How do you stabilise wood, or where to send it?

G

Grapevine

Joined
Mar 5, 2002
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I have some green cut wood that I really like. If I want to have it stabilized so that perhaps someday it can be sent to a maker for a custom or used by myself on a kit knife, how do I go about it?

Is there a way to do it myself?

If not, does anyone know of a place that stabilises the wood for you?
 
Well I'm no expert on this but I can tell you a few things. I asuume by green you mean freshly cut and not color. First, the wood would have to be dried out. This can be done naturally by letting it sit in a cool dry place but it will take about a year maybe more depending on size. I think it can also be dried in a kiln but I don't know the specifics. The stabalization process involves infusing the wood with a liquid resin under pressure---not something you can do at home. As to whether you can have it done on a particular piece of wood I'd check with one of the knife makers suppliers like Kovels that sell stabilized slabs. If they can't tell you they may be able to put you in touch with their wood supplier who may be able to help. Good luck!

phantom4
 
Grapevine,first thing is seal the ends of the pieces of wood with a good coat of latex paint or glue, or anything to SEAL the wood to prevent checking(splitting while drying).You can speed up he drying process by making your own kiln. Just hang small lightbulb in a box, but check temp to make sure not too hot.I have known guys to dry wood using kitchen oven and microwave, also.I havn't tried the latter two.A good stabilizing co. is Wood Stabilizing Specialists Int'l Their e-mail, Mike@Stabilizedwood.com or www.stabilizedwood.com and ask for Mike or Cara. I don't think they will take any green wood, but you can ask. They are really great folks! Also, Mike can give you some really good ideas on how to dry your wood. Good luck, guy.
 
You can stabilize green wood. You need to soak it in a polyethylene glycol-1000 solution. PEG-1000 is quite expensive and only works on woods that are porous enough to allow the PEG to soak in. PEG will leach out of the wood over time because it is a waxy substance. So after sanding the wood to a fine finish you would have to coat it with polyurethane.

Polymer stabilizing after the wood is dry is probably the best way to insure that wood will not shrink or crack. Also, some people use multiple coats of a cyanoacrylate glue to stabilize wood. I have heard this works very well.
 
I like a well cured natural wood for grips. Walnut or Cherry feels like it was made for my hands. I also get a kick out of treating it with butcher block oils, and paste wax. Sure, stabilized wood is maintenance-free, but if you like the wood enough, you might just enjoy pampering it if it's nicely cured and used naturally.
 
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