Vacuum Stabilizing

[Ray Bell]

From reading the different forums I know the pen turners use this at times. Would this is feasible for filling smaller cracks, or voids is bowl blanks, and does anybody make a system that will accept blanks up to 6" diameter or larger?

[Dave Mueller]

Ray,
I assume you are talking about Cactus Juice. Some of the guys in our club are making larger chambers or you can buy a larger chamber from Turntex, but that is probably not the way to go for crack in a bowl. First, regarding your question about whether it will fill cracks. If you use Cactus Juice, it does not. It will shrink as it cools and cause cracks in the filled area. I tried casting Cactus Juice in very small volumes and it ended up having a lot of little cracks. This problem was confirmed by Curtis at Turntex. Secondly, larger chambers require a lot of Cactus Juice, which is very expensive. For larger cracks, I use epoxy, normally filled with a thickener that is supplied by the epoxy manufacturer.

[Jim Leslie]

It won't fill cracks but I have used it on a small bowl blank about 3" X 3" X 2" with good success. I made a wooden chamber and put the blank in a plastic container and put the whole works inside my vacuum veneer bag. The pump shuts off automatically but comes on if the vacuum drops so I am able to leave it on overnight. Depending on the wood it takes a while to suck out the air. Then the next day I take it out and wait several hours for the resin to be sucked in the wood which also takes time. Bake it for an hour or so at 200F and turn it after it cools. I find it works out well for smaller items. Never tried anything bigger than that though. The finish is amazing as it is quite acrylic-like so a bit of wax is all I apply. It is particularly good on punky wood. I find too that the effects with dye are interesting as the juice penetrates unevenly. I found that it is not very effective on woods that are already hard like Rosewood.

[Dennis Nagle]

You can use a pressure paint pot like the one HF sells. The inside diameter is 12". Or you can read up on PEG. I bit more of a process but it will stabilize anything.

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-1-2-half-gallon-pressure-paint-tank-66839.html

[Jim Burr]

I stabilize in a 12"x12" tank. Stabilizing is just that, not filling. Cracks and voids are best done by more traditional means like CA with embellishments or other common means. For burls, punky, rotted wood, and very soft woods is where stabilizing really shines.

[allen thunem]

in respect to using epoxy with a thickener i have found a paste epoxy made by fasco. works great it has the constancy of thick peanut butter. colors well too.
google fasco to find suppliers



Ray,
I assume you are talking about Cactus Juice. Some of the guys in our club are making larger chambers or you can buy a larger chamber from Turntex, but that is probably not the way to go for crack in a bowl. First, regarding your question about whether it will fill cracks. If you use Cactus Juice, it does not. It will shrink as it cools and cause cracks in the filled area. I tried casting Cactus Juice in very small volumes and it ended up having a lot of little cracks. This problem was confirmed by Curtis at Turntex. Secondly, larger chambers require a lot of Cactus Juice, which is very expensive. For larger cracks, I use epoxy, normally filled with a thickener that is supplied by the epoxy manufacturer.

[James Combs]

From reading the different forums I know the pen turners use this at times. Would this is feasible for filling smaller cracks, or voids is bowl blanks, and does anybody make a system that will accept blanks up to 6" diameter or larger?

I made a chamber out of a 10" PVC coupler and use it with great success to stabilize bowels up to around 9" and a little plus. You can see it here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?167816-Vacuum-Chamber-Prototype). But as many above have said Cactus Juice(same as I use) is not for crack fill. I use Alumlite for that.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

If you go to the Canadian woodworkers forum and look for the thread Bowl casting 101 you will find a lot of info, there is a member that has been giving seminars on his way of doing this, I personally do know the person, he is a nice guy, name is Dave Bell.

If you look for his post in the turning forum you can find a treasure trove of info on this subject, so good luck with your hunt for answers, :D

[Ray Bell]

Thanks to all for the replies. A lot of good information here.