what to use on woods

[hardheart]

Okay, I went a little crazy with the wood on ebay. The scales I have that aren't stabilized are - amboyna burl, spalted maple, birdseye maple, afzelia xylay, australian jarrell, wenge, cocobolo, ironwood, ziricote, red narra, and camatillo rosewood.

I have some tung oil, couple quarts of minwax wood hardener (and a mityvac hand pump), and am looking at a source of thin/thick cyanoacrylate. Some of the pieces have small inclusions, a couple with fair sized cracks.

Any recommendations on what chemicals to use with what woods? I know the oily woods don't need to be stabilized, but am wondering what is preferred to apply for repair or a polished finish.

 

[Rob!]

IMHO (and it is very humble), everything you mentioned except the ironwood, coco and rosewood should be stabilized. It's realtively cheap and most woods - especially with complex grain patterns, will move, warp, crack over time. On the others, I'd make sure they are very dry and then seal with polymerized tung oil (many coats).

Rob!

nb; be careful what some people call 'stabilized'. I won't suggest those to avoid - but I will recommend Mike at WSSI www.stabilizedwood.com

 

[J.D.]

I just used my first set of Ironwood, and was told by the supplier that I did'nt need anything on the wood to seal it. I sanded to 1000 grit and lightly buffed with a white compound, if you over buff you will get a textured looking finnish, then just resand it and buff again. I use sanding dust mixed in super glue to repair small imperfections in the wood. Hope this helps.