End grain treatment

erich@muttcrew.net

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Hi all, we just received several sheets/boards of wood for fretboards and bridges. The fretboards I've bought so far have always had the ends dipped in wax, but in this case the end grain is open.

Do you think it would it be OK if I used shellac instead of wax to seal the end grain for storage?
 
Are the boards already dry? If so I wouldn't worry about it. If not then I use some PVA glue brushed onto the end grain when I don't have anything like wax on hand.

All you are trying to do is slow the very rapid drying of green wood from the end grain that can cause splits.
 
Hi Allen, thanks for the info.

The boards are already dry, at least judging from appearance, touch and smell. Normally we store wood from new sources for at least six months to be sure it's acclimatized, but in this case I'd be tempted to use them right away.
 
Do yourself a favor a purchase a good moisture meter that can read the moisture content of the wood. Thinking the wood is ready because you've had it a while it not a good indicator. With a good meter you can test wood when you purchase it, cut it or whatever and it takes the guess work out of it. I don't use any wood until it is down to 6% moisture all over the board. I bought some ebony once that was suppose to be dry, took it back to Yakima, then watched and heard it explode for the next 3 months.

There have been times at luthiers conventions that wood is sold as ready to use, and yet you can feel and smell the moisture reeking out it. When tested with the meter, it will sometimes read 12% or higher. I see guys tapping the wood to test for that dry ringing sound, that is a waste of time.
 
That's pretty much the same as the one I got off fleabay. Does the job but I would hazard it's not 100% accurate. In the correct ball park though. I back it up by weighing the billet, then check the weight from time to time. If it is no longer losing weight AND the moisture meter is reading below 5%, then I'll use it. :)
 
I just ordered a simple moisture meter from amazon. I don't know how accurate it's going to be - I guess you can't expect too much for 20 euros - but the specs say +/- max 2%.

In any case, these boards are definitely not green, It's some spruce we bought a while ago that I'm concerned about - smells pretty green to me.
 
I use shellac for sealing some types of boards when they arrive before they go on the rack. Actually just finished sealing the second coat on a 2" thick, awesome curly Koa plank that just arrived from the Big Island this morning. One or 2 coats, I use for most situations, depending on the wood, where it came from, it's supposed history, what it feels and looks like, and what my plans are for it. For end grain, if the wood has a higher moisture content than I am comfortable with, it gets 3-4 coats of shellac, or parrafin. Shellac on end grain needs to be thick to be very effective.
 
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