Post #514820 by hewey on Wed, Mar 3, 2010 1:39 PM

Hey Puti. This is the first time I've done this, so I'm hardly an expert. My understanding is the splitting occurs when the wood dries out too quickly. With the ends sealed, it slowly evaporates out through the bark, but in a slow controlled way. My woodworking mate who told me about this reccomended I leave the wood to dry out for 2 years before cutting, so this gives you an idea of how long it takes for a log of this size. When the wood is dry simply cut an inch off each end (which I'll need to do to make the base flat anyway), debark it, and carve up a tiki! I think the advantage of the candle wax is it gives a nice solid barrier to the moisture escaping. With something like the varnish, being end grain and with the wood drying out its going to need a LOT of varnish to seal it properly. Plus you get to play with a burner! :D