pipemakersforum.com

Hi everyone,

Is there any reason to stabilize exotic woods when using them for things like shank caps or stem rings etc. other than to be able to more easily turn some of the more difficult to turn woods. What I mean is have any of you had problems with non-stabilized woods cracking etc. after they were part of the finished pipe? I have not had any problems yet, but I want to make sure it will not happen in the future.

Thanks!

I haven't used stabilized wood for pipe making but for use in knife handles it avoids problems with shrinkage and splitting.
Art

I used the ping pong balls disolved in acetone found here.

It works like a charm. I had issued with inserts splitting and once it's stabilized it turns much nicer and I have yet to crack one.

Thanks. That's a great idea. I missed that post before.

What types of wood are prone to cracking like this? I have yet to ever encounter a problem with any of my pipes, but I'd hate to run into a bad surprise sometime.

Are there certain types of exotic hardwood that are more prone to this?

Black Palm, Red Palm, and Snakewood are prone to cracking (or just falling apart on the lathe in the case of palm wood), and many of the burls are much easier to work if they're stabilized.

Rad

Interesting. Thanks Rad.

I've found that cocobolo also cracks easily. I will experiment with stabilizing my pieces if/when needed.