Quote from: ForumMFG on January 22, 2020, 03:43 PM

Quote from: Michael Kellough on January 22, 2020, 12:25 PM

Only cut off a 1/4” of the ends even if deeply checked. Then paint the ends with a clear sealer, shellac at minimum.

You said shellac at a minimum, whats your first choice?

Genuine varnish. Most people coat green wood with an opaque latex sealer to slow drying of the ends to reduce splitting (can’t think of the name now) but your wood isn’t green and I take it you want to be able to see the end grain of the boards in the stack. Don’t forget to sticker the stack (put small sticks between the boards so air can circulate).

Every shop should have shellac on hand. It’s the aspirin of wood finishes.

General info on basic clear finishes.

Zinsser shellac is readymade and readily available. (You can make your own with dried flakes and alcohol from heavy to extremely thin for different purposes). But for sealing wood the ends of the boards it would take a few coats to equal one coat of varnish.

For the board ends I’d just get a quart of any varnish and a disposable bristle brush.

For “cleaning” the boards I like the RAS115 suggestion. It would be good practice to learn how to be productive and maintain fairly good sustainable collection.