Help getting started

[Schuyler]

Hi All,

I plan to do some googling and digging in on this subject but figured I could get some resources here as well. I just bought a ton of pen making supplies on craigslist and included in that purchase is a pump, vacuum chamber, cactus juice, and a toaster oven. Apparently this is all for stabilization... I also have a bunch of blanks that I don't think are stabilized. A few questions:

Any helpful resources to help me learn about this topic?
How do I identify a non stabilized blank? What will happen if I turn an unstabilized blank?
What does stabilizing do? How do I do it?
What is the advantage to stabilized blanks? Does it give a different aesthetic or allow for different materials?

Again, I'll do my research but there seems to be a wealth of knowledge here and it's more fun to learn through discussion with others anyway.

Thanks!

 

[elyk864]

Any helpful resources to help me learn about this topic? A ton of Youtube videos and content here on the forum.
How do I identify a non stabilized blank? Stabilized blanks will have a shiny texture to them visible difference than normal wood usually.
What will happen if I turn an unstabilized blank? Much higher risk of blowing up on the lathe.
What does stabilizing do? How do I do it? Stabilizing uses the vacuum chamber to pull the cactus juice/resin into the material by removing the oxygen.
What is the advantage to stabilized blanks? Better finishes when turned and won't blow up on the lathe.
Does it give a different aesthetic or allow for different materials? Yes to both.

 

[Third Bay Woodworking]

Turntex.com

Your go to source for all things related to stabilizing. Or at least a heck of a start.

 

[Edgar]

I turn very few stabilized blanks. I prefer plain wood. While there is a greater chance of a blowout, I rarely have that problem - not saying it doesn't happen, but not often enough that I would want to stabilize everything. If a blank is too punky to turn, I generally just pass on it.

That's just me though - some people prefer stabilized blanks and it is a good way to dye the wood if you want to add color to it, and of course It also makes it possible to turn punky wood.

 

[howsitwork]

Just to add to the above. Stabilizing allows you to turn or indeed work woods with vast differences in density. You can have a wood with a very hard heartwood and soft sapwood yet the difference in say colour makes you want to turn a pen incorporating the areas the two meet.

So you cut your blank and then vacuum impregnate it then cook it to cure the resin. The softer sap wood is still ended by the resin stabilizing it and turns more easily as the piece is uniformly hard. This also makes the resulting pen more ding resistant as the softer area has been hardened. See attached photo, left hand piece of Bubinga is unstabilised , tight hand ( darker) bit is stablized. The left had bit you can dent the lighter sap wood with a fingernail. Not so the stabilised bit which is hard.

Punky or spalted timbers are also a good bet with this as it stops further decay and allows you to work some wonderful looking but otherwise unusable timber to make things, not just pens.

 

[leehljp]

Having been at this for 13 1/2 years, Stabilizing does help some but there are ways to show off beautiful wood without stabilizing.

Here is a TRUTH: How one starts off in pen making determines their path (method) for the most part. Very few will allow for change, but the best will adapt to several methods. My observation is that those who adapt and use different methods, depending on the situation, find more long term enjoyment in pen making. "Never a dull moment!" This statement applies to finishes, wood or cast blanks, or metal or stone or combinations/hybrids; mounting methods on the lathe, which tools (chisels) to use in different situations.

• Stabilizing will help in some woods, but for some people, stabilizing introduces a sheen/shine that a small few do not like because it does not present the wood in its natural state.

• Some oily and dense woods are next to impossible to stabilize, and they do fine without stabilizing.

• As has been mentioned, stabilized blanks do not have blowouts as often as un-stabilized, but that is easily overcome with experience in using different methods of glueing . . . i.e. such as 1. using polyurethane glue (which has a small learning curve) on un-stabilized wood, and 2. CA'ing the external of a delicate wood blank heavily, or wrapping gauze around it and CA'ing the gauze to hold it together during the initial turning.