Wood Hardener and Epoxy Don't Mix

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Rick1708

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Jun 4, 2009
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Just a warning:

I was working on a knot inlay with some soft wood and thought that soaking in wood hardener would help. I've used this for other punky wood successfully; kind of a poor man's stabilizer.

Well, the solvent in wood hardener dissolved the epoxy entirely. I ended up with a tiny puzzle of pieces. I tried to glue together and re-turn, but it looks terrible--nothing really lines up.

Back to the drawing board.
 
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Always read the contents on the can , wood hardeners like Minwax and others contain Acetone as a thinning agent . It will also disolve CA and PR so don't use it on segmented blanks or blanks with cast inlays .
 
I think the problem is that they DO mix. :biggrin: Good to remember.

Hardener first - dry - then epoxy.:wink:
 
I'll actually drill some blanks before I treat them with the wood hardener. That way, I can round them down to a smaller diameter. Then I know that it's more likely that the hardener will penatrate to where I'm actually turning to. Since the blank's been drilled as well, it's much more likely that you'll get full, even penetration of the solution.

But previously, I have installed tubes and THEN submerged in plexitone. CA, epoxy, or gorilla glue: it'll all go bye-bye.
 
Try diluting white (elmer's) glue 50/50 with water, and then soak it. Best done if you have a pressure pot.

The water won't dissolve the epoxy. I can't promise you the wood won't swell and get odd looking or busted joints, so don't try this on the most complex glue up you do.

You'll also need to dry the blank longer than normal b/c of the water content you'll be adding.

I think I originally learned this from Russ Fairfield for stabilizing punky/spalted wood, so I want to give credit where it's due.
 
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