Having fun with cactus juice. 2nd and 3rd batch results

[Kylemadeit]

My 2nd and 3rd go at stabilization! I am very very happy. I had great material to work with. Some nice slabs of punky spalted maple burl. I didn't touch the really crazy stuff yet [emoji6]. I used cactus juice and cactus juice dye. The 3rd (blue) was the best yet I think. I had a bit of a creep up in temp during curing on the 2nd but was right there to deal with it and I don't think i lost much. Here are some pictures of my results. Dried weight vs. Cured. Finally, the first couple pens from the batch, they turn and finish like a dream looking forward to using the blue

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[Kylemadeit]

I should mention I followed all the instructions.. this time. There is a reason I didn't post the 1st time ! (Didn't dry long enough)

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[Larryreitz]

Very nice work. Glad you are having fun and ya gotta love maple burl.

 

[Kylemadeit]

Thank you @Larryreitz . Yes, maple burl can be magical

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[Mortalis]

What kind of temperature creep did you see?
I am getting ready stabilize some punky wood myself and thought as long as your temp is 220ºF or more you were good.

 

[Kylemadeit]

What kind of temperature creep did you see?
I am getting ready stabilize some punky wood myself and thought as long as your temp is 220ºF or more you were good.

220°f for drying. From what I understand it should be between 190-200°F for curing and no more than that. It was at the beginning a couple mins after I put the wood in. It got up to 210 on one thermometer and 230 on another. I had the convection setting on which I turned off and set to normal bake and it was ok after that. I was right there to open the door and cool it off a bit. Watched a toaster oven for 4 hours haha! Keep in mind I have to set my toaster oven to 150. It is literally 50°f off.


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[magpens]

Thanks for posting this info about your experiences. . Your pictures are great !!

I haven't tried stabilizing yet, but am thinking about it.

Did you use a paint pot ? . And what pressure did you use ?

 

[Kylemadeit]

Thanks for posting this info about your experiences. . Your pictures are great !!

I haven't tried stabilizing yet, but am thinking about it.

Did you use a paint pot ? . And what pressure did you use ?

No problem. Glad you like the pictures! Figured I should document it well.
I highly suggest it but stick to the instructions!! I soaked my blanks a few days longer than I had to also, definitely doesn't seem to hurt.

No pressure pots for this. I used a vacuum chamber from turntex.
I'll post a photo of my set up. *note I dont recommend filling the chamber so much. Leave more space so you dont suck juice into the pump. I also had to re do my run because it soaked up so much it went below the wood.
*also my gauge is defective. Such amazing customer service on a sunday Curtis helped me figure it out. No biggie. Sent a replacement right away.

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[1080Wayne]

Wouldn`t worry too much about temp being a bit high at the beginning . At worst , it will just result in a bit more juice coming out before it has a chance to cure .

As you mention , keeping plenty of headroom is very important to prevent aspiration of juice into your pump . The vacuum has to be ramped up slowly even with decent headroom (3-4 inches) , and painstakingly slow if only an inch has been left .

Probably was no need to redo the run when the juice level fell below the retainer. Only the top blanks would have seen lower levels of juice absorbed , and probably not by a significant amount . To be on the safe side , I try to top up the level to about 2 inches ASAP after removing vacuum .

There is no imperative need for a functioning gauge . The only important thing it can tell you is whether or not your pump is up to up to specification . The maximum reading you get is just a function of your distance above sea level . Thanks to loss of some glycerine from my gauge , it cranks right around to the stop when the pump is flat out . If a further accident befalls it - not unlikely in a busy farm shop - it will be replaced with a plug .

Looking forward to seeing results from the blue blanks .

 

[Mortalis]

220°f for drying. From what I understand it should be between 190-200°F for curing and no more than that. It was at the beginning a couple mins after I put the wood in. It got up to 210 on one thermometer and 230 on another. I had the convection setting on which I turned off and set to normal bake and it was ok after that. I was right there to open the door and cool it off a bit. Watched a toaster oven for 4 hours haha! Keep in mind I have to set my toaster oven to 150. It is literally 50°f off.


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50ºF off? That's nuts. No wonder people dont have much luck really baking in a toaster oven.
What brand and model of oven do you have? I was able to snag an Oster on sale the other day but I havent tested it for temp accuracy yet.

 

[Kylemadeit]

@Mortalis It really is crazy. I bought it brand new. I checked with 2 thermometers to be sure. Definitely makes sense why some people have such a hard time.

I went with the hamilton beach oven

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[Mortalis]

I scored this this weekend for $49.95
Now I'm off to get a couple oven thermometers off Amazon

 

[Kylemadeit]

I scored this this weekend for $49.95
Now I'm off to get a couple oven thermometers off AmazonView attachment 247211

Nice find!

I mainly used

Cactus Juice Stabilizing Resources

Directions and tutorials for using Cactus Juice Stabilizing Resin

www.turntex.com

For all my info. I'm by no means an expert but I think I've got a good understanding now. Gotta be careful, lots of bad info out there. Go to the trusted sources

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