Historic Wood and Question About Stabilization

[Fireengines]

Yesterday I received two pieces of pine from a building that was located on historic Route 66 in Holbrook, AZ. For those of you who traveled 66 "in the day", Holbrook is where the Wigwam hotel and Indian Rock Shop are located.

This wood is very dry and looks like it could easily be turned. I guess this is a general question. When do you need to stabilize wood before turning?

Since this wood is so dry and the grain has large gaps from years of exposure, do I need to stabilize it before turning?

Any ideas on how I can incorporate the wood into a Route 66 theme pen? In the past, I used some nice looking Route 66 stickers. Since Holbrook is located in Navajo County, I thought about somehow using Tru-Stone Turquoise in the pen somehow.

Thanks in advance.

 

[KenV]

Unless the pine is especially tight grained and resin rich, expect challenging turning. Chemical treatment should make the turning and finishing easier

 

[sbell111]

I typically do not stabilize historic wood. Instead, I use a liberal amount of CA during the turning process, if necessary.

One easy way to tell if you need to do anything is to simply cut a blank for a pen from one of the pieces and then turn the waste bit.