Stabilized wood & burning in a stick tang

steveo83

steveo83

Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
88
Just wondering - has anyone used the hidden tang burn-in method with stabilized woods before?
Drilling first of course, but finishing the fit by heating the tang and pressing it into the slot.

Does the heat damage the resin in stabilized woods to the point of cracks/failure or does it behave as any other hard wood?

Cheers,
Steve
 
Well I had a problem with a stabilized block that may have been drilled too fast and the heat from that may have caused the block to fracture. I don't think I would try burning in a tang because the heat needed would be higher then the drill would have created, besides the smell would be horrible.
 
Personally, I think it's a really bad idea unless you're using something very simple like oak.
 
Most time people have a problem with stabilized wood, it is because of the types of wood that we stabilize. The woods are inherently brittle, soft, or unstable in some way. When you stabilize the wood, it improves the wood, but doesn't change the grain.

To answer your question would require knowing what the wood type is and how it was stabilized, but for most woods, the answer would be no ( not to mention the bad vapors coming from the burning resins).
 
I have successfully burned in blackwood, bircote, ironwood, and a few others I've forgot. Just do not get the tang red hot, a black heat will burn it in. Yes, you are taking a chance of developing cracks, but the tradeoff is a very tightly fitted handle.Use common sense, if the block is starting to feel hot, just stop for a while and let it cool naturally.

Dave
 
David Stifle said:
I have successfully burned in blackwood, bircote, ironwood, and a few others I've forgot. Just do not get the tang red hot, a black heat will burn it in. Yes, you are taking a chance of developing cracks, but the tradeoff is a very tightly fitted handle.Use common sense, if the block is starting to feel hot, just stop for a while and let it cool naturally.

Dave
Click to expand...

Agreed, this method seems to work well on some woods (Ie a hardwood handle I tested the other day) but I wasn't sure how people went about getting a nice fit with stabilized wood given that the burn in method wasn't an option. Drill and scrape seems to be the only way and thats cool - just worth a check I thought.

Cheers guys
 
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