Stabilizing wood with polystirene ???

K

knifemaniac

Joined
Jan 19, 2007
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288
Hello, people. Any of you tryed to stabilize wood with polystirene (stirofoam), thinned in acetone? I am making my first try now. I dont have a vaccum pump now, but I will get some old fridge compressor to make myself wood stabilizing chamber.
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chemicals eat styrofoam for breakfast . I would not think it would be a good idea .
Also , acetone is flammable , I think you are making napalm .
 
i would be very careful with that stuff like oniell said. i dont think it would work either since some lubricants can also eat styrofoam.
 
I am carefull, guys. I will not drink it or set fire next to it. ;) It is closed and away. I will see what is going to happen after wood lay down one night in solution and get it dry. :) Lubricants like vegetable oils eats it?
 
petroleum based lubricants might. you need to experiment with a styrofoam cup. also anything used to break rusted nuts and bolts loose will eat styrofoam. there is one a friend uses called pb blaster. it will turn a styrofoam cup to goo in seconds.
 
Use Acryloid B-72. You mix the pellets with your friend, Mr. Acetone. :)
I put 1/2 lb. of Acryloid B-72 into a gallon glass jar, then fill up the jar with acetone. It works out to about a 20% weight to volume mix of resin to acetone.
Soak your scales until they sink, then leave for another few days.
Not professionally stabilized, but it works great.
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/B72_Acrylic.html
 
ONeill said:
chemicals eat styrofoam for breakfast . I would not think it would be a good idea .
Also , acetone is flammable , I think you are making napalm .
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I believe you are correct, this is the crude way of making napalm. Very dangerous and flamable. Your jar of stuff is a maltav cocktail waiting to happen. I would handle it outside the house. It is almost impossible to put it out if you drop it and it catches on fire in the house.

You will not be able to use super glue anywhere near your concoction. If you don't believe me, put a few drops of cyanoacrylate on some styrofoam and watch it eat it away.
 
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I have been using a method I devized that works well. I bought a used seal a meal at a thrift store that has jar sealing capabilities. I modified a mason jar to accept a hose from the seal a meal. I then fill it half way with wood hardener and put the material to be stabilized in it with a piece of stainless steel on top to act as a weight to push it down under the surface. I close it up and put it under vacuum for about 30 minutes.

It works well for me. Just don't let your wife catch you using her nice seal-a-meal.

I suppose you could do this with just about any kind of stabilizing agent. I just happen to only have Minwax wood hardener.
 
nearly any solvent will liquify polystyrene, including CA glue, so not sure about its stabilizing properties. I would however be very concerned with the styrene and benzene that you will undoubtedly be inhaling when its in the liquid state.
 
I'm more interested in seeing what happens when you put the wood to the belts and create heat and all the acetone has not evaporated since it is trapped in the wood and styrofoam .
 
O'Neel, man, you are very pessimistic. :grumpy: I will dry it for a week or so. :)Impregnating with oils also could set wood on fire. And I am using slow woodworking belt sander for the handles. it doesnt create so much friction and heat. now I intend to leave one peace of wood in solution unthil it stop swimming, and hit the bottom.
 
I also make lures as a hobby. I know a lot of the guys seal their wooden lures with the clear plastic cups dissolved in acetone. I don't know how well it would penetrate, but it makes a great sealer. This is toxic stuff, be careful. I would wear a respirator while making and using it.
 
Dear Gawd, why would you do this? Styrofaom is eaten away by good Canadian Beer - and there is lots of that in any self respecting hunt camp. Stabilizing should be done with MMA and VASO and and a talented craftsman.

Styrofoam? Hey dude, this handle is as tough as a stryofoam cup. :jerkit:

(first time I've ever used that smilie.)

If it's not just for fun, let the pros do it.

My 2 cents

Rob!
 
Only trying, people. Experiments are not bad, they wont hurt nobody. I did not make scales like that yet. ;)
My second try will be lexan/plexiglass. It is hard material, and Rob - stirofoam is 90% air and 5% polystirene. It is foamed to be soft. there is a polystirene in hard condition - like plastic. Plastic forks, knives, plates and cups (hard) are made from it.
Only trying, people. Just looking for a cheap method for stabilizing from scrap.
I know that there are epoxys, oils, hardeners on the market that will do the job along with vacuum, no need to tell me. Thanks anyway for advices.:) I love this forum. Every time I learn something here. You are great, guys.

Rob, what is MMA and VASO. Maybe I will be a talented craftsman someday. ;)
 
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Yasen, I hope you will still come back to this thread and share your results about how it worked.
Some may not have noticed that you are from eastern Europe, and that sending wood 1/3 of the way around the world to Iowa, USA, for stabilizing may be too costly.
I appreciate your desire to experiment, and am curious about your results.

MMA is an abbreviation for methyl methacrylate, the monomer for plexiglass. I don't know VASO. Perhaps a polymerization initiator?
 
If you are dissolving the stryofoam in acetone and then soakong the wood handle in it that will somewhat protect the wood.
It would be better to use the B-72 or wood hardener from minwax. These don't give you a professional job but do help to stop movemeny of the handle.(shrink growth)
TJ
 
Of course I will share the results and make pics. :) Now I am looking at little peace of wood that I soaked in stirofoam solution and I can see bubbles going out from the ends, so I will leave it unthil they stop coming out and the wood hit the bottom of the bottle. (I am pushing it under the surface with copper wire)
I wil try to find plexyglass monomer or I will try to make a solution with ether or acetone from pieces of plexiglass. What is B72???

Rob, there are strange bears in Canada. Special recycling bears. ;) I am sorry if my grammar is bad, people. I am trying. :)
 
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