Stabilized blanks - moisture resistance

[Leviblue]

I've been stabilizing several spalted blanks and I had a thought. Once the blanks are stabilized how moisture resistant is the wood? Is any additional sealing required to make the blanks water resistant or water proof?

Just for reference, I'm using Cactus Juice with the vac chamber.

 

[MesquiteMan]

Stabilized blanks can still gain some moisture but it will also loose it much quicker than unstabilized blanks. If you did a good job, the moisture will not affect the dimensional properties of the wood. In other words, it will be dimensionally stable. I would not say it is waterPROOF but is certainly water resistant.

I have done some testing where I took a piece of stabilized and unstabilized spalted pecan and placed them both in orange dyed water. The unstabilized blank turned completely orange through and through. The stabilized block was orange on the outside and had about .005" or so penetration from the outside in.

 

[edstreet]

See here. ...

...Two-part process requires applying acrylic resins to a handle material followed by a curing period. The result is a water-resistant, harder-than-untreated wood that can be machined and drilled, and that can be polished to any finish you'd put on steel, from satin to a high gloss...

...Stabilized wood will take in moisture by capillary action much like steel wool is waterproof but will absorb water like a sponge. If you put a block of stabilized wood in water, it will become saturated in a few hours. The actual fibers are dry but the spaces will pick up moisture. If you lay the wood on a workbench, the water will leak out overnight and the piece will be dry again tomorrow...

...Since stabilized wood repels water and oils, stains, dyed and chemicals will not penetrate wood...

 

[Leviblue]

Thanks for the info and quick reply. I feel more comfortable in using the stabilized blanks for razor handles.
Now to spot UPS with the juice from Curtis! Woohoo :biggrin: