MartinPens
Member
This is stabilized spalted maple from Oregon. It was so punky and brittle that I could snap it easily. Some of it was even dusty.
Stabilized in the Cactus Juice Chamber I won in the IAP Bash. arty:
I cut it long instead of trying to drill through a blank cut at length.
Ends are squared with the standard blank squaring drill attachment. Next time I will knock the corners off on the bandsaw or with the belt sander.
I used a sharp tool and took my time. Turned it proud of the bushings and sanded it to match bushings. I use 220, 320 & 400. 2 coats thin CA and 4 coats medium CA. I touch the tip of a skew to where the bushings meet the blank for separation. 400 light sanding and then micropads. Beale three wheel polishing/buffing and then to the light tent.
Hope you don't mind the details. I've seen lots of newbies on the sight and wanted to put a little method in the thread.
I chose the black Sierra kit because of the challenge in having it so thin. I really wanted to see if it would hold up or if it would crack.
In the photos I tried to get one with a lot of reflection, which isn't easy to do with my setup. The nicest part of the stabilization is how it makes the grain shimmer and pop inside.
When I get more juice and do a few more batches of stabilizing, I'll be offering these blanks in the individual classified section.
Comments are welcome. Thanks Curtis for the great prize!
Martin
Stabilized in the Cactus Juice Chamber I won in the IAP Bash. arty:
I cut it long instead of trying to drill through a blank cut at length.
Ends are squared with the standard blank squaring drill attachment. Next time I will knock the corners off on the bandsaw or with the belt sander.
I used a sharp tool and took my time. Turned it proud of the bushings and sanded it to match bushings. I use 220, 320 & 400. 2 coats thin CA and 4 coats medium CA. I touch the tip of a skew to where the bushings meet the blank for separation. 400 light sanding and then micropads. Beale three wheel polishing/buffing and then to the light tent.
Hope you don't mind the details. I've seen lots of newbies on the sight and wanted to put a little method in the thread.
I chose the black Sierra kit because of the challenge in having it so thin. I really wanted to see if it would hold up or if it would crack.
In the photos I tried to get one with a lot of reflection, which isn't easy to do with my setup. The nicest part of the stabilization is how it makes the grain shimmer and pop inside.
When I get more juice and do a few more batches of stabilizing, I'll be offering these blanks in the individual classified section.
Comments are welcome. Thanks Curtis for the great prize!
Martin