Stabilized wood
Hi Tom -
I'm only about a year into this and a real piker compared to some of the pros on here, but I'll try to answer.
Stabilizing wood is good for making soft or punky wood strong enough to be turned. It also helps with stability after a piece is turned - burls and crotch wood can really change shape after they're turned down. As the internal stresses are relieved, even dry burl can distort, sometimes several days after you think you're done with a piece. Stabilized wood can avoid this by locking the fibers in place with the plastic matrix that forms when the stabilizing plastic fills the pores of the wood.
Stabilized wood CAN be easier to finish. The professional grade, vacuum/pressure stabilized wood is almost like plastic - it can be polished and take a shine without any other finish at all.
Stabilizing wood is done a couple of different ways -
There's the simple Minwax wood hardener (or acetone with acrylic plastic melted in it). I've tried this with mixed results - you need to let the wood get thoroughly saturated, and it takes a long time for the acetone to completely evaporate.
The pressure/vacuum methods and the stuff you can buy pre-stabilized are usually better quality and great to turn.
Lots of wood doesn't need the process, but marginal stuff that you try to turn with lots of CA and messing around is worth stabilizing.
