Stabilizing blanks - Exceptions only, or mostly?

[CaseyK]

I stabilized some grapevine and redwood a month ago. I am currently stabilizing some blanks I got from a wine barrel from a local winery. I see lots of ads for stabilized blanks. I've turned a number and they seem to be viable, they turn nicely and no issues.

So my question is whether I should always stabilize, with the associated cost of the cactus juice, or only for those blanks that are different, the grapevine and such. I'm new to this stabilization world so I'm not sure whether I need/want to turn only stabilized blanks or only those that might need some help. I'm also retired so time is not an issue here.

Thoughts?

Thanks

 

[SabertoothBunny]

I would say no, you don't always need to stabilize. The vast majority of blanks are fine to turn as is but others definitely need it. Your example of grapevine and redwood, those benefit but don't require it just like palm should be stabilized but it doesn't have too. A lot of burls and heavily spalted woods require stabilization because of instability. At the same time there is nothing wrong with stabilizing all the time.

Just let the blank "speak" to you about its condition and stability for making the decision.

 

[Mortalis]

Stabilizing when it is not needed is expensive. Stabilizing does not fill gaps. The only time I stabilize is if the wood is punky or soft. Generally Hardwood species do not need stabilized.

But, to each their own. If the cost is not an issue then by all means....stabilize away!

 

[bugradx2]

So, I think stabilizing depends on exactly what others have outlined. What kind of wood are you trying to turn and what is it's overall condition? I'm far from an expert so I'll leave that to the folks who cast and stabilize on their own like you do.

My reason for commenting on here is that sometimes there is a different way to solve a problem. I have made quite a few pens for family out of the exterior planking of the barn from the family farm. The barn was built in the 30's and has some super interesting character on the outside. It's serious character, like Hunter S Thompson character. Anyway, I wanted to preserve some of the ridges and valleys that decades of weather had put into that barn. I used ultra thin CA glue to roughly stabilize that side of the blank so it wouldn't break off while I was turning it. When I was researching how to preserve the patina several different folks said it wasn't worth stabilizing, just flood it with CA

 

[ed4copies]

Home Stabilizing has been available for about 15 years. Before that, we made pens from wood with character, often with the help of CA as a reinforcing agent. As Kent (bugradx2) mentioned, this will preserve more of the character of the wood--peaks and valleys. Additionally, we often used crushed stone or gems to highlight voids and other "problems". So, I would say, stabilizing is often "unnecessary". BUT it is easier and makes turning easier in general. The cost of stabilizing a pen blank is under $2, "Live a little" when you feel so inclined!!

 

[Bob Roehrig]

Stabilizing is great but has it's pluses and minuses. Super for "punky" spalted type woods that may blow apart when turning. Makes wood solid and safe to turn plus you may add dyes to enhance the wood itself. The minus side is......lots of equipments and costs can mount. Vacuum pump, Vacuum chamber, toaster oven and cactus juice formula that runs $95 a gallon and once mixed has a rather short shelf life. Unless your going to be doing a lot of turning that warrent this, it may just be more economical to purchase some stabelized blanks from a reputable place.

 

[NJturner]

I've been turning lots of different woods over time and usually those pieces with the most 'character' where the one's I sought out. Usually, the character was derived from some flaw, insect damage, or simply fungus rotting the piece away. These pieces to me would be perfect candidates for today's stabilization process but I've instead heavily soaked the pieces with thin CA until they are basically 'stabilized'. The key to using CA to do this is to soak the piece first, soak it again after drilling the center hole, then keep applying CA as you turn it opting for more CA than less throughout the process. You basically do the same thing as stabilizing does but through the use of CA as you turn, versus vacuum chambering the stabilizing chemical in initially, but the end results are very similar.

I think today's Cactus Juice formula and the process of stabilizing a piece is pretty cool and effective, but the volume of stuff I would stabilize versus 'CA' cured isn't high enough in my mind to warrant changing my processing. Good CA is not cheap, but I find the process meets my needs.

Kevin