Stabilizing Woods?

[David Loukides]

Hi Guy's,
I am sending out around 8 lbs of mixed wood types for stabilizing. I understand that there is no way of guessing the Exact weight on the finished product, But....
In your experience on the average not including the super light and porous woods what is a ball park guess.
2 time the weight?
3 times the weight?
X times the weight?
Thanks
Dave

 

[Burl Source]

You are probably close if you figure it will double.
Some woods like Myrtle and Madrone might have a 20% increase. But the same wood if spalted might double in weight.
Buckeye and similar soft woods might triple.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I would say the same. I send it out in 100# batches, and usually expect to get billed for 175-200# finished product. As mark said, it depends a lot on the species and the wood, how dense it is, and several other factors.

Sometimes it seems a bit of a rip-off, as a wood like Black and White Ebony is heavy to start with and absorbs very little resin. This means you pay a lot for a little bit of resin in the wood. I think the buckeye and sycamore balance the equation, where they greatly increase in weight, and you get a lot of resin for the same dollar you put into the B&W ebony.

 

[Karl B. Andersen]

I send quite a bit throughout the year and find that I average about 8-9 dollars invested per block, including shipping.

 

[Faron Moore]

Mark is dead-on with his response. Doubling the weight on most woods does give a nice ballpark number. The more you stabilize or send wood out, the more you'll learn to estimate your costs. Most stabilizers should be able to give you a good working ballpark figure if you ask.