Scale Material Stabilization Questions from a nubie

zzyzzogeton

zzyzzogeton

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Feb 17, 2013
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I have 2-300 pounds of pecan in 10-12 inch long x 6-8 inch diameter chunks that has been air drying in a shed for nearly 16 months.

How much longer do I need to let it season before sending some of it off to be stabilized?

When I send it off, do I send it in large chunks, or do I whittle pieces down to "almost finished" size first?

Reading various threads on here and researching commercial stabilizers, one sends off big chunks and whittles them down if doing amatuer stabilization. If I could RELIABLY and COST-EFFECTIVELY stabilize it myself, I would, but reading the threads indicates home-stabilization is an iffy deal at best.

I want to use the pecan because

A. Pecan is the State Tree of Texas.
B. I think it's a nice hardwood with straight grain (in relatively short lengths) for small wood projects.
C. I am a "frugal" Texas farm boy who doesn't want to pay for stuff when a "free" 30 foot long limb dang near falls on the garage during a storm and I have to cut it up anyway just to get my car out of the garage.

I also have a bunch of mesquite available to use, but since it has a fairly high natural oil content, I'm not sure how well it would stabilized.
 
I would cut it to near the size you want when finished. Stabilizing is expensive so minimizing waste before hand it key to keeping prices down. Pecan I thought was a harder wood that doesnt necessarily need stabilizing but I have not used any myself. Some of it looks pretty good IMHO. I would start off with a few pieces and get that stabilized and see how it compares to the natural version. May take it really well or you may not notice much of a difference.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
I have 2-300 pounds of pecan in 10-12 inch long x 6-8 inch diameter chunks that has been air drying in a shed for nearly 16 months.
.
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Firewood size pieces? I dont think they would be dry enough on the inside. saw it into 1" or 1 1/4" thick pieces ( or whatever thickness you will use) and it will dry faster.
 
I suggest cutting it into handle sized pieces (I use 6 x 2 x 1.5 as my standard). Then pick through the handle blocks and choose the best ones. Bear in mind they charge for stabilization by the finished pound, so you don't want to send a bunch of wood that will never be used for handles. Discard any pieces with cracks/checks/holes. Discard any pieces that aren't attractive enough to use for handles. Pick 10 - 20 pieces that you think look good. And remember, when trying to anticipate the cost you should essentially double the pre-treated weight of the wood. They'll send you a final bill, but this is how you anticipate the size of that bill.
 
And also remember that strait grain isn't always the prettiest on knife handles. Find some knots and crotches to send off and save the firewood for the smoker. Where in central TX are you?
 
For harder woods I have had great results with a good drying cycle at heat, and a 5 day soak in zessner blonde shellac. Then let dry for 2-3 days and work to finished... Try to be as close to final size though as possible...
 
Frank Niro said:
A bleeding finger? Don't be so careless when using a knife. Frank
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That's a reminder to myself to not be stupid. :D Every time I have cut myself with a knife has been when I was using it for something for which it wasn't designed, usually, trying to use a folding knife as a screwdriver :( because I was too lazy to go find a screwdriver.

The chunks are in firewood size because that was the easiest size to stack in the shed while taking up the least amount of room.


jawilder said:
And also remember that strait grain isn't always the prettiest on knife handles. Find some knots and crotches to send off and save the firewood for the smoker. Where in central TX are you?
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In the boonies between Temple and Taylor.
 
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