stabilizing wood with your food saver???

S

Scott Fulford

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Feb 16, 2002
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I had an idea while working with some walnut yesterday,we have a food saver in the kitchen and I decided to try stabilizing a couple of pieces of wood with it.I soaked the slabs with "fix-it" spray acrylic fixative,then I placed the slabs in the bag and sprayed more fix-it into the bag so there was a small puddle(about two tablespoons worth) in the bottom of the bag,I vacuum sealed it,then put the bag in the microwave for 30 seconds,the wood went to fizzing and soaking up the fix-it like crazy.then while it was still hot,I cut a small hole in the bag to let the expanded air escape and re-vacuumed it.I`m going to let the wood sit in the bag for a few days,then open it and let the acrylic harden,do you think it will work??

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Thanks,
Scott Fulford
 
Sounds pretty interesting.........I'll be looking forward to more comments on this.
I was told, however,by an experienced knifemaker, that walnut didn't need stabilizing. In fact, I just put some scales on a knife without stabilizing it. (My father in law gave me a bunch of walnut 4' x 4" lumber). I will say this: walnut IS a hard wood that seems stable already.........but if I need to be treating it, I need to know.
Thanks for the post.
 
Well,I did it because I`m going to use these slabs on a hunting knife that will definately see use,plus it`s the only wood I had on hand at the time.I couldnt stand to wait like I had originally planned,I tore open the bag and set the scales out in the sun for a couple of hours and sanded one flat side down to 320 and buffed.......I think it worked.the wood has a different feel now,and it buffed up very nicely without darkening.While sanding I noticed that the tiny voids in the wood were filled with acrylic,I dont know how deep the liquid penetrated but there was significantly less liquid in the bag when I opened it than I had put in,it had to go somewhere.I guess I`ll know when I cut and shape them on the knife.....stay tuned.
Scott
 
I did the same thing a couple of months ago Scott. If you go back and look at the old posts there should be some information. It worked pretty well. I left it in for a week or so. Seemed to completely penetrate.
 
Getting the sealer deep into the wood is a big concern in stabalizing the wood. I thin my sealers, usually about 3 or 4 to 1 for the first coat or two. I like to use tung oil for sealing wood and it is easily thinned with mineral spirits. Tung oil does take a goodly while to cure though. I suggest at least 48 hours between coats for tung and longer is better.

In heating the wood you helped evacuate humidity in the wood and that is very good. Letting the gas out of the first bag was probably a good idea because that released humidity. You may also have thinned the sealer some by heating, and that is good. Check your container label for instructions on thinning.

I am interested in hearing more about your experiment.
 
I just had to get back. I have for a long time wanted to do the same thing with a rifle stock. I've thought of soldering a bunch of coffee cans together and filling it full of sealer with the rifle stock inside, cap it off and let stand for about 6 months or so. The cost of the sealer is just too high though for that much volume. That's alot of sealer to start out with. Your idea is the same except that you are evacuating the atmospher. For small slabs such as those for knives you could fill a small container with thinned sealer and several small blanks of wood and cap it off for several weeks. Upon removal, drying time would be relatively long for a saturated blank and the drying should not be hurried. Also, I would not apply any finish over the sealer finish, at least for a very long time. The sealer will be all the finish needed anyhow.
 
I use the food saver mason jar adapter with a industrial vacuum pump. Fill the jar with mini wax wood hardener and acetone you are good to go. You can put dyes in it to do bones too.
 
Rlinger, it wouldn't be that expensive. It should be cut about 2 to 1 with a solvent anyway. Get a gallon of floor sealer and two gallons of Acetone. I doubt the whole thing would cost more than 30 bucks if you do a little shopping.
 
I've used the mason jar adaptor and it works fine. I've also used an accessory to the food saver, a casserole looking container that has a valve on top. You can come back and take more vacuum from either one after the wood has leaked out some air. Don't use Minwax wood hardener in the plastic casserole container, it'll eat it right up. I know this.
 
Here are a few things I picked up on vacuums in industry. If the vacuum has been established at a certain amount keeping the vacuum established for a long lenghth of time won't do anything extra.Establishing a vacuum with the fluid to be used present in the container, is only making it more difficult to get a good vacuum to begin with. A meathod that has been dicussed which is the way that will give far better results is to create the vacuum on the item and be able to seal the item off from the vacuum pump by means of a valve. Have the sealing fluid separated in another container by means of another valve. When the vacuum has been created shut the vave from the pump and open the valve to the fluid.Warming the fluid will warm the material being done and help to open the pores to absorb more fluid. Leaving the material in the fluid doesn't help get better absorption if the pores of the material were originaly open since the pores would have been filled already. Sure if you are not using a vacuum the soaking thing for a long period of time will do something good and warming the solution will help. I have been told that the soaking thing with Thompsons concrete sealer or Min Wax wood hardener does help. Here again I was told place the material in a jar and add the warmed fluid. Place the lid on the Jar and let sit overnight. Remove and let dry. Hope any or all of this helps. Frank Niro
 
Excellent info on the previous post. As explained by our friend's previous post, it does make sense to pull the partial vacuum before inducing the fluid. I see now that the reason is that the fluid would be introduced under pressure (the result of the partial vaccum). I use 'partial' in describing the vacuum because no complete vacuum has ever been achieved by man except by me within my own head - testified to by the women I have known.
 
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