oooh, look at all the pretty colors!

[myxpykalix]

I realize that the beautiful colors are mostly due to the moisture content, but is there any way to seal in those colors? and dry it...

I had some beautiful oak that looked like that when i cut it down but after putting it in the kiln it just dried all the color out of it and the boards came out bland and white with no color.

We were going to put these boards in the kiln and wondered if there was any way to keep the color from draining from it?:confused:

I recall as a kid one of our science experiments was to put a stalk of celery in a shallow cup of water with food coloring in it and watched as the food coloring traveled up the veins of the celery.
But if you could do that with wood you're still introducing moisture which is what we're trying to eliminate:confused:

[Brian Harnett]

Drying will change color if it is spalting it should stay but a different shade when dry.

Are you sealing the ends of the boards before you put them in the kiln? I do that right after milling, the end grain looses moisture at a much higher rate than the face causing shrinkage and cracking.

Cheap latex paint works well

[myxpykalix]

i think its called anchorseal? It's a wax based solution and i have a gallon jug of it somewhere i'll use.

[barrowj]

Yes, Anchorseal is really good, I use it quite a bit when cutting big blocks for turning or lumber (on the ends) that I get from my neighbors sawmill. I bought a 55 gal drum of it years ago and still have 1/2 left. I do sell a gal here and there to several small saw mill operators, they use it on the good logs they want to cut later.

[scottp55]

Jack, Glad you got some beautiful wood out of it:) ,but you may not see the color again like that until you get a finish on it and a few months of UV. Going to lose the color when you machine it anyways.
If you need to sell some later to recoup, just remember the Naptha trick(think Andrew and Bleeth told me denatured does the same thing and it seems to work, but Naptha gives you a little longer "view"). Most people can't see the grain and figure until you "Pop" it for them.
Some of that Spalted looks a little soft---You pay shipping and I'll take it off your hands for free! :)
Much more important to get something on it NOW, than exactly what it is. Even rubbing a candle on the end grain helps.
especially like the 8/4.
scott