yet.

I tried latex paint once and I ended up with painted cracks.

Many other products like concrete sealer may not adhere properly with wood.
Wood glue (watered down) may be absorbed more deeply into the pores. Since PVA wood glues work by interacting with the cellulose in the wood, this area will be needed to be cut away. This goes for all other products that are absorbed to deeply, you need to allow for this amount of waste.

Melted Paraffin wax does work well but obviously you need to heat a large enough vessel to accommodate your blanks. This is a good process for doing large batches but not really practical for occasional use.

I use anchor Seal because it was designed for the job and it works.
You use what works best for you

Thanks for all your help.

I called the homeowner who cut this down, we're looking at about 8 to 10 months.

At this point, i'm looking for the classic AS, if I can't find that I go with the AS2.

Brett Dean wrote on Feb 26^th, 2018 at 11:06pm:


Just a word of caution,
Wood sealers like Anchor-Seal are designed to slow the moisture transfer from the wood to the atmosphere. Wood Glue is Designed to adhere wood together and may not have the same properties as a dedicated sealer.
If you seal wood too well, 1. it may never dry, 2. you can get mold growth.

From The Titbond site,
"Can high moisture wood be glued?

Moisture levels above 10% can slow the drying of water based wood glues such as Titebond Original, II and III to the point where, wood above 16% moisture content, may not dry at all."

This may be something to consider depending on the MC of the wood when sealed

To Tom's point,
IMO sealing lumber is not the place to 'experiment"  or try and save money. One or two failed pieces and you would have easily paid the full price for Anchor-Seal.
There are other products that are similar, Bailey's, and Waxlor come to mind.
I have also heard that some turning clubs have members chip in for a large quantity like a 55 gallon drum and it brings the price way down, in the neighborhood of $12 per gallon.

I also use hot paraffin.  I use an old single burner camp stove to heat up the paraffin in a large stew pot pan that I got from DAV.  The pot is large enough that I can dip some things in it or I use a paint brush to brush it on the end.  (Most of my wood comes from logs that I get.)  I make sure that the wax is hot enough that when it dries it is clear.  That way it does get down in the pores of the wood.

Don, once it gets good and hot, I turn the burner off and move the pot away from the stove.  If it needs to be heated up again, I just relight the stove and put the pot back on.  It would be too easily tipped over if it were left on the stove.

Glen, I don't know that it would help, but it might make it a little more volatile.

I have used Anchor Seal now for 7 years.  I used to heat up paraffin wax and hated the stink and well mostly my wife did so I went to Anchor Seal and really like it.

Brett, yes it does start to crack and split very quickly. Don’t forget some of those cracks can be filled effectively so that it can safely turned into a finished product.