Diy Wood stabiliser advice please

[MedWoodWorx]

The last year i have been gathering supplies to start stabilising wood at home. I bought some texas juice & dyes, a small oven just for baking wood, i found a fridge motor and fitted it with couplings and also made a jar with connectors as i ve seen on the infinite source of wisdom (and stupidity sometimes) called youtube. I dont like the jar setup so i found a small metal pot (rather shallow, 12-15cm deep, 5-6 inches approx.)which i plan to use with a piece of thick acrylic as a lid. The plan is to use 4-5cm (~2inch) of juice just enough to immerse the pen blanks (2-3 pieces/time). Is such a pot efficient or should i try a tube setup no mater what? Cheers

 

[KMCloonan]

I would suggest calculating the volume of a cylinder


Volume = Pi x Radius Squared x Height) - do this for both vacuum chamber designs - for the height, you can plug in the height you plan to use (example 7" for pen blank with liquid covering), not the height of the vessel.

I did this to compare my 4" diameter Cactus Juice vacuum chamber and a 6" diameter chamber I picked up at an estate sale. To cover eight 6" blanks with cactus juice (so 7" of liquid) in the 4" chamber would require 88 cubic inches (1442ml). To cover eight 6" blanks in the 6" chamber would require 198 cubic inches (3245ml), or more than double. Of course, you can fit more blanks in a 6" chamber, but I don't generally stabilize large quantities at a time, so I opt to use the smaller chamber. I got a really good deal on the larger chamber, but it's expensive to operate.

 

[sorcerertd]

You could put your blanks and what cactus juice you need in a smaller container (like the jar or a small rectangular tub) and put that into your vacuum chamber. The pressure will still be the same in the chamber without wasting extra juice in what is just empty space to fill.

 

[ed4copies]

I would suggest calculating the volume of a cylinder
View attachment 358738

Volume = Pi x Radius Squared x Height) - do this for both vacuum chamber designs - for the height, you can plug in the height you plan to use (example 7" for pen blank with liquid covering), not the height of the vessel.

I did this to compare my 4" diameter Cactus Juice vacuum chamber and a 6" diameter chamber I picked up at an estate sale. To cover eight 6" blanks with cactus juice (so 7" of liquid) in the 4" chamber would require 88 cubic inches (1442ml). To cover eight 6" blanks in the 6" chamber would require 198 cubic inches (3245ml), or more than double. Of course, you can fit more blanks in a 6" chamber, but I don't generally stabilize large quantities at a time, so I opt to use the smaller chamber. I got a really good deal on the larger chamber, but it's expensive to operate.

Bear in mind that the Cactus Juice your blanks absorb is the only juice that is lost. When you pour the juice off your blanks, let them "drip" for a while, then, the Juice that was not used is used in your next pour. As long as you are pouring regularly, there is no LOST juice.

Good calculations!!!

 

[MedWoodWorx]

Bear in mind that the Cactus Juice your blanks absorb is the only juice that is lost. When you pour the juice off your blanks, let them "drip" for a while, then, the Juice that was not used is used in your next pour. As long as you are pouring regularly, there is no LOST juice.

Good calculations!!!

i plan to add some dye to the juice so i cannot put it back in the original container thats why i am asking, cheers!

 

[Monty]

i plan to add some dye to the juice so i cannot put it back in the original container thats why i am asking, cheers!

Put the dyed juice in another container and use it again to dye more blanks. You can always add more juice and dye if needed.

 

[derekdd]

i plan to add some dye to the juice so i cannot put it back in the original container thats why i am asking, cheers!

Lots of guys will have separate jars of cactus juice with dye in them.

They store them until they're ready to use again. Here's an example.

 

[ed4copies]

i plan to add some dye to the juice so i cannot put it back in the original container thats why i am asking, cheers!

If you are dying, find the smallest container you can to cover the number of blanks you want to do at a time. Insert that container into your vacuum chamber--when I do this I can put three containers in my 5 gallon chamber at a time. Then keep each color in its own bottle (may need to keep apple juice containers-plastic) and use as needed.

 

[wimkluck]

I use 60 mm rainwater drainage pipe for this, but larger is also possible. Be careful because a lot of liquid can go in. And it must remain under the liquid, even after the vacuum has been released.