not really stable

[dozuki]

I recently tried to stabalize some spalted sycamore. it seemed to go well.. I used a mason jar and a food saver. It bubbled a fizzed like it was supposed to, i think. Now it has been several months and the wood still smells like the minwax fast dry poly and when i turn it I get wood dust not shavings. It is also kind of brittle. Is that how it is supposed to be or did i do something wrong.

 

[wdcav1952]

Some questions bear repeating. []

 

[Efletche]

I ahve the same problem with some spalted maple and spalted Ambrosia Maple I tried stabilizing with poly. Figured I would send them out to be stabilized by a professional.

 

[C. Scott]

I have recently stablized some spalted pecan with the food saver pump, HOWEVER, I used a product called "Wood Hardner" by Minwax. The blanks were dry overnight! (no joke) The blanks are now rock hard.

I plan on turning them this weekend and I'll post my results.

 

[Mac In Oak Ridge]

Chris, Please do post your result here and please mention how deeply the stabilization penetrated your blanks.

 

[alamocdc]

I first tried poly and wasn't terribly happy w/the result. Took too long to dry for my liking. Yes, the smell of poly existed when turning, as does the smell of what I use now (plexiglass dissolved in acetone). I find I get better penetration w/the plexi. I'm still experimenting w/different solutions though and I'll be trying another one some time soon. I'll post the results when I do it, good or bad.

 

[aggiengr]

Reading this, I picked up some Minwax Wood Hardener for some Sweet Apple and Spalted Sycamore that I am working on. Used the food saver and the blanks are rock solid after drying for a day (as long as you get a good seal with the food saver). I will turn them tomorrow...I just need to figure out what finish I am going to use. That, to me, is the difficult part. I have been using the HUT PPP sticks for a while now (before reading that the finish doesn't last).

 

[TomServo]

Chris: I've been using the PPP sticks for a long time now (off and on) and a pen I made for my auto mechanic over 5 years ago still looks great - I think it depends on the wood and what you expect the finish to look like.. His pen was padauk and gets used every day - when he reaches for a pen, it's the one I made him.. True, it's not glass-like gloss, but that's not what I expect a wood pen to look like..

edit: I think part of the reason that I like the PPP finish is because I am in no way gentle to my pens - a CA finish would remain unscratched for about 30 minutes under my tender mercies...