Stabilized or Unstabilized Wood?

[ABinBoston]

I am wondering what others think of stabilized wood blanks vs unstabilized. Is the look and feel of natural wood nicer than stabilized wood? I know that the type of finish used makes a difference. It seems that a lot of the pens I see are made with unstabilized woods.

AB

 

[GaryMGg]

Hi AB
My personal, unscientific opinion is really hard exotics such as Cocobolo, Amboyna, Ironwood, IPE, and many American hardwoods such as Black Cherry, Pecan, Osage Orange and Hard Maple don't require stabilization.
Stabilizing costs are not cheap; a $1 blank may cost $5 when processed.
On the other side, stabilizing some wood makes them more dependable.

As usual, the answer is: it depends.

 

[Mortalis]

Stabilizing allows the use of less stable blanks like spalted which have a tendency to fall apart.
Once the finish has been applied, unstabilized blanks look and feel the same as stabilized.

 

[Swagopenturner]

I always use unstabilized wood whenever I can. However, some woods just cannot be turned safely without being stabilized! Even soaking the blank in thin CA Glue will help keep it from coming apart.

 

[Sabaharr]

Some woods (hardwoods) are naturally stabilized. The purpose of stabilizing wood is to strengthen what is weak. Spalted, punky, and burl woods gain great strength advantages through the stabilizing process. I have the setup to do my own but I only do what needs to be done. You can tell a substantial difference in two pieces of the same material with one stabilized and the other not when working the wood and you will appreciate it too. I even stabilize Cholla before resin casting it. The gain in turning success is GREATLY increased.

 

[plantman]

Some woods (hardwoods) are naturally stabilized. The purpose of stabilizing wood is to strengthen what is weak. Spalted, punky, and burl woods gain great strength advantages through the stabilizing process. I have the setup to do my own but I only do what needs to be done. You can tell a substantial difference in two pieces of the same material with one stabilized and the other not when working the wood and you will appreciate it too. I even stabilize Cholla before resin casting it. The gain in turning success is GREATLY increased.

I agree with your explanation of the purpose of stabilizing some woods. This is achieved by replacing the air held in the wood with a hardener of some type that acts like a glue and holds the wood together and makes a solid turning piece. This process can be achieved with air pressure or vacuum. The effects of the look of the wood does not change unless you add a color to your mix, which can make some outstanding looking blanks. Jim S

 

[jbswearingen]

I no longer turn pens from unstabilized wood. It's just too finicky and unreliable.

The "feel" of the wood doesn't matter--it'll get a CA coating either way.

 

[ABinBoston]

Thanks for the insight. I ordered some regular and unstabilized blanks to try both types myself.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I do stabilizing so, naturally, have opinions on the subject.
Agreed, not all woods need stabilizing and some do not take stable well at all.
Some take it nicely, like maple. My personal pen has been in daily use for over ten years. It is Big Leaf Maple Burl and has no finish but is stabled. It looks like a new, highly polished and waxed finish to this day.
Many soft woods, especially those going to spalt cannot be used without stabilizing. You can save many woods that might otherwise be discarded with stabilizing.
That said, I do not stable for all my pens. Like almost everything, whether or not to stable is a matter of choice for the craftsman.