WoodfulProjects
Member
Heya all,
As said on one of my previous threads, I was conducting some researches to find some cheaper method to stabilize pen blanks (wood in general).
The alternative to Cactus Juice in my country sells around 50€/L (maybe few € less now) which is tremendously expensive.
I was thus looking for other stabilization methods but had one condition : it should be heat activated stabilization (thermosetting).
Found quite few components which will be documented through several videos/test.
Here is the first one. Just note that I'm not a professionnal "tester" nor a chemist. The purpose here is to find a cheaper alternative to cactus juice and share with the community. May you have found the video interesting or usefull, please drop a thumbs up. I do not make any money on youtube, nor have I a sponsor, so the thumbs up is the only satisfaction I could get from a video that has cost me around 100€ just for a test
.
The first test consist of comparing 3 paraloids (B44, B67 and B72). For those who dont know (like me few months ago) what paraloid is, it is a theromplastic resin mostly used for fossil conservation (hardening/stabilization). Why these 3 varieties? Because these were the most accessible in my country.
I'll share here the comparison results (based on my subjectivity I mean objectivity). On the second picture below, it shows the result of 4 turned blanks and all of them have a 1 pass CA Glue finish and sanded up to 400 grit. Honestly, if I had gone with micromesh up to higher grits I would have gotten glass like finish (only with 1 CA glue pass). The X one is the cactus juice stabilized.
Some attention points to keep in mind. The mixture obtained (acetone + resin) is quite strong. Please wear proper respiration device and try to ventilate as much as possible. If I could do this test differently, I'll try with a less "aggressive" solvent than Acetone. As for the consistency, I was trying to reach a similar to cactus juice consistency. I thouhg first that a 10% ratio (by weight) would do but it wasn't the case. It was water like, too runny. I increased the quantities until I reached a lightly syrupy consistency (still runny but has some body) -> up to 30% ratio (eg: 150 resin / 500 acetone).
Do I think that this test was conclusive? Yes. You'll see on the video how punky/rotten/spalted the wood was. Without any stabilization the blank would have flown around the shop during the turning.
Feel free to ask if you have any question.
As said on one of my previous threads, I was conducting some researches to find some cheaper method to stabilize pen blanks (wood in general).
The alternative to Cactus Juice in my country sells around 50€/L (maybe few € less now) which is tremendously expensive.
I was thus looking for other stabilization methods but had one condition : it should be heat activated stabilization (thermosetting).
Found quite few components which will be documented through several videos/test.
Here is the first one. Just note that I'm not a professionnal "tester" nor a chemist. The purpose here is to find a cheaper alternative to cactus juice and share with the community. May you have found the video interesting or usefull, please drop a thumbs up. I do not make any money on youtube, nor have I a sponsor, so the thumbs up is the only satisfaction I could get from a video that has cost me around 100€ just for a test
.The first test consist of comparing 3 paraloids (B44, B67 and B72). For those who dont know (like me few months ago) what paraloid is, it is a theromplastic resin mostly used for fossil conservation (hardening/stabilization). Why these 3 varieties? Because these were the most accessible in my country.
I'll share here the comparison results (based on my subjectivity I mean objectivity). On the second picture below, it shows the result of 4 turned blanks and all of them have a 1 pass CA Glue finish and sanded up to 400 grit. Honestly, if I had gone with micromesh up to higher grits I would have gotten glass like finish (only with 1 CA glue pass). The X one is the cactus juice stabilized.
Some attention points to keep in mind. The mixture obtained (acetone + resin) is quite strong. Please wear proper respiration device and try to ventilate as much as possible. If I could do this test differently, I'll try with a less "aggressive" solvent than Acetone. As for the consistency, I was trying to reach a similar to cactus juice consistency. I thouhg first that a 10% ratio (by weight) would do but it wasn't the case. It was water like, too runny. I increased the quantities until I reached a lightly syrupy consistency (still runny but has some body) -> up to 30% ratio (eg: 150 resin / 500 acetone).
Do I think that this test was conclusive? Yes. You'll see on the video how punky/rotten/spalted the wood was. Without any stabilization the blank would have flown around the shop during the turning.
Feel free to ask if you have any question.
