10 Best Tips I've Learned For Stabilizing Wood with Cactus Juice

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[kellyvcraig]

ONE of the "whys" soaking is so important plays out in every day woodworking too. Consider finishing a floor, for example. As long as you keep the floor wet with finish, the finish can soak in to the wood, including through cracks and joints. The moment you stop keeping the finish wet (working it), the finish starts to polymerize and seal the wood. Once that surface seals, that's all you get. Anything you add after that is surface coat. Of course, for stabilizing wood, you want penetration and the deeper the better.

P.S. Thanks for the video.

[woowaptibam]

Thank you for the advice and information! It's always easier learning from someone else's experience and mistakes. It is much appreciated!

[brentnicol]

Came across this video and it has very good information. I see 19 thumbs down for this video. Is it because no gaming consoles were discussed. To see a young person intersted in woodwork, pen making or anything besides gaming or drugs then support them to the fullest. Great job to you and you continue doing qhat you love.

[Mr_Chuckles]

I bake my stabilized burls just before casting. Has 2 benefits - one, ensures all surface moisture is removed and two, the residual heat helps the resin cure. I let the burl cool to around 60C/140F before pouring resin over it (Alumilite)

[teddaw]

Number 10 was my favorite, I’ve watched a few videos on stabilization but never heard about the glass top, I’m just getting started on wood turning and acrylic casting and have been collecting for about three years.
Very interesting video thank you for sharing your knowledge.
👍⚜️⚜️⚜️
Teddy Daw

[melissakeller]

Thank you for taking the time to explain. I have a better understanding. Thank you again.

[RB-ckxr]

Polycarbonate lids are fine as they are resistant to resin fumes whereas acrylic lids will suffer from cracking, not because of flexing due to vacuum on one side but due to resin fumes. Polycarbonate lids tend not to break if (when) you drop one unlike glass lids.
Our process involves placing items to be stabilised in a plastic container within the vacuum chamber after they have been baked to remove any moisture. Apply the vacuum and hold for between 4 to 8 hours (or longer) depending on species. While still under vacuum open resin feed valve and flood the plastic container submerging the items to be stabilised. Release the vacuum and place container in pressure chamber and apply 5 bar pressure. Hold for a couple of hours (or overnight). Finally time to cure the resin. This we submerge the items in water at 200 deg f for a couple of minutes to seal the outer layer then into the oven for a couple of hours to cure the items internally. This treatment in water that is just off the boil results in sealing the outer skin of the items and next to no bleed on final baking in an oven.

[waynewag]

Good morning Casey. Yesterday my wife and I started our first stabilizing. We are stabilizing some really cool looking ambrosia maple pieces. It took a total of 18 hours to quit bubbling. My question is do I leave this to soak for a total 36 hours from the time we turned our vacuum off? Thanks for all the time you spend making these videos for people like us. Its really appreciated.

[garydgdk]

Casey, I love you videos and this one in particular helped me immensely. Appreciate your efforts 😊

[z]

Dense woods like ebony sink; the lignin structure is so filled with resins that no air exists to lighten it. The wood fibers are heavier than water or cactus juice, so once the percentage of trapped air has dropped enough under vacuum and bubbles nearly stop, the time the piece then sits under full liquid coverage is crucial so the liquid can fully penetrate the deepest areas. If removed too soon, the remaining trapped air can expand while the piece is being baked, enough that the piece will still float. Practically for turning or working that may still be plenty adequate to solidify the piece, but small air pockets may then be revealed during turning.

[RPMoore]

Thanks Casey. Just getting started. I think I have all the equipment that I need but working on the knowledge end by watching you and Zac a lot. I do have a couple of questions. Where do you store your wood that it draws moisture? How do you make a vac pot with a Mason or Ball Jar? Where do get and how do you use grape vine?

[DavidsWoodturning]

Hi, great video well detailed. Do you leave the vacuum pump ON for the full duration when sacking all the air out of the wood? Or just like the pressure pot once it gets to the desired level switch off and leave as it is?

[nemoemanon]

Doing lots of research in preparation to get into stabilization. Greatly appreciate this sharing of experience.

[mamabearssheshedtracykeato]

Fantastic video Casey. There are so many tips and tricks to learn about stabilizing and casting. I am glad that you covered a few very important ones. Thanks for the tip about the aluminum foil... It really does make a mess. I definitely will try with a drip pan next time instead of wrapping all of them individually. Thanks again for the tip.

[DKWalser]

Casey -- That's a very good list of tips. The only thing I might add would be to use TurnTex' "Oven Tamer" to precisely control the temperature of the toaster oven. (You can make your own if you have the skills.) It allows you to cure at a lower temperature, which translates into more of the Cactus Juice staying in the blank and less mess.

[kevinhoward]

Your videos are very helpful. I’m just getting into stabilizing wood. What brand of pump do you recommend?

[steve-craftedmakes]

Thank you Casey this will help me out a lot as just taken delivery of my vacuum chamber and can’t wait to start using it.

[workingclassanvil]

Hey man thanks! I'm a knife smith with a killer hookup for wood. Decided to stabilize myself, thanks for the info!

[jamesbarisitz]

I've been tapping a tack into burl and hanging them on a rod by wire in the chamber, points facing up.👍

[michaelwelch]

Great video, appreciate you taking the time to make it.