Old old wood!!!

T

travis payne

Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
16
Hey guys Quick Question.... I have come across some very old teeke and maqua wood from south africa. The wood came out of railroad ties that are 150 plus years old. It is my understanding that these are from the ironwood family. My question is, do I still need to have the scales I've cut stabilized? And if I do is there a way I can do it myself. Thanks for the help, T-Bone
 
some of exotic woods have enough of natural oil content to be water-proof w/o stabilization. See if you can polish a small sample of the wood you have and then
sprinkle some water onto the surface. If it beads up and runs down the surface
(hold it up or at an angle), chances are you don't need to stabilize. If the water
wets the surface, it is the opposite :)
 
thanks, I'll try that. I think it probably has enough oil in it to be ok. It is a very very dense wood. The small picture frame I cut the scales from weighed a couple of pounds easy.
 
rashid11 said:
some of exotic woods have enough of natural oil content to be water-proof w/o stabilization. See if you can polish a small sample of the wood you have and then
sprinkle some water onto the surface. If it beads up and runs down the surface
(hold it up or at an angle), chances are you don't need to stabilize. If the water
wets the surface, it is the opposite :)
Click to expand...

Thats a good trick but if you polish the wood with the buffer I would think the grease from the rouge will cause it to bead up. How about just sanding the wood smooth and trying it?

If it is african blackwood just send the entire rail road tie here and let me test it. :)
 
Those old railroad ties are treated with chemicals. Be careful when grinding them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top