Stabilize your own blanks

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Old Griz

Passed Away Oct 4, 2013
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In my ever continuing quest to not sink any further into debt than I already am into the vortex of woodturning, I have found this freebie... ;):)
Having looked at the price of stabilized pen blanks and saying "NOT IN MY LIFETIME"... I decided that someone, somewhere had to have a way to stabilize stuff that works and won't make me broke..
I did a search on stabilizing wood and got into a bunch of website.. the one that seemed the most interesting was a bamboo fly rod site.. since I am also a fly fisher... turns out that 2 of the members are old friends of mine... So I said to myself "SELF... call them"
Seems that they use a product called Nelsonite to stabilize the bamboo after it is glued together.. they said it is a high resin liquid that soaks into the wood and then dries in about 38-72 hours leaving the resins in the pores... and it does not change the dimensions or cause the piece to swell...
I called the outfit and asked for product info and also questioned the guy about what I was considering using it for. He said he gets a lot of questions from turners about it. For pen blanks he recommends drilling the blanks and then soaking in Nelsonite for about 30 minutes, letting it drip dry and then air dry for about 48 hours. Said that the effect is almost the same as a pressure stabilized blank, but not quite.. but definately a lot better than what you started out with.. seems that this stuff will soak completely to the core of the wood and leave the resin behind..
Got the info and guess what .. they offer a free quart of the stuff to play with... HOOOO WEEEEEE.. more free stuff..

The product is called Nelsonite and they can be contacted at

<center>Nelsonite Chemical Products
2320 Oak Industries Dr NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
Phone 606 456-7098</center>
 
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Griz...mind telling us the name of ****** so we will know what product to ask about when we call 'em? If they are like most chemical companies they probably make a LOT of products.

BubbaBob
 
Here's a little discussion on a rod making site:
http://www.bamboorodmaking.com/html/blank_impregnation.html

The source they refer to in there; "Barringer Cues" (The words say Barrington, but the link is Barringer) is a dead link. A little more searching turned up some unfavorable comments about the company, which is apparently out of business...
 
<b>DUH!!!!!</b> Sorry BubbaBob... the product is called Nelsonite... same as the company... I copied that message from one I posted on another woodworking site... I was teasing some of my buddies there.. forgot to make the corrections when I posted it here..
I tried to call the cue company for information about their use of Nelsonite and got some A**Hole who told me if I wanted it buy it.. they aint got the time to waste talking to people... Just went to their site and apparently they are no longer selling the stuff.. that part of the site is gone and there is no link to it anymore...
Needless to say I decided to contact the company direct and I am sure happy... at least I can get a quart to play with and see if it works as advertised..
 
Let us know we may have to add it to the bulk buy catagory. A method of stabalizing our own woods would go over big. I still need to try the minwax Polurethane one on some Buckeye burl. If it works do I have a trade to put in the pen blank trade section. If this works better I would rather use it. but I need about a gallon just to stabalize the buckeye I have. not to mention, Olive, Cherry, walnut, apple, and who knows what else is hideing in my shop.
 
well, what is the latest news, did the quart of freebie turn out to be useful. Is your burl stable now? anxious to find out the rsults....
 
I have called them and the person on the phone was very unpleasant, and I actually asked to buy a sample of a quart. He told me that they sell it only in 5 gal pails and hang the phone up on me. So, I send them a very nice and friendly letter and asked again for a quart sample (and surely made clear that I want to pay for), but got never an answer back.
So, if anyone has received a sample, free or not, have you tried it and what was the result. Please, let us know.
TIA
Rudy
 
Well, that's a fine how do you do.
there is progress being made withthe use of Polyurethane mentioned in anouther thread and it is commonly available. I think had we been able to test this stuff 5 gal would have been minor for what the demand would have required. even with CA i am counting the amounts ordered in Gal.
there loss.
 
If you want Nelsonite, why not go to the Company that sells it. Cue Components sells either by the qt or the gal. I posted this information, with pricing info under the other stabilazation subject thats been going on for awhile.

I went to the Nelsonite Company, as I only live a few miles away and they told me that they are now only a commercial company and sell by the five gallon bucket. I was there and had to go through Cue Components to get some. I've soaked a few blanks so far but it is drying now. The Amboyna burl that I have purchased from them have been, according to their web site been soaked in Nelsonite and it turned very nice, especially compared to other burl that I have turned with out any stabilazation. It does stink so anyone who wants to use it, I would suggest do it outside. Cue Components uses a piece of PVC pipe capped and sealed on one end, filled with nelsonite to soak all of their wood in. www.cuecomponents.com

Wayne
 
Wayne,
My comments are directed more to the Bulk Buy Possibility that was being tossed around for a while. Going to a retail outlet does not fit the bill so to speak. Not being able to communicate with the retailer doesn't help. Reports that they are testy and such doesn't do much to incourage anyone to pick up the ball on this idea either.
then there is the total loss until your post about haw it functions as a stabalizer for pen blanks. I woudl assume that cue makers and fishing rod makers start with a sound piece of wood int he first place. we do not. in fact we aften start with the complete opposite. so I seet that information about punky. worm eaten, burl type woods is very important for this product to ever stand a chance of catching on.
 
Daniel, I don't think that Nelsonit is what we are looking for, my test pieces have not been turned yet but the stuff is water thin and has no build up. I have four blanks drying and they are no heaver than before I soaked them and they don't look anything like the stabilized blanks that we are used to.
 
I started this and finally got to test the stuff at length... I have soaked blanks for as little as 30 min (factory recommendation) to as long as 2 days.. all blanks were predrilled to that the stuff would soak in from both sides... I am not impressed at all... I actually have better results soaking blanks overnight in Minwax WoodHardener.. but that stuff is expensive and I only use it if I absolutely have too.... I am going to try the disolved plexiglass system next...
 
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