Wood from Russia

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jyreene

jyreene

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This past weekend my wife and I went to an open market in Russia. We managed to find some pretty neat Russian woods (I don't have the exact names on me as they are currently packed in my bag at my hotel) a few birch, some kind of Russian nut tree and a few more. The guy we bought them from was pretty impressed that we weren't going to make knife handles out of them but pens and gave us a good deal, although the handles he was making were pretty nice for hand carved ones.

The problem is that even as interesting as all of the pieces are, two or three of them probably woudn't hold up to being turned without some kind of stabilization as there are some defects (best word I can think of) in the wood the I'm pretty sure go through the entire piece. Since I think these would turn out really nice if I could get them stabilized I want to give it a shot. We don't have a pressure pot and I have never stabilized any kind of wood in my life. The one time I needed to use some CA glue on a segmented pen was with my dad showing me...and that was only because the segments came apart not defects in the wood.

So I guess my question has two parts or two questions take your pick. Is there a safe, reliable way to stabilize these pieces (that won't change the color)? Or....if it would need to be done in a pressure put, is there anyone in the N. VA area (I like to get them done before I PCS this summer) that would be willing to help or anyone I could send them to that would be willing to help for the price of the materials and shipping?

The guy didn't have a lot of the stuff but enough for myself, my wife, and a piece I want to send to my dad since he's the one that got us addicted.

Thanks
 
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Soak it in thin CA. You can even drill a smaller hole before doing so to have good penetration where it matters.

You might have to repaet the process as you turn though.
 
I thought of the CA but I would like to send one to my dad as a thank you and not have him need to worry about resoaking it in CA would kind of defeat the purpose of the gift in my opinion.

As to RRP, I checked them out and it seems like a decent option. One question came to mind while perusing their site:

Wet sending, I know what wet sanding for a car is. I've looked it up for wood and the best answer I found was "special wet sanding paper". That's all it said. I trolled the forums and didn't really see anything on wet sanding other than people saying it was messy. So, what is it? Is it similary to wet sanding a car? Can anyone give me a down and dirty of it so I can decide if I want to send the wood off to RRP?

Thanks again.
 
maxwell_smart007 said:
wet sanding is just sanding while using water - it's the way I sand plastics...

When you send your wood to River Ridge, it will essentially become plastic, so you can wet sand to get the best possible shine!
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You can use other liquid as well.

I've used oil and water with dishwashing liquid...works well but need more cleanup after.

Biggest advantage of wet sanding is the absence of dust.
 
So it's the same as wet sanding car paint, that's easy enough if not a little messy. As to any protectice coating, I would imagine a CA finish wouldn't do much for it. Would just wet sanding be enough or is there something else that would need to be added, like a shelac but for plastic, to protect it?
 
Heating the Minwax wood hardener is a GREAT alternative to having your wood professionally stabilized. You can approach getting the same results IF you take your time.

I would recommend predrilling your blanks as it will help the wood absorb the material better through and through. As the link DARIO posted states, get the fluid and wood as hot as possible and then seal the container very tight. I always used a larger jar to make keeping the boiling water out a lot easier and safer. You don't have to really rush the process, as the longer the wood is allowed to remain in the hardener the better it will turn out.
 
Russianwolf said:
post pics of the wood, I'd love to see. Pozalsta?
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My wife and I fly back on Saturday. I'll get a few snaps of the wood (one piece is Bubinga, I believe, which I am fairly sure isn't Russian) and post them most likely Sunday or Monday so you guys can see them. The guy at the market showed us knife handles he, I believe whittled, made and they looked great, good markings.

Mike, that's pretty darn close. I wouldn't have caught it if it weren't for your screen name, the only reason I know is I'm a Russian Interpreter/Linguist.

For those that are curious in Russian it's Пожалуйста - Please or You're Welcome. They way it's transliterated (bane of every linguists existance) is pozhalujsta, not exactly understandable.
 
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amosfella said:
I thought 'spasiba' was thank you. Then again, russian is very complicated.....
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Edited with the real meaning. You are correct. That's what I get for starting a reply and finishing it 20 minutes later.

I am a self professed nerd but a very lazy one. I should have proof read....but that would take time.

Isn't Russian Olive Wood from Utah?
 
I'll have to look for it on my next trip and I have a few friends that I'll ask to keep an eye out for it. Talking with my wife last night she thinks one of the woods was a root wood of some type. Like I said, when we get back I'll snap some photos and post them. One or two of them were labeled so I'll put those names up as well.
 
I bet you went to DLI-FLC in Monterey. I know that's where I was trained. I was a Navy CTI for Russian, but many moons ago so you'll have to forgive my poor transliterations. My screen name is actually the nickname I received while in the Navy.
 
Yes I was trained at the Defense Lust Institute. You have every excuse for odd transliterations they've changed it 3 times since I've been in!

Odd, my wife is a CTI1 as a Russian Linguist..
 
Pat,
Not trying to hijack this thread but do you do stabilizing for members like RRP does? If so, can you send me a pm on prices? I checked your site and didn't see anything on there.
 
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