polyurethane question...

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KNIFE MAKER
Has anyone thinned polyurethane and put a piece of handle material in it and pulled a vacuum? Not to stabilize but just a nice deep seal....

If so...pros/cons?
 
I have not done that but based on my home stabilizing ventures if your material is pretty close to its final dimensions it should work well. My only concerns would be warping and whether or not the poly inside the wood would cure properly. I am not saying it would not I am saying that it is perhaps possible it would not. A heat box or lamp should prevent that though.
 
...and whether or not the poly inside the wood would cure properly
Chris...this was my concern too. I would probably sneak up on depth...which may mean a different experiment for the few types of wood I use. I think a good .06 deep would be a fairly tough handle....and not impossible to cure with heat...
 
Sounds like a great idea!
I think there may be a good middle ground between poly finishes and stabilizing....the harder woods should work well with a deeper seal...imo. I use min-wax polyurethane and it is so watery but makes a good hard surface. Just need to go deeper with it.
 
Remember the resin doesn't go into the wood under vacuum. The vacuum pulls air from wood pores causing a vacuum inside the wood. Then when vacuum is released the vacuum inside the wood pulls the resin into the wood pores.
 
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