Non-stabilized wood for scales?

killthelights

killthelights

Joined
Jan 6, 2016
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I picked up a piece of maple burl without realizing how soft it is. Can I still use it for scales? If so what do I need to do to make it stable enough to work? Thanks!

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Send it to K&G to get stabilized. Some do home stabilization with store bought resins or cactus juice but the results will not be as good as K&G.
 
killthelights said:
The block was only $15. Do you think it's worth the trouble?
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If it's a large enough block for a handle, I'd send it in. But then again, I typically end in 40 blocks at a time and it ends up being only $5-7 per block and this includes shipping both ways. Only you can decide if it's worth it for one block.
 
weo said:
If it's a large enough block for a handle, I'd send it in. But then again, I typically end in 40 blocks at a time and it ends up being only $5-7 per block and this includes shipping both ways. Only you can decide if it's worth it for one block.
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I thought it would be way more. Hell I might as well check them out. Even if it was another $15. Cool. Thanks!
 
If you only paid $15 and it’s enough to get a nice handle out of I’d say it’s worth it. Looks like a nice piece or burl.
 
They charge by the pound (post stabilizing weight) and a stabilized block is about a pound. I think it's ~$10/lb now...
 
How well are the blocks from K&G cleaned up before returning? Thx!
 
fitzo said:
How well are the blocks from K&G cleaned up before returning?
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They're not. That's one of the things I hate about doing large quantities and don't try to sell more of what I have because there's a lot of clean-up that happens to get to what you see when people are advertising handle material for sale. I start at whatever used belt I have that's under 60 grit, but a new 36 wouldn't be too coarse to start with. Just don't forget that you're not grinding steel....:eek:
 
fitzo said:
How well are the blocks from K&G cleaned up before returning? Thx!
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I’ve had two boxes of scales and blocks stabilized by K&G, they are not cleaned up whatsoever.
Imagine taking the blocks you send dunking them in honey and having that crystallize on the surface, that is what I was returned. I assume this is normal and grinds off easily enough with a belt grinder. The stabilized product is amazing when finished.
 
weo said:
They're not. That's one of the things I hate about doing large quantities and don't try to sell more of what I have because there's a lot of clean-up that happens to get to what you see when people are advertising handle material for sale. I start at whatever used belt I have that's under 60 grit, but a new 36 wouldn't be too coarse to start with. Just don't forget that you're not grinding steel....:eek:
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3fifty7 said:
I’ve had two boxes of scales and blocks stabilized by K&G, they are not cleaned up whatsoever.
Imagine taking the blocks you send dunking them in honey and having that crystallize on the surface, that is what I was returned. I assume this is normal and grinds off easily enough with a belt grinder. The stabilized product is amazing when finished.
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Thanks! I was afraid of that!. :) There was a stabilizing place in Iowa about time I stepped away that had a video of their efforts, and the description of the the blocks "dunked in honey" is most apt. Dunked and then hardened. They wrapped theirs in foil. Looked a mess.

I was looking at my wood stash the other day, noticing the significant number of beautiful but non-stabilized blocks from soft woods like maple and cottonwood burl. So, I'll bear your advice about cleanup in mind when I get to sending them. Plus, sounds like that'd be a good time to reduce the size of the bag of partially used belts I never throw out.

Thanks, again!
 
Yes, Mike at WSSI was our Go-to guy back then. He just sort of fell apart. Delivery went from weeks, to months, to a year or more. I think he has closed, but may able to find him at mike@stabilizedwood.com

Ken at K&G does superb work.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Yes, Mike at WSSI was our Go-to guy back then. He just sort of fell apart. Delivery went from weeks, to months, to a year or more. I think he has closed, but may able to find him at mike@stabilizedwood.com

Ken at K&G does superb work.
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WSSI! Thanks, Stacy.

Never heard a complaint about K&G, goods or stabilizing. They were already stabilizing stuff when I stepped away. I will send there once I get this all sorted. Silly how much handle material we collect, but sure is fun. :)
 
Do you have a guy or person you normally buy stabilized wood from? Maybe send it to them to either stabilize it for you, or include it in their next batch to K&G and pay them your portion. Just some thoughts. Thats what I would do.
 
If I were you I would find another 5-15 blocks and send a batch off to K&G to stabilize. Make it worth your time. I find my handle wood in the bush. You can salvage some really beautiful stuff out there.

Clean up takes a minute or two per block to get the crust off. It's not an issue when you look at the savings cost.

Similar to WEO it costs me $5-7 a block all in when I do it in batches of 20-100 blocks.
 
Randydb said:
If I were you I would find another 5-15 blocks and send a batch off to K&G to stabilize. Make it worth your time. I find my handle wood in the bush. You can salvage some really beautiful stuff out there.

Clean up takes a minute or two per block to get the crust off. It's not an issue when you look at the savings cost.

Similar to WEO it costs me $5-7 a block all in when I do it in batches of 20-100 blocks.
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That's a good idea. I'll find some more blocks that i like and send them all at once. Will open up my options as I usually only look at stabilized wood.
 
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