Stabilising wood...what products are you using from in the UK?

[PMW71]

Hi all....I hoping that someone might be able to help me. I`ve recently set about stabilising my own blanks for various projects I`m working on and so far haven't really had much joy in finding a UK product designed for the job at hand. I know over in the states they use a product called "cactus juice" which is a heat curing resin with a very low viscosity...miniwax being another they use but does anyone here have any experience on the matter. I`m currently trying out a wet rot wood hardener by Ronseal....with little joy I might add. I do use a vacuum chamber...although I don't currently have a Perspex top so as to see when its stopped bubbling because I`m using my pressure pot untill I have some stores arrive to make one. However... I leave the blank in vacuum for a good few hours so as to be sure all the air has been sucked out and then pressure the pot up to about 2.5 bar to help infuse the hardener and again I leave this for a couple of hours and then leave to dry.

Any help would be greatly appreciated guys so thanks in advance

 

[Caerleon]

Hi there,

I'm pretty much in the same place as you with regards to products/process etc. After quite extensively searching it does seem the best route is Cactus Juice, I see knife makers such as Sandy of Jacklore importing, I have yet to find anything similar in the U.K.

Re Ronseal wet wood hardener I've also tried this and made the mistake of leaving the solution in a Perspex container which after 2 weeks destroyed the bottom of so not recommended lol. There's not too much about this on YouTube which is unfortunate so have pretty much put this on the back burner and either using synthetic or purchasing stabilised scales. it will be interesting to see if there are others that have progressed further.

Good luck ;-)
Cheers,
DF

 

[CommonZense]

Cactus Juice indeed seems to way go, despite I believe it is quite costly. YT is full of it when searching on wood stabilization.
It would be great being able to make a wood stabilizer alias 'Breaking Bad', by shopping in the woods or at a local supermarket

Pine resin over time turns into this glass a-like material. An experiment could be worth while on melting and filtering pine resin.
Then to dissolve this clean resin syrup in alcohol to make it less viscous so it can penetrate into the wood under vacuum more easiliy.
After the vacuum trajectory has finished the alcohol can evaporate either naturally by curing over time or possibly in an accelerated process by heating.
Big chance one will end up with a sticky scale, jamming your wood rasp or sand paper... So a catalyst (ideally free available in the woods or derived from) might be required for turning the resin into a glass-a-like material.

Aren't there any chemists amongst us willing and/ or able to contribute on this brainstorm?

 

[mrcharly]

Cactus Juice indeed seems to way go, despite I believe it is quite costly. YT is full of it when searching on wood stabilization.
It would be great being able to make a wood stabilizer alias 'Breaking Bad', by shopping in the woods or at a local supermarket

Pine resin over time turns into this glass a-like material. An experiment could be worth while on melting and filtering pine resin.
Then to dissolve this clean resin syrup in alcohol to make it less viscous so it can penetrate into the wood under vacuum more easiliy.
After the vacuum trajectory has finished the alcohol can evaporate either naturally by curing over time or possibly in an accelerated process by heating.
Big chance one will end up with a sticky scale, jamming your wood rasp or sand paper... So a catalyst (ideally free available in the woods or derived from) might be required for turning the resin into a glass-a-like material.

Aren't there any chemists amongst us willing and/ or able to contribute on this brainstorm?

I did a few minutes research. Rosin is the part of the pine resin that will form a solid. It is soluble in alcohol. So buy rosin, dissolve in alcohol, then soak your wood in this. Let alcohol evaporate and the rosin will be left behind.

I believe that's pretty much what the original 'french polish' is made from.

 

[bobnewboy]

It seems like you have already invested quite a lot in vacuum equipment for stabilising. However an alternative approach is to use a 3 - 5 layer superglue finish. Apply a thick layer of superglue over the blanks/handle of a completed knife, and then wait for it to cure and sand back. Repeat at least 3 or 4 times, and then sand/polish to a final finish. It works really well and gives a tough glossy (if you want) finish to articles made of wood, and its especially handy for those made of burl with open grain. Just watch out for the fumes - especially eyes and throat. Its cheap and effective, like me

 

[Caerleon]

What a cracking idea, going to have a go at that - cheers Bob ;-)

 

[bobnewboy]

What a cracking idea, going to have a go at that - cheers Bob ;-)

Just make sure to use the thinnest, runniest, clearest stuff you can buy. Definitely not the gel stuff. If you like it, buy a bigger bottle next time (tightwad tip!)

 

[ateallthepies]

Any reason you can't dunk the wood in super thin superglue and vacuum?

 

[bobnewboy]

Any reason you can't dunk the wood in super thin superglue and vacuum?

It might be possible, but superglue has a pretty short open time.......

 

[Caerleon]

Would this be a viable solution for outdoor style knives i.e. bushcraft as opposed to something used around the house/kitchen I wonder?

 

[bobnewboy]

I dont see why not. I have only done one knife in that way (see below), but a friend of a contact of mine makes and sells wooden catapults with the same finish.

 

[Caerleon]

Okay Bob thanks - will give it a go over the weekend ;-)

 

[mountainm]

Isn't that just like a varnish though?

 

[bobnewboy]

Isn't that just like a varnish though?

It is, but it is very hard when cured. That means you can polish it up very much if you choose to. Also, because it is gin clear and very runny, it sinks well into open grain and doesnt obscure it much.

 

[CommonZense]

@MrCharly. Great idea. Worth the experiment despite its brittle consistence when dried...

Another DIY solution could be to dissolve one part of white wood (colourless after it has dried) glue into 2 parts of water.
Apparently you end up with a running liquid. Something I'll put into practice soon... I am also wondering how its finishing capacities are, can it be polished as can be done when stabilised with an epoxy-a-like stabiliser?

And mark this method properly only works for stabilising small (thin) pieces of wood like knife scales. As I read about the liquid being unable to penetrate fully into big chunks of wood. I am not sure at what thickness its penetrable capacities decline. Again worth the experiment as, if this works, it's a low cost solution with widely available ingredients.

Rgds,
Bas

 

[Simsok]

Hi Guys,
Im all new to kife making, yet I have faced the same issues listed abowe.
I was wondering if anyone got further with the stabilizing issue, or has found any soution to it?
Cactus juice would cost $130 shipped to me (with all taxes and shipping) for 1,9liter (1/2 gal), I believe that is way too expensive.
best regs
s

 

[Skaukraft]

What you need is MMA (Metmethylacrylate) and a polymerizer of some sort. And of course some cnotraption to vacuumize the lot.
Acrifix 190 and Acrifix CA0020 are good, but expensive. But some well asorted chemistry stores should be able to get MMA for a relative good price. The problem is often the polymerizer and the dosing of it.

 

[Janne]

If MethylMetAcrylate (MMA) is what you need, then I suggest you go to the nearest Dental Lab that does Dentures.
These are made from MMA. Not a liquid form, but they should be able to help you what you need.

You need a MMA that comes in 2 liquids that need to be mixed so they Polymerize.
The second type is a MMA liquid that sets under special light, usually between 400 to 500nm wave length. stuff we dentests use.
Pressure/ vacuum chamber - dental lab has them. Or they are fairly easy to make yourself.