Preparing wood for stabilization?

O

OTK

Joined
Feb 10, 2010
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I just got back from visiting my Mother in Kona and made it back with 75# of koa. I intend to saw most of it into blocks and send to WSSI to get stabilized. I am competent resawing but have never sent anything to the stabilizers. Any tips?

What is the largest block they will do? How much oversize should I saw mine? Of course some wood has cracks and burl eyes, will the stabilizing take care of this or should I not send that kinda stuff? Any good experiences with the dyes?

Thanks!
 
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I usually make mine 1/8th to 1/4 oversize. Not really necessary but it makes me feel better. You will have to check with them for largest block, it is much larger than any handle. Burl eyes send in cracks no. They might fill up but will look bad. A straight line on a curly surface sticks out like a sore thumb. Had to pull a handle a couple of weeks ago because of this. Dyes work good on maple and such. I would not even think about dying Koa. Biggest thing is it has to be dry. Like less than %10. Dryer the better. I send in less than %8.
 
Heres some of my bigger pieces of maple burl in BLUE, as an example....

Blue4.jpg
 
75 pounds of Koa? :o

I hear there's a new stabilizing place in Omaha, NE....let me know if you need the address. :D

The only thing I will add to Chuck's advice is that both WSSI and K&G have tested the moisture level in the blocks I've sent them since I don't have the means to do so. Both worked with me on wood that was just a touch too wet and helped dry it at their place.
 
75# at least! Ma lives in Honolulu, and I've been there several times....no koa anywhere and the koa crafts are very expensive. This was my first trip to the big island and the koa is everywhere (as that is where it all comes from). I expected to be able to find some, but like most other things in hawaii, I expected it to be costly. Nope. We stayed on an active coffee and fruit plantation and the groundskeeper was a woodcarver. His work in usually in very large pieces, so he had cutoffs galore. He gave me all I could carry. Needless to say I was/am pretty ecstatic.

This stuff is all air dried, so I will probably have to rig up a mini kiln to get the moisture down a bit more. Good to know they can work with me a little as I don't have a meter either. Adam, I'll definitely send a sample to that outfit in Omaha to see if they can match WSSI's quality ;)
 
To answer your questions about cracks and burl eyes, the stabilization will not fill cracks. If the cracks are not too large you can fill them with super glue after the wood is stabilized.
The wood does need to be dry.
K & G also does a good job of stabilizing.
 
If any on the wood has any wax on the ends, it needs to be removed. I just got some wood back from WSSI and that had to be done prior to stabilization. It is best to cut a little oversize.
 
I appreciate the tips everybody, thanks! In case you wanted to see a pic, here ya go!
koa.jpg
 
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