Cactus Juice - possible failure

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JimDiGritz

Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2021
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5
Location
UK
Hi everyone - I'm starting out with wood stabilization and my first attempt were some Chanar wood knife scales.

I think they failed....

I'm using Cactus Juice and here's the process I followed:

  1. Baked wood in 105c oven for 8 hours (I didn't weigh before after and have no moisture testing capablilities)
  2. Placed blanks in chamber, submerged in (activated) CJ, with 1+inch liquid level
  3. Brought to full vaccuum and left with pump on for 23 hours, at which point there were almost no bubbles (but yes in retrospect there were maybe 1 small bubble every 30 secs...)
  4. Removed vacuum and left to soak for 2 days (48 hours)
  5. Wrapped in foil and put in 95c oven for 4 hours
  6. Resin was hard (no liquid)
HOWEVER
the wood looks like this:

https://flic.kr/p/2mQMWpG

https://flic.kr/p/2mQSbJ9
As you can probably see the wood has what look like completely dry areas.

Here are my thoughts:
  1. Is there any foolproof way to test if the resin has penetrated throughout (maybe a silly question...) Large sections of the wood just feel "dry and... woody!!" Maybe they are fully stabilized!!!!!
  2. Maybe the moisture content wasn't @ 0% after baking?
  3. Is Chanar wood not a good choice (here's the ebay listing). Before stabilizing it feels light, maybe 20% heavier than a Balsa wood....
  4. Does 23 hours seem like a way too short a time for this size of wood blanks?
  5. Is 2 days soaking too little?
  6. Even the smaller triangular pieces 'look' like they haven't absorbed the resin

Any feedback appreciated!!

Am a bit bummed that after 4 days and $400+ of equipment & materials that I've managed to screw this up!!!!!
 
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So I've managed to find some old forum posts and have just tried to submerge one in water...

The one at the bottom of the second photo (one of the 'worst' looking pieces) just sank like a stone!!!! Also whilst it was only submerged for 30 mins it weighed precisely the same after I dried it with a shop towel!

So maybe it's worked and I was just expecting to see more of a visible difference out of the oven!?!

I'll hit this piece up on the buffer tomorrow and fingers crossed I get a nice polished finish!
 
If anyone reads this I do have one final question.

The scales are pretty warped now. Is this unavoidable due to them being submerged and heated?

Jim
 
Go to the Facebook group for customers of Turntex products. Curtis, the owner, is your best source for answers to your questions. The group name is: Turntex LLC, Customer Connection
 
Always best to weigh before drying , after drying , and after cooking . Warpage likely occured during drying . I would stabilize as a block , then cut , to be sure of flat scales . You have to expect some wood loss in the process . A thicker block may require more cooking time . Overall , your process looks good to me . I wouldn`t worry about the odd bubble . Beautiful wood , never heard of it .
 
Firstly thanks for the feedback, I will check out the FB group.

By way of an update I'm now still confused!

After a quick sand to 60grit the 2 lighter pieces sink straight to the bottom of a bucket of water, and the smaller triangles of the darker wood sink, but stand on their ends.

However all the other 4 darker pieces float.... right to the top!

They are probably all from different cuts of wood, but all went through the same process as detailed in the OP.

I'll definitely be more diligent with tracking weight before and after the stabilizing process, however this apparent inconsistency bothers me since they were all in the process together from start to finish!
 
Was there an obvious colour difference in the pieces before stabilization ? Not uncommon to have different degrees of resin uptake in pieces of the same species . Growing conditions , heartwood or sapwood , trunk or branch , underside or top side if a branch (in compression or tension) , and probably a whole bunch of other things may influence results .
 
1080Wayne said:
Was there an obvious colour difference in the pieces before stabilization ? Not uncommon to have different degrees of resin uptake in pieces of the same species . Growing conditions , heartwood or sapwood , trunk or branch , underside or top side if a branch (in compression or tension) , and probably a whole bunch of other things may influence results .
Click to expand...
Hi Wayne,

This was my first stabilization and I probably rushed into the process!!!

The pieces looked and weighed pretty similar, the grain pattern seems reasonably consistent.

I guess I'm surprised that some sink like stones and others float 'in' the surface - the difference seems significant and I've got no easy way to tell if the floating blanks are any good!
 
JimDiGritz said:
Hi Wayne,

This was my first stabilization and I probably rushed into the process!!!

The pieces looked and weighed pretty similar, the grain pattern seems reasonably consistent.

I guess I'm surprised that some sink like stones and others float 'in' the surface - the difference seems significant and I've got no easy way to tell if the floating blanks are any good!
Click to expand...
Finish two of them on a knife . That should guarantee that they will sink ! Seroiusly though , if they react similarly to the tools you use to finish them , I wouldn`t worry too much .
 
i have not found the float/won't float to be a good test. Weight before and after gives you the best info. Not a specific number though because it is so variable.
if you aren't in a hurry weigh them now and let them sit, weighing them intermittently to see if they change with the weather.
you could also stabilize them again. Run them through the same process weigh when oven dry and after cure. Little to no change = a waste of time. if they gain = time well spent.
 
Manufacturer of Cactus Juice here! I see nothing wrong with your blanks! Matter of fact, I see a nice coating of cured Cactus Juice on the blanks. If anything, your wood was not dry per my directions which will prevent you from reaching saturation. As mentioned above, forget the moisture meter as they are irrelevant below 6% moisture content and you want to be 0% for best results. Whether or not the wood sinks is meaningless. Some woods will never sink when stabilized.
 
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