Simple way to stabilize

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chiselor

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I know I am a late comer on this and you have probably tossed it around a hundred times, but I would like to know a simple way of stabilizing pen blanks here at home....I just finished blowing out 3 tubes before I finally got mad and coated them with crazy glue....the did turn after that to a fashion....what do you folks do? thanks Dave
 
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Dave,
I have found the best solution for me is to purchase pen blanks already stabilized or to send them off and have them professionally stabilized. There are a couple of excellent sources for having pen blanks stabilized and nothing I've seen or turned that was "home brew" stabilized compared to what we get from a professional. Be aware that there is a lot of home stabilizing being done by members here and I've not seen nor turned all of them, but I have seen and turned blanks stabilized by the most popular ways of home-stabilization. A search of the archives and reading through the "casting and stabilization" forum will yield all of the info you would want to read. Lots of excellent info is there. Stabilizing all wooded pen blanks is not necessary (in my opinion) but some burls do benefit from stabilization as do woods that have become soft and punky from the spalting process. Good luck with your quest.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
Originally posted by chiselor
<br /> I would like to know a simple way of stabilizing pen blanks ...what do you folks do? thanks Dave
Click to expand...
 
Dave,
You've found the quickest way I know of to "home stabilize" a blank. Works OK for a blank you are currently working on. This can get expensive if you buy CA in the small tubes. For a good price on CA, check out my web page below.
 
Since this summer, I have been stabilizing with Acetone/acrylic (poly acrylic) and it has been doing a good job. However I recently did a few with polyurethane thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits. I noticed a slight difference in the wood tone on one burl from which I made 3 pens. The difference in the acrylic versus urethane stabilizied was not in color but in the chatoyance - the Urethaned stabilized blank had noticeably deeper chatoyance. I was very surprised that after two weeks of curing, the urethane version had the same color. Usually polyurethane will give lighter woods a more of an amber color. I did this on Holly also and found the same thing. At first, the urethaned Holly was noticeably more amber than the acrylic stabilized Holly, but after two weeks they looked almost identical.

It is my intention of posting a pic of the difference that I found concerning chatoyance in the next few days.
 
Hank,

Thank you for sharing this info. I would also want to know the brand of polyurethane you used if it is not too much to ask. [:D]
 
#12450;#12469;#12498;#12506;#12531;#12288; Not sure if that will come out in the post but the poly brand is Asahipen in the English alphabetical system. Asahi is the brand. I have no clue what the "pen" part is. penki is a form of the word for paint.

I'll bet you didn't expect me to get that, did you! [;)] [}:)] [:D] [8D]

The Japanese DOES show up in the typing and in "Preview" - but goes into some kind of unicode or whatever when I "submit" the post. I really can read and write some Japanese!

Here is the web site: http://www.asahipen.jp/
You tell me what that site says! [}:)]
 
Originally posted by Monty
<br />Dave,
You've found the quickest way I know of to "home stabilize" a blank. Works OK for a blank you are currently working on. This can get expensive if you buy CA in the small tubes. For a good price on CA, check out my web page below.
Click to expand...


I just sent you an email..thanks
 
Originally posted by leehljp
<br />Since this summer, I have been stabilizing with Acetone/acrylic (poly acrylic) and it has been doing a good job. However I recently did a few with polyurethane thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits. I noticed a slight difference in the wood tone on one burl from which I made 3 pens. The difference in the acrylic versus urethane stabilizied was not in color but in the chatoyance - the Urethaned stabilized blank had noticeably deeper chatoyance. I was very surprised that after two weeks of curing, the urethane version had the same color. Usually polyurethane will give lighter woods a more of an amber color. I did this on Holly also and found the same thing. At first, the urethaned Holly was noticeably more amber than the acrylic stabilized Holly, but after two weeks they looked almost identical.

It is my intention of posting a pic of the difference that I found concerning chatoyance in the next few days.
Click to expand...



I have some poly acrylic that I don't use...what were the steps(procedure) you used to do this...did you use a vacuum or just paint them down and let them dry....thanks Dave
 
Originally posted by chiselor
<br />
Originally posted by leehljp
<br />Since this summer, I have been stabilizing with Acetone/acrylic (poly acrylic) and it has been doing a good job. However I recently did a few with polyurethane thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits. I noticed a slight difference in the wood tone on one burl from which I made 3 pens. The difference in the acrylic versus urethane stabilizied was not in color but in the chatoyance - the Urethaned stabilized blank had noticeably deeper chatoyance. I was very surprised that after two weeks of curing, the urethane version had the same color. Usually polyurethane will give lighter woods a more of an amber color. I did this on Holly also and found the same thing. At first, the urethaned Holly was noticeably more amber than the acrylic stabilized Holly, but after two weeks they looked almost identical.

It is my intention of posting a pic of the difference that I found concerning chatoyance in the next few days.
Click to expand...



I have some poly acrylic that I don't use...what were the steps(procedure) you used to do this...did you use a vacuum or just paint them down and let them dry....thanks Dave
Click to expand...

http://content.penturners.org/articles/2004/polyurethane1.pdf
 
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