Does anyone on list sell stabilize wood??

Thanks dave

Dave,
I think Andy has some posted on his site, Lamar Reelseats.

You can also find stabilized wood blacks for sale at knifeandgun.com.

Jim Smith

DAve,
I had to discontinue carring stabilized wood. There was just not enogh interest in the product after the last price raise. Mike Ludemen informed me that not only has the price of wood increased in the past 6 months, but the price of the chemicals used to process it increases at least once a year. Not many paople are willing to pay $20.00 for a 4" long piece of wood.


Andy Dear
Lamar Manf.

Here's a link to a site that sells stabalized wood for reel seats. Not a large selection but reasonable prices.

[rcoverengraving.com]

There are also some relatively safe products on the market that will get you close to true stabilized wood. I'm currently experimenting with a completely non-toxic home brew solution on a peice of spalted maple, but won't know the results for about 10 days. You can approximate stabilization with a hand operated vacuum pump and polyurethane. Email me if you want the details. I haven't tried it but those that use it say it work quite well. MinWax Wood Hardener is also supposed to work pretty well. If the main concern is water getting into the wood, finish the wood with CA and it will be completely sealed.

I know that many people love stabilized wood, and I completely understand why. It's a great way to use a beautiful, but soft and/or punky, piece of wood, and not worry about blowing it up. However, with some very careful work, you can turn almost all these types of wood in their non-stabilized states. And, for the cost of one stabilized blank of wood, you can often buy two or three blanks of non-stabilized wood (of the same species). So, if you did blow one up, you have more to work with.

The best way I've found to deal with those soft woods is to use CA+ glue on them. Once I turn the piece round, I then soak the blank in CA+ superglue, allow it to dry, turn some more (to the point that I've cut off the superglued part), soak again with superglue, allow to dry, turn some more, etc. The superglue "stabilizes" the outer portion of the wood that it soaks into, allowing the turner to safely take it off without fear of tearing the soft wood. If you run into a void, stop and fill that void with superglue and let it dry. It might take three or four times of "filling" the void, but that section won't cause a blow-out. Obviously, the correct turning speed and very sharp chisels also help in this endeavor. It takes a bit longer to turn an insert/grip/hosels/etc. with this method, but the results can be fantastic. And, the superglue soaking (along with whatever finish you put on it) will keep water out.