Sealing question

[bspice13]

I sealed a couple of plugs a few weekends ago. I sealed them and painted before I epoxied them I stuck them in a bucket of water. No splitting after 2 days. I let them dry out and epoxied them a week later. now some have split . Any clues what I did wrong?

[BigFish]

What kind of wood and what kind of sealer did you use?

[bspice13]

Waterlox and hard maple.