What size chamber for stabilizing blanks

[RGABEL]

I have decided that since my wife loves turning pens so much I do not get a lot of lathe time. So I decided to start playing on the casting / stabilization side of the hobby. I have just got my HF pressure pot system going so am now looking at the stabilization side. What size chamber/pot would you recommend? I will be sticking with blanks for kitchen utensil handles and pens for now. I was thinking this one (vacuum pot) but am also looking at the ones on turntex.com.

 

[MRDucks2]

I have the same size in a similar chamber. Mine was listed as being compatible with cactus juice. The one you are showing indicates it is not. Look for the units from Bacoeng on Amazon that indicate they are for use with cactus juice. The price is about the same.

 

[Kenny Durrant]

I see your "Jumping in with both feet". Rather than give you a size that I think you need let me give you a few things to think about. If you get a container that will hold the biggest thing you might want it to that might not be a bad choice. If the container is small that will limit the size of the wood. If you get a large container you can use rocks or marbles to fill space so you won't have to use a huge amount of stabilizing juice to cover the wood. A much easier way would be to get a container big enough for the material your wanting to stabilize and put it in the larger container to pull a vacuum. Since there's not any stress on the smaller container you don't need to worry about it's strength. I use old plastic food containers.

 

[PatrickR]

no matter the size be sure it has a glass top. the plastic tops will crack. 3 gal is the size I have and it has worked out well.

 

[Curly]

Take your HF pot and make a clear lid for it. Put the blanks and Cactus Juice into a container and put it in the pot. Cheapest way to go with what you have. Otherwise a heavy duty stainless steel cooking pot is the same as the pre-made ones. Maybe you already have one, find one in a second hand store or at Costco. It's not like they are hard to find.

 

[wolf creek knives]

I got all my stabilizing equipment, less vacuum pump, through TurnTex. My vacuum "pot" is 6" in diameter and close to 12" in height. I can double stack pen blanks or knife scales. You can also get your CJ from them or Amazon. You'll pay more for the TurnTex equipment but if your like me, lazy, it's an instant set up and I've never had any trouble with it. Just a suggestion.

 

[MRDucks2]

The thing I like about the 3 gallon stainless size is that I can put multiple small containers in it with different colors of juice and pull vacuum on easily 2 dozen blanks in 6 different colors at the same time. It will also hold an ice cream bucket for about 15 blanks or allow you to do a bunch straight in the pot.