my stabilizing technique

Frank Fusco

Member
Messages
12,782
Location
Mountain Home, Arkansas
Please note, the title is NOT "How To Stabilize". This is an explanation of how I do it. There are many approaches to the process. I choose to use the KISS method. It works for me and I don't see any reason why it won't work for anyone.
My pressure pot is an old paint pot that was given to me by friend Jay Caughron. In fact, he gave me two. I don't need two so sent one to another FW friend, Vaughn.
My vac pump is a Gast with filters. I got from a friend who buys from commercial distress auctions for businesses gone bust. I got a great buy on it.
Understand, any plastic parts in your pump will eventually be ruined by the solvent fumes. I know, one day, I will have to rebuild the pump. Fortunately, the Gast is designed to be rebuilt periodically.
My solution is simple. I use scrap plexiglas and dissolve in straight Acetone. Before you ask, my source for plexiglas is a secret. I get free from a commercial source. But, I believe one could scrounge from local glass companies just by asking.
There is no formula for percentage for the plexi/Aceton solution. I toss a few handfuls of plexi into the pot add Acetone and stir. It takes 24 to 48 hours for complete dissolving of the plexi. If there are no, or very little, solids left in the pot, it is ready.
To stable, I just toss in the wood. Mostly I do pen blanks but have done pistol grips, blanks for duck calls and other small stuff. I once did a partially turned bowl that nearly filled the pot. Surprisingly, it stabled well and, I believe, all the way through.
I use vacuum only. My pump pulls to 23 inches. For pen blanks a half hour is sufficient. But, I usually get busy with other tasks and leave as long as an hour.
If you check the IAP http://www.penturners.org/ stabilizing forum, you will find there are as many theories about vacuum/pressure/time/solution/etc. as there are members.
I like my results and see no reason to change.
 
Not of late, but that used to was how I did it with the exception of the Belt and Suspenders Syndrome kinda guy I is.... I usually did it three imes for good measure... Then placed the wood chunk on an old wire fridge shelf to dry (harden)... I used either cheap sanding sealer or thinned old Poly.

By the way, I didn't do pens, this was for bowl & vessel turnings... I turned a pen onetime, found it fun, then the scond one I found boring... More power to you Pen turners, they are loverly but... Geeze, how many ways can you turn a pen.... I know, all the arguments for wood species an odd material challenges... but the turning practice is the same (IMHO) Just not my cup of Cammamile (can't have caffine any more)
 
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Thanks for the post Frank:thumb: Can you add pigments to the Plexiglas mixture...dye, powder, colored Plexiglas :huh:

Yes, some do it. But, the solution is fairly expensive. Color your solution and you are stuck with it unless you throw away the $$$$$$
Acetone is $15.00 a gallon and I keep about 1 1/2 gal. or more in the pot. Plus the plexi is costly stuff if you have to buy.
 
Frank, If I may, I think you might have left out a pertinent piece of information. It is my understanding and experience that you must get "non-silicon" plexi-glass My first attempt at making the solution ended up with a goopy mass in the bottom because the silicon won't allow the plexiglass to dissolve all the way. (or something like that) What one wants is the plain old generic plexiglass. I can't remember what the label difference was but I do remember that the stuff you want was the cheaper of the 2 versions of plexiglass commonly offered.

Also, I found a hardware store that was keeping cut-off scraps of plexiglass and they were glad to clear out their bin for a few bucks.
By the way thanks again for your note to me concerning your process. :D:D
 
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Good stuff!

I made my pressure / vacuum pot and I can pull down to 25 inches. Currently I've been trying to us PR resin but I haven't had very good results. Maybe I'll try the plexi solution. How long will it last? I mean I have a couple good sources of plexi for around 2 bucks a pound for scrap. If I make this solution how long does it keep?

Wondering if I can use the same pigments for that solution that I use for PR. Does anyone have an idea on that?
 
I made my pressure / vacuum pot and I can pull down to 25 inches. Currently I've been trying to us PR resin but I haven't had very good results. Maybe I'll try the plexi solution. How long will it last? I mean I have a couple good sources of plexi for around 2 bucks a pound for scrap. If I make this solution how long does it keep?

Wondering if I can use the same pigments for that solution that I use for PR. Does anyone have an idea on that?

Drew, I can't answer that with scientific certainty. So, I'll make a stab at an answer based on my own form of twisted logic. ;)
Since the solution is a solid dissolved in a solvent, if anything was to go wrong (e.g. air getting to the solution) the solvent would evaporate and you would be left with the solid. And, I don't believe plexiglas will rot.
In other words, I believe the solution will last indefinitely as long as it is kept in an air tight container. My solution is simply a continuation of the original I put in there about a year ago. I just add plexi and Acetone and keep using. Between uses I put the (hopefully) air tight lid back on the pot.
So....Frank's sage advice for the day is.....don't sweat it.
 
Vac time?

Please note, the title is NOT "How To Stabilize". This is an explanation of how I do it. There are many approaches to the process. I choose to use the KISS method. It works for me and I don't see any reason why it won't work for anyone.
My pressure pot is an old paint pot that was given to me by friend Jay Caughron. In fact, he gave me two. I don't need two so sent one to another FW friend, Vaughn.
My vac pump is a Gast with filters. I got from a friend who buys from commercial distress auctions for businesses gone bust. I got a great buy on it.
Understand, any plastic parts in your pump will eventually be ruined by the solvent fumes. I know, one day, I will have to rebuild the pump. Fortunately, the Gast is designed to be rebuilt periodically.
My solution is simple. I use scrap plexiglas and dissolve in straight Acetone. Before you ask, my source for plexiglas is a secret. I get free from a commercial source. But, I believe one could scrounge from local glass companies just by asking.
There is no formula for percentage for the plexi/Aceton solution. I toss a few handfuls of plexi into the pot add Acetone and stir. It takes 24 to 48 hours for complete dissolving of the plexi. If there are no, or very little, solids left in the pot, it is ready.
To stable, I just toss in the wood. Mostly I do pen blanks but have done pistol grips, blanks for duck calls and other small stuff. I once did a partially turned bowl that nearly filled the pot. Surprisingly, it stabled well and, I believe, all the way through.
I use vacuum only. My pump pulls to 23 inches. For pen blanks a half hour is sufficient. But, I usually get busy with other tasks and leave as long as an hour.
If you check the IAP http://www.penturners.org/ stabilizing forum, you will find there are as many theories about vacuum/pressure/time/solution/etc. as there are members.
I like my results and see no reason to change.

Frank,
You just throw the wood in the mix then vac the whole thing for 30 minutes? Am I reading this right?

Thanks!
 
Frank,
You just throw the wood in the mix then vac the whole thing for 30 minutes? Am I reading this right?

Thanks!

Drew, you read it right.
You said you had read many of the posts on IAP. I know you found there are three techniques for everyone posting. Some vac, some pressure, some alternate and do both, some howl at the moon and dance around rose petals.
I simply fell back onto my high school physics classes that taught nature hates a vacuum. I figured: pull out the air and remaining moisture and it has to be replaced with something. And that 'something' is plexi-acetone mixture.
I make mine by stopping adding plexi when no more will dissolve. The resulting solution isn't much thicker than water.
Works for me.
I just got back from a ten hour drive. This is my one and only post this eve. Will check in tomorrow a.m.
 
Good luck Bernie.
As far as the penturners forums posts are concerned, they helped me. I wouldn't have considered doing stable if it weren't for the ideas and help I got there. But, I have stopped reading that particular forum. The stable and casting ideas have (IMHO) have gotten out of hand and it is massively confusing to see so many conflicting ideas.
I don't recall all I said in the T&T but I'll add here that results are not always consistent. This is because not all woods take stable equally. e.g. walnut and maple take it very well. Maple especially benefits in terms of appearance, very nice. Red cedar is unpredictable. It is oily and doesn't always respond well to the stable. The rosewoods (cocobolo, ebony, ironwood, etc.) doesn't take stable (hardly) at all. I won't even put in the pot. Really, they don't need the process.
The hardest part of the process is finding the plexiglas. I am very fortunate to have a free source but am going to look for others so as to not be Dependant on just one.
Someone made a comment about the solvent ruining their vacuum pump motor. Methinks most vacuum pumps would by-pass the motor so that should not be a problem. Others, like my Gast, will need the vanes replaced occasionally. That is part of the cost of doing the process. Mine has filters so, I suspect, the vanes will be OK for a long time. BTW, the Gast is designed to be rebuilt periodically.
 
Thanks Frank

I've had more than a few miserable failures but at least you pointed me in the right direction. When I pull my vac I'm exploding the solution all over my pot. I think it might have worked if I could have kept my solution around my blank. I put about 4 inches of solution in a pickle jar and then chucked in two blanks. Put the whole thing in my pot and managed to pull it down to -27. When I opened the pot I had plexitone EVERYWHERE. Had to replace the bottom of my pot because it ate the sealant off the wood floor...lol. How do you keep the solution where it needs to be?
 
I've had more than a few miserable failures but at least you pointed me in the right direction. When I pull my vac I'm exploding the solution all over my pot. I think it might have worked if I could have kept my solution around my blank. I put about 4 inches of solution in a pickle jar and then chucked in two blanks. Put the whole thing in my pot and managed to pull it down to -27. When I opened the pot I had plexitone EVERYWHERE. Had to replace the bottom of my pot because it ate the sealant off the wood floor...lol. How do you keep the solution where it needs to be?

Drew, even though it is not always necessary for the blanks to be completely submerged, it can help that the depth of the solution be enough for the blanks to sink. The "explosion" you are describing is really air boiling out of the wood as the vacuum does it's thing. Using a small pot might be problematic too. I use a paint pot that is considerably larger and I cannot see into it. Try putting blanks in first then adding as much solution as the jar will hold. You might try looking for a paint pot.
 
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