Stabilizing options and results

[RidgeRunner]

Initially I was considering stabilizing some blanks with Cactus Juice as it was the only option I was aware of. After some consideration I decided to just avoid less resilient blanks so my need for stabilizing would vanish. Now I find my interest in spalted and other less resilient blanks failed to vanish and have discovered a few commercially available wood hardeners and stabilizers available at prices sometimes below $50/gallon. I do get the impression various sources have meaningfully different definitions of stabilizing such as some products are a simple end sealer and that bothers me. I assume I want to avoid relying on any "green wood sealer" to do more than reduce or prevent end cracking during seasoning rather than actually hardening the wood.

Now a few questions related to Pentacryl semi-dry, PC-Petrifier, Cactus Juice, MinWax Wood Hardener, Wood Juice, JB Weld Wood Restore, Boiled Linseed Oil, Tung Oil, Danish Oil, and any other commercial or DIY solutions you have experience with using to improve workability and durability of blanks prior to turning. I do recognize some members will scoff at many of the listed options but even that response is useful discussion. Here we go:

Can you share your experience with your favored and avoided stabilizing method(s) and try to include your observations about ease of processing, curing time or requirements, smell, gumming tools, resilience of treated wood to processing, final hardness and finished product resilience, if too brittle or crystalline, ability to finish over, etc.

 

[RidgeRunner]

TLDR:
Can you share your experience with your favored and avoided or any of the listed stabilizing method(s).
For the finishes I am only asking about using them as a soak in stabilizer.

Pentacryl semi-dry,
PC-Petrifier,
Cactus Juice,
MinWax Wood Hardener,
Wood Juice,
JB Weld Wood Restore,
Boiled Linseed Oil,
Tung Oil, Danish Oil,
Any other commercial or DIY solutions you have experience with.

 

[MedWoodWorx]

if you want to stabilize wood blanks the golden standard is cactus juice; all the other materials that you mentioned are intended to repair rotten wood so that a workable surface is created that can be further repaired/finished, not stabilizing.
all the oils mentioned can be used as a finish but not with great success when it comes to penmaking. These are great for furniture for instance but not for pens that are going to be handled every day. a friction polish can give a better result for pens that are handled with care. cheers

 

[Penchant 4]

TLDR:
Can you share your experience with your favored and avoided or any of the listed stabilizing method(s).
For the finishes I am only asking about using them as a soak in stabilizer.

Pentacryl semi-dry,
PC-Petrifier,
Cactus Juice,
MinWax Wood Hardener,
Wood Juice,
JB Weld Wood Restore,
Boiled Linseed Oil,
Tung Oil, Danish Oil,
Any other commercial or DIY solutions you have experience with.

Of the materials listed, my only experience is with Cactus Juice, vacuum chamber, toaster oven, etc. during workshops with Barry Gross. It is very effective! The 'gold' standard as previously mentioned. If I worked more wood that would benefit from the process, then I would invest in the equipment, space and time necessary. A (to me) huge advantage is that, in the process of infusing the wood with the juice, one can also dye the wood for some stunning results through the depth of the material.

My alternative, when faced with punky/soft wood, is thin or ultra thin CA, primarily Gluboost. It means a bit slower turning, as the wood needs to be treated each time a fresh layer is exposed. A downside, if using non-Gluboost products, is that the amount of CA usually needed to soak the surface of a typical pen blank releases noxious and offensive odor...every time it is applied.

 

[NJturner]

I recently did a larger slab of big leaf burl that was heavily spalted for use as a coffee table in my house. I used PC Petrifier for the bulk of the wood hardening process, then added some epoxy resin in select parts to fill large gaps and voids in the slab. I have to say that without a vacuum bag or pressure assistance, the stuff soaked deep into the wood and performed exceptionally well. This slab was roughly 3" thick, 36 inches wide and about 48" long, with a natural burled edge along all sides. It took nearly 1 gallon of Petrifier into the slab, applied over three different times, but the wood went from soft and punky to hard and sandable. Once hardened, I sanded everything then used a hard wax finish on it to keep it looking great. It is holding up well. I have some Petrifier left over and plan on trying it on a pen blank, with my thoughts being it performed extremely well on the slab, I am hoping it will also work with a pen. I have used blanks done with Catus Juice and they have all been easy to work and look spectacular, I just don't have a vacuum system yet to do it myself, so Petrifier is a much lower cost and hardware option I would try.

Kevin

 

[sorcerertd]

Maybe someone here needs to start up a stabilizing service. I have some driftwood that could use stabilizing, but am not sure I'd get a return on my investment in the materials and supplies needed. I like the GluBoost, too, but it gets expensive pretty quickly for a stabilizer.

 

[RidgeRunner]

I think the barriers to a stabilizing service even after packing and shipping two ways would include dealing with unrealistic customer expectations related to preparation as well as performance. There are blank makers that might give consideration to incorporating client materials into blanks if warranty was not an issue.

 

[d_bondi]

K&G seems to be the GoTo for stabilization. They use a pressurized process (up to 4000 PSI) and can stabilize some woods that are otherwise unstabilizeable.

Disclaimer: I have yet not used them, but see materials that they have stabilized for sale all the time.

 

[Mortalis]

I only stabilize blanks if they are punky. I do not stabilize if the wood is just spalted yet stable to turn.
I find the Cactus Juice stabilized blanks turn like an acrylic blank only a lot more 'powdery'(sp). The turnings are not stringy.
I also use thin CA to 'stabilize' punky areas in my bowl blanks and yes the reaction of the CA and punky wood is akin to what happens when you use paper towels to apply CA to a pen blank only on a larger scale. I use a box fan air filter to diffuse the off-gas.
The set up cost for CJ peocess can be under $200 all in from Amazon and near twice that price from Turntex. With Turntex you get very good support from Curtis and vacuum vessels designed to minimize waste.

Bottom line:
Cactus Juice (process) is really good for what it does. I find the turning cleanup afterwards a bit messy. CA for large areas can get expensive and noxious but gets the job done also.

 

[MRDucks2]

I have used some of the wood hardener/restorer products over the years in home restoration. They work decently but the "hardness" only goes so deep. They all, to my experience, recommend removal of as muck rot/punky wood as possible so they can do to the depth of harder wood.

The products for sealing green wood are just that, sealers to help reduce checking and splitting. Never tried them for restoration or stabilization.

Oils are, well, oils. Getting them to provide stabilization seems counter intuitive to me but they should certainly soak in.

Some of the listed products may work if applied with a vacuum soak, which you are trying to avoid, and cured properly but not sure of either what a proper cure would be or the content of any gases produced.

Cactus Juice and its copies are water thin. I have taken large pieces and stood them on end in containers of cactus juice in the shop allowing capillary action to soak up as much as possible, flipped it over and allowed the same process from the other end. Doing this for a week or so resulted in better results than I expected, but you still have to cure it properly with heat.

In the end, you have to decide what you want to do. You didn't pick a cheap hobby once you start looking outside of the basics.