Pen blank stabilizing

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Mkorish

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Joined
Aug 23, 2021
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36
Location
Onalaska, WI
How important is it and can I do it with minwax wood hardener?

I don't want to get a ton of money stuck in this hobby. I do enjoy making pens and smaller things but have a harder time with bowls and platters.
 
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Minwax wood hardner is just thatā€¦..a wood hardner not a wood stabilizer. If you do a search here on IAP you will find too many threads on this topic to post here.
Minwax may work for your purposes but read the past threads and decide for yourself.
 
I have a stabilizing setup. I mainly use it for burl wood or if I want to dye wood. I also stabilize anything that I'm going to make a hybrid blank from. My opinion, most pen blanks don't need it and people get crazy stabilizing everything. You'll see examples of people having wood under vacuum for weeks at a time, obviously, at least to me, that wood doesn't need to be stabilized. I got into it mainly because I was just interested in it and I do enjoy it, but is it an absolute must, I would say no.
 
Let me elaborate more on my latest post. Minwax wood hardner does not penetrate well and would need to be placed under extreme pressure or vacuum to be effective. You can't obtain the high pressure without expensive equipment. You can get good penetration with bacon. If you are going to get a vacuum pump I would recommend using Cactus Juice or equivalent, not use Minwax because it is flammable and thus I would not want to put the vapors in my shop.
 
Monty said:
Let me elaborate more on my latest post. Minwax wood hardner does not penetrate well and would need to be placed under extreme pressure or vacuum to be effective. You can't obtain the high pressure without expensive equipment. You can get good penetration with bacon. If you are going to get a vacuum pump I would recommend using Cactus Juice or equivalent, not use Minwax because it is flammable and thus I would not want to put the vapors in my s
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OK Mannie...you've got me confused. Please explain...lol. "You can get good penetration with bacon." Sounds tasty and probably smells good while turning...
 
I was hoping there was a nice looking blank that would make my shop smell like bacon...šŸ¤£šŸ¤£
That might even help pen sales! šŸ¤£
 
Monty said:
Let me elaborate more on my latest post. Minwax wood hardner does not penetrate well and would need to be placed under extreme pressure or vacuum to be effective. You can't obtain the high pressure without expensive equipment. You can get good penetration with bacon. If you are going to get a vacuum pump I would recommend using Cactus Juice or equivalent, not use Minwax because it is flammable and thus I would not want to put the vapors in my shop.
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My fat fingers don't fit well on my I phone SE. Should have been "You can get good penetration with vacuum" not bacon (**** auto suggest).
For a better explanation of the difference between stablization and wood hardner, check out this thread.
 
Your question goes back to the beginning of pen turning. Back when there was no stabilizing resin. Minwax wood hardener is something like 75-85% solvent and does not build well. Guys then melted plexiglas into acetone and tried that. Believe me, today's stabilizing resin is what you want to use. It's far superior to any "cheaper" options.
 
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