Spaulted Maple Question

panch0

panch0

Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
3,415
I have some beautiful spaulted maple that is treated. The thing is I can scratch my nail accross it with some pressure and it leaves a slight indention. It is noticable by me and I am worried about it. Especially if a user roughs up the knife a bit. I saw in another recent post that super glue works. I have some teak and tung oil, will these suffice on finishing this handle material. I never was too much into wood working before I was into knifemaking. What I would like are some suggestions that I a newbie can do. Or not. Thanks for what you guys do!!
-frank
 
I just reread Bruce Bump's hidden tang thread and I will be looking for the glue and debonder he used and give it a shot. Thanks.
 
It is stabelized but seems a little soft when I press my fingernail into it.
 
You should not be able to press your fingernail into stabilized wood.

Was the wood professionally stabilized? If yes, contact the stabilizing company and let them know you have a problem. If they resolve the problem to your satisfaction, keep sending your wood to them. If you are not satisfied, find another stabilizing company.

If you "stabilized" the wood yourself, you got what you paid for.

We send 99% of our wood to WSSI. They do an excellent job stabilizing spalted maple.
 
Chuck Bybee said:
You should not be able to press your fingernail into stabilized wood.

Was the wood professionally stabilized? If yes, contact the stabilizing company and let them know you have a problem. If they resolve the problem to your satisfaction, keep sending your wood to them. If you are not satisfied, find another stabilizing company.

If you "stabilized" the wood yourself, you got what you paid for.

We send 99% of our wood to WSSI. They do an excellent job stabilizing spalted maple.
Click to expand...

You can't say it any better than that...:D
 
Take a drive over to Home Depot and pick up a couple cans of min-wax wood hardener. This stuff works greet as long as you don't follow the directions. Get a clean gallon paint can and empty both cans of hardener into it, put your scales in it and leave it alone for a couple of weeks. After a couple weeks goes by your scales should be sunk to the bottom fish em out and let em dry about a week. They will be like plastic. Wear a mask when you sand them cause that stuff is mostly ketones(wicked bad). You can even finish em on a buffing wheel when you do your blades just like pakkawood.
Jon"Petie"Ross
 
Has anyone else tried Petie's idea? I'd be curious what others think.
 
Min-wax works great you could even speed up the process by pulling a suction on the can. The only thing you have to watch is that pulling suction on it will change its stability and make it a little more explosive. I've saved a lot of pieces of wood with this stuff.
Jon"Petie"Ross
 
I soaked a piece of burl cherry in it for two weeks took it out and straight to the bandsaw it was just as wet in the middle as on the outside. I've been a woodworker for over twenty years trust me it works.
Jon"Petie"Ross
 
panch0 said:
It is stabelized but seems a little soft when I press my fingernail into it.
Click to expand...

Speaking from personal experience;
I stabilize wood but before doing it with vacuum and resinol I tried out minwax and some other over the counter brands of wood hardener. If you decide to use the minwax, here is how it worked best for me.

Here is the easiest way without a vacuum.

Use a mason jar with the flat sides. I used the quart jars left over from spaghetti sauce. Put the blocks in the jar and pour the minwax into the jar. use something to hold the wood down to keep from floating. Screw on the cap and set aside for a few days. With the flat sided jar you can lay the jar on it's side and turn it daily. When you think it is ready, open the jar and remove the piece you used to hold the wood submerged. Then check to see if the piece sinks or floats. If it sinks it is done.

Set the block somewhere to air dry. Outside is best because there are strong fumes that will get you dizzy. Do not leave it in direct sunlight. It will probably take about a week to dry completely.

When you sand, wear a mask because the sanding dust is nasty stuff. The wood will be a lot harder and take a smooth finish.

Now after all that, Bruce Bump's way with the CA glue and debonder would be quicker.

For future reference the minwax works best with walnut, redwood and oily woods. The solvents in the minwax are able to get past the oils in the wood.

I hope this helps, Mark
 
I wont use the minwax hardener. I ruined a lot nice pieces of amboyna and some other really nice exotics. Like a lot of folks I started with the mason jar, then went to the pressure cooker, then went to the paint pot, and now I send my wood to WSSI. :D

With the minwax, I had problems with white milky film after the wood got wet, and I lost a lot of color. It almost seemed like the color was leached out of some of the wood, after sittting in the hardener.

I get consistant quality results by having a professional stabilize my wood (WSSI), and that to me is worth a few extra bucks.

Larry
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top