Hey all, thought it would be nice to share some things I've learnt using CJ and hopefully others will share their knowledge too and we can all learn!
1. Degas your juice! Trick we used to use in the lab back when I worked in college. Put your CJ under vacuum with no wood in it and you will likely still see bubbles! Some of this is air, but also more importantly residual water boiling off. I like to run mine for an hour after each stabilising session.
2. Store your CJ in the fridge after activation - this will increase the lifespan to more than 2 years according to manufacturer vs a few months on the shelf.
3. Foil - to use or not to use. I have tried both, and imo without foil, with as little surface contacting the oven grid (blanks stood on end), is the least messy. Of course if you have a ton of blanks, foil is essential to maximise oven space.
4. Get a better oven - my single biggest upgrade to the whole process. You can skimp on the pump - even cheap oil rotary single stage pumps will pull a good vacuum in small pots. But the ol' toaster oven, besides being unpredictable and potentially dangerous overnight (mine once went to 200C+ for no apparent reason!) just doesn't provide a nice stable temperature for drying wood (need 104C/220F) or curing resin (95C/200F). I got a lab oven (€!/$/£! :-O), I bought new but you can likely find one used as well for a better price. Just be sure it has a good and easy to adjust thermostat, and that it can go below 100C - some of them are meant for drying only so won't go lower in temp.
1. Degas your juice! Trick we used to use in the lab back when I worked in college. Put your CJ under vacuum with no wood in it and you will likely still see bubbles! Some of this is air, but also more importantly residual water boiling off. I like to run mine for an hour after each stabilising session.
2. Store your CJ in the fridge after activation - this will increase the lifespan to more than 2 years according to manufacturer vs a few months on the shelf.
3. Foil - to use or not to use. I have tried both, and imo without foil, with as little surface contacting the oven grid (blanks stood on end), is the least messy. Of course if you have a ton of blanks, foil is essential to maximise oven space.
4. Get a better oven - my single biggest upgrade to the whole process. You can skimp on the pump - even cheap oil rotary single stage pumps will pull a good vacuum in small pots. But the ol' toaster oven, besides being unpredictable and potentially dangerous overnight (mine once went to 200C+ for no apparent reason!) just doesn't provide a nice stable temperature for drying wood (need 104C/220F) or curing resin (95C/200F). I got a lab oven (€!/$/£! :-O), I bought new but you can likely find one used as well for a better price. Just be sure it has a good and easy to adjust thermostat, and that it can go below 100C - some of them are meant for drying only so won't go lower in temp.
