Best way to finish unstabilized Buckeye Burl?

PEG is basically wax - used to slow down migration of moisture from green wood to help limit end checking while it dries. NOT the same thing as stabilizing it.
The rotted wood stabilizer from Lowes does not cure clear.
 
Polyethylene Glycol? I know Ethylene Glycol is antifreeze...wonder how the poly makes it different?

That elmer's stabilizer is latex based...wonder how well it soaks into the wood?

My scales are 3/8" thick...hope thats not too much either.
 
1066vik said:
PEG is basically wax - used to slow down migration of moisture from green wood to help limit end checking while it dries. NOT the same thing as stabilizing it.
The rotted wood stabilizer from Lowes does not cure clear.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the answer! 1066vik! looks like Stacey's answer is the bomb.com lol (:yawn:as usual :D:thumbup:)

Jason
 
The problem here is the word "Stabilizer". To a carpenter, stabilizing wood means filling in a rotten area with something that won't rot. To a wood turner, stabilizing the wood means soaking it in PEG to make it resist splitting. To a pen turner it means sealing the surface. To a knife maker it means completely impregnating the wood with a resin, usually an acrylic polymer, that will keep water and other liquids from causing the wood to swell and shrink ( mostly due to changes in humidity). Even different wood suppliers to the knife trade use different methods....and not all are true stabilization. Soaking in Minwax, Nelsonite, or other wood treatments is not the same as catalyzed monomers.
 
Well, I've used about 3/4s of the 1oz bottle thus far and the last round basically just sat on the top. So, after it dries today, I start cutting the handle shapes and we'll see how well my CA efforts paid off.

Fingers crossed!
 
bladsmth said:
The problem here is the word "Stabilizer". To a carpenter, stabilizing wood means filling in a rotten area with something that won't rot. To a wood turner, stabilizing the wood means soaking it in PEG to make it resist splitting. To a pen turner it means sealing the surface. To a knife maker it means completely impregnating the wood with a resin, usually an acrylic polymer, that will keep water and other liquids from causing the wood to swell and shrink ( mostly due to changes in humidity). Even different wood suppliers to the knife trade use different methods....and not all are true stabilization. Soaking in Minwax, Nelsonite, or other wood treatments is not the same as catalyzed monomers.
Click to expand...

Stacy hit it on the head here....Only thing I would add is that you also don't want the cured scales / block to be brittle either, and end up with cracking or chipping. I know at least one of the professional stabilizng shops adds a chemical blend that accounts for that. An end grain block dropped on the shop floor can tell you quick if its too brittle...;)
 
Good point.

Filling structurally unstable wood ( easy to break or cracked) with hard resin will "stabilize" it ( moisture-proof), but it may not be structurally stable much more than it was to start with.
 
So, basically, for a user skinning/hunting knife, I probably made a mistake in wanting to use this Buckeye burl. I just tested a corner of the wood with a exacto knife (part of the wood that wont be in the handle obviously :) ) and under the thin super glue layer, the wood is extremely soft. :(
 
your call, but I'd be pretty tempted to shape the scales, resoak in superglue, and use them anyway - worst that happens is at some point down the road you have to make another set -- and by then you should be able to afford a properly stabilized set of burl scales.
 
I agree with "William the Conquerer the Viking" (1066vik)

Just finish it and soak it one last time.
 
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