Stabilising wood for inlays?

[Charl]

I have heard of stabilising wood for inlays, and the reason behind it I understand, after seeing results with "R&D" pipes. But when and how do you it? I have heard of using CA glue and stabilisers. Also, on some wood I used for inlays, the results were very good without doing anything. Could somebody help to explain?

[KurtHuhn]

I've used both stabilized and non for inlays. The main difference is the ability to take a high shine. I've heard of some folks having trouble with some woods cracking or checking, but I've never experienced that myself - at least not in pieces small enough to be used on pipes.

[Sasquatch]

Some woods are inherently more stable than others, and some woods take to inlay, particular "in the round", better than others. Generally, veneers take on the humidity of the place they are stored. They are very thin, so dry very fast, or absorb moisture fast too.

On a tiny piece, i wouldn't bother to stabilize it. On a table top, I might, because a creep of 1/16" per foot is noticeable over 2 feet, and not noticeable over a 1/2".

Glue 'er in and sand er down!

[ToddJohnson]

Stabilizing wood for inlays has more to do with filling minor imperfections and preventing any cracking or checking than it does with maintaining final diameter once the piece has been turned down. There are a number of highly figural woods that have to be stabilized, and others that require nothing at all. Boxwood, for instance, is buttery smooth and wonderful to work with. Goldfield burl, on the other hand simply turns to splinters if you try to turn it without stabilizing it.

TJ

[KurtHuhn]

Or black palm. Turns into splintery shards of death. It also is very sensitive to heat, and cracks like a mofo if warmed even the slightest during sanding. But, if you stabilize it, it's much more pleasant to work with.

[Sasquatch]

Sorry, I thought we were talking marquetry, but you guys are talking about stabilizing much larger pieces of wood for use as shank extensions etc.

Haven't tried pentacryl, but that's the only brand name I know of.

[Charl]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Before starting with pipemaking, I have never heard of stabilising, so bear with one last question. What do you use to stabilise? Is it something you can get off the shelf at a hardware store? And how do you use it?

[KurtHuhn]

I use a recipe I learned a few years ago fondly named "plexitone". Take a glass jar half filled with Acetone and add plexiglass chunks or shavings until they no longer dissolve. This takes a few days to actually happen.

Once you've got your solution, drop the wood that you want stablized into it (making sure that it can be submerged completely), apply as much vacuum as you can generate and hold it until the air stops escaping from the wood and it sink to the bottom of your container. When the wood stops bubbling, release the vacuum and let it sit. The longer it sits, the more complete the penetration will be. You can apply pressure, but I've never felt the need. After that, you just let it sit until all smell of acetone is gone - anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks.

Some folks use a pickle jar as their vacuum chamber, and a "hand-held brake bleeder" to pull vacuum. This works, from what I understand, but take a long time and you can't pull a whole lot of vacuum. A better option is a modified painter's pressure pot like this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=66839
Use this along with an open glass jar to keep the inside of the pot from getting messed up.

Also, some woods will bleed into the solution. For this reason, I keep my working vessel and my storage vessel separate. And some woods will get bleached by the process - so I always do tests before committing to a large chunk.

There's also this product if you're uncomfortable with Plexitone:
http://www.ultrasealwoodstabiliser.com/
I've read about it recently on a pen-turners' forum, but I have not yet played with it. It got largely good reviews, and doesn't have acetone's smell or dangers. It has essentially the same procedure as what I described above, with the addition of having to provide heat to cure the stabilizer. Probably worth a look.

Now, if all you're interested in is surface stabilization, CA glue is pretty good. The thin stuff is thin enough to penetrate the surface to some degree, and it cures/dries in a fairly short period of time. I find the smell of CA glue particularly offensive though, so I don't use it at all.

You can also stabilize to a degree with a penetrating furniture oil like Danish oil or Tung oil - both provide a modicum of stabilization with minimal effects on the wood. They also leave a nice surface that feels like wood instead of plastic.

The main thing to remember when doing this is that your wood has to be *dry* to start with. Wet wood won't stabilize properly, if at all.

Please note: I am by no means an expert at stabilizing wood, so be sure to do your own research if you choose to jump into this. The above should just be considered a starting point.

[Frank]

An alternative to DIY is to send the wood to a business that specialises in stabilizing wood, etc. Shop around - cost and quality vary considerably.

[Charl]

Thanks Kurt. Really appreciate the reply. I'll do a bit of R&D and see what works best for me. (Probably will get a couple of pipes for myself out of it as well)

[Briarfox]

Great info Kurt. I've never considered stabilizing. Very good explanation of the process!

[deker]

I'm a new guy here, and have never made a pipe in my life (though I hope to change that shortly.... ), but from the knifemaking side of things I know a bit about stabilized woods.

The commercial stabilizing process discussed involve vacuum, acrylic monomers, and heat curing. It's a tricky business to get "just right", but there are a couple of companies that do a super job. WSSI and K&G both do a great job. You can send them your wood, or they can sell you product they already have. This stuff works like plastic and buffs out just as easily.

I also highly recommend Alpha Knife Supply as a supplier of excellent stabilized woods (they use K&G for their stabilization). Chuck and his daughter are excellent folks to work with and put a photo of every piece they have for sale on their website so you can see exactly what you're buying. They will also happily go dig through stuff to find you something you're looking for if they haven't gotten it posted on the website yet.

-d