stabalizing wood

[welshman]

hi ,i was wondering if someone could answer a question i have,the better half and myself took the dog down the beach recently and whilst there i picked up a few pieces of driftwood which is spalted,but is a little 'soft',watched a video on you tube on stabalising but not really sure what resin to use as its an american video?,i have made a few dubbing needle handles [we use them for fly tying ] out of different woods and would like to use the driftwood as it has a great pattern in it,the other handles have been drilled out to put on a mandril
hope this makes sense john

 

[Jim]

Welcome to the forums John, you are asking a question about something i have researched myself a few months ago, sadly i got nowhere ... This was due to not having the time it takes to research, Frankie was also dabbling in this so maybe he will be along shortly and throw his findings into the pot ..


In the mean time this was posted by Penturn which may help you ... Penturn's Post ...

 

[2459anderson]

iv experimented with this as i love the look of spalted wood ,here is method i use.
i purchaced a second hand pressure cooker drilled hole in lid and fitted an automotive schrader valve, add varnish (depending on end finish required you use water or oil based varnish)
place wood into pot seal and add pressure leave overnight .next day open and drain timber and dry.

 

[welshman]

hi ,many thanks for the ideas ,had a brain wave last night but will be a couple of weeks before i have time to experiment,but is similar to 2429s idea will update when i find out if it works,i didnt know if spalted wood was normally soft or if its because it is driftwood
many thanks john

 

[bluntchisel]

Hi, John,
Is the wood soft because it's still wet, and impregnated with salt? Try putting it somewhere dry for a coupla weeks and see what happens. If it's still too soft to turn then try successive coats of CA. But you'll still need sharp chisels to prevent the wood from blowing up. As you can see by my user-name, sharp chisels are a rarity in my house!
Regards, Bob.