Jeff,
I have used the Minwax Wood hardener from Home Depot in the past with mixed results, depending on how degraded the wood is to begin with. If the wood is still fairly firm with a few soft spots, I have use the wood hardener with good results. If it is punky throughout, the success rate drops dramatically.
To use the hardener, I put the blanks into an airtight container & completely cover them with the hardener. I generally let them sit for about 48 hours. If you remove the top and see bubbles coming from the wood, it hasn't yet fully saturated. Re-cover & wait another day. After removing the blanks from the hardener, you will need to wait for them to dry. This will vary depending on the wood and can be checked with a moisture meter (I'll usually wait until I get to 5% or less).
After having said all that, I would agree with Cav about using CA if you are trying to recover very degraded wood or are only dealing with a couple of blanks. Your turnaround time will be much quicker. I used the wood hardener when I had 60+ pieces of Apple wood that had started to degrade and I was able to address them all at one time.
I hope this helps.
Bob
