? about Tamarind

Frank Fusco

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12,782
Location
Mountain Home, Arkansas
I recently acquired some spalted Tamarind pen blanks. Beautiful, wild stuff. The seller said I must stabilized this wood before turning or it will just continue it's rotting process. That's a new one on me as I had always believed that once spalted wood is dry it stops the process. But woods do vary.
I Googled it but didn't find an answer.
What say the jury?
 
I didn't realize that spalting stops, after all, it is an organism in the wood. I have a piece of spalted maple in my stash, and I havent' touched it in almost two years, can't wait to see what it looks like when I finally do.

As to the tamarind, could it be that that Batch he shipped to you was very freshly harvested and that could be the difference?
 
I didn't realize that spalting stops, after all, it is an organism in the wood. I have a piece of spalted maple in my stash, and I havent' touched it in almost two years, can't wait to see what it looks like when I finally do.

As to the tamarind, could it be that that Batch he shipped to you was very freshly harvested and that could be the difference?

Dunno. Seems dry. Just going on what he said. I might zap in the microwave. Hardly seem worth the expense to ship off just two blanks for the stable process.
 
Would soaking it in a simple alcohol like methanol, ethanol or IPA (isopropanol) screw up the wood? That should kill the fungus - no idea how it would affect the wood though. The alcohols should dry fairly quickly afterward - would this cause end checking?
 
hi frank

just take a trip to your local hardware store or home center and get some minwax stabilizer (i just did yesterday,tall yellow can, screw top) it runs about 12.50 /qt. and be sure to use a glass container when you pour it in to something to do your stabilizing. don't use plastic !! it won't hold up.

also you can keep the unused portion in the glass jar and use it again and again HTH
 
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