home stabilization formulas

[jason_r]

I'm looking to stabilize and dye some wood
for pens and bottle stoppers. I need the dye
to penetrate well into the wood.

I've done some experiments on getting dye to
penetrate under vacuum (inspired by the
vacuum stabilization w/ minwax Poly howto)

http://www.rziha.net/woodworking/experiments/dye_penetration/
Hopefully I'll get that page cleaned up some day.

Dying after turning isn't a real option, for reasons
explained in that page. For a picture of a finished
stopper, look here:
http://www.rziha.net/sailing/for_sale/images/large/00081.jpg

Reading the threads I've seen some discussions on
stabilization with wood hardener and some various
other items. I was considering trying to use PR
and if people had any data on that and/or recipes
(i.e. how much MEKP to add).

I'll probably go add a Pressure Pot after reading the
discussion on them. (I'd been looking around for an
old pressure cooker to replace my pickle jar).

Thanks

 

[alamocdc]

Jason, though I haven't tried it, I've read where PR won't give you the penetration you need. It's just too thick. Plexiglass dissolved in acetone is probably your best bet. There are countless posts on this available.

You are, of course, free to switch to a PP if you choose, but I do all my home stabilization in a 1 gallon pickle jar and haven't had a single problem. I only stabilize at home when I'm in a real hurry any more. I've found that it's worth the ~$1/blank it costs me to send them to River Ridge for stabilization. I'd email them about dyed blanks though. I'm still stabilizing my dyed blanks at home to avoid possible contamination of the batch processing they use.

 

[jason_r]

Bill-

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, the penetration/viscosity of PR was my concern, as well
as how well it'd take a dye.

I had quickly read through most of the threads that
looked like they pertained to stabilizing, and on re-reading
see more details on acrylic/plexiglass. Helps to
know what to look for.

River Ridge will do dyed stabilization, but you need a
larger order than what I'd probably do, and I prefer the
control over the color. I hadn't much considered
dying then having them stabilized, since I'd been thinking
1-step process, partly because I'm not very happy with
the color now. I'm hoping having the color in the
stabilizer will make the results more vivid since there
should be color in the voids of the wood, not just the
wood structure.

I'll probably switch to a PP for 2 reasons:
1) I dislike the possibilities of breaking the glass jar
I currently use
2) The jar's relatively small and a real pain to load with the
small lid opening.

 

[Glass Scratcher]

Originally posted by jason_r

Snip

I'll probably switch to a PP for 2 reasons:
1) I dislike the possibilities of breaking the glass jar
I currently use
2) The jar's relatively small and a real pain to load with the
small lid opening.

Not bashing the P-pot as I have a couple, but have you considered setting up a bell jar? The lid is effectively your table top. Walmart carries a nice 2 1/2gal cylinder cookie jar that would work. I wouldn't pull a high vacuum in it but for low long duration vacs I beleive it would be fine.

 

[Jarheaded]

I personally would advise switching over to a pressure pot. It's not that expensive and well worth the investment. While some have been using a pickle jar and may have never had a problem, it just takes one guy to have a problem that could change a lot of minds. Glass is not the prefered method for pulling a vacuum with hard sharp objects and somewhat dangerous chemicals, but hey, do what you like, I've blown up enough stuff to scare the hell out of most, but I couldn't blow up a pressure pot. IMHO