Wood Stabilizing Question? Prepping for Stabilizing?

T

Taz575

Well-Known Member
I cut out over 50 pieces of Hard Maple to send out to WSSI. The moisture % is around 10%, so I was going to let them sit for a few weeks and then check the %; should I use end grain sealer on the pieces or let them do it naturally?? The bigger blocks started to split, so I lost a good bit due to that.

Here are some pics!
Block1.jpg

Block2.jpg

Block3.jpg

Block4.jpg

Block5.jpg

Block6.jpg

Block7.jpg


I picked up a Harbor Freight 14" 4 speed bandsaw on sale/with coupon for $288. Got the Heavy duty hand crank tensioner, riser kit, Iturra 3" tension spring and Cool Blocks. Timber Wolf 105" blade and I have some regular tooth Olsons for the micarta pieces I make, and a Highland WoodWorker WoodSlicer blade for when they come back from stabilizing. Some vibration, but I haven't installed the adjustable belt yet. Went through the big sections of the wood w/o any problems!
 
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When I sent larger blocks to mike at WSSI he suggested that next time I cut them down to 1-3 handle blocks. As far as the sealer goes if you are truly at 10% they are ready to go for stabilizing.
Do you have a tester? Or is this a Guesstamit?
I found I got much less waste & cost by trimming the blocks and sets down to 1-3 size blocks.
Some of those spaulted pieces look great!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
Yeah, most of the pieces I could get 2 blocks out of, depending on how good I am with the re sawing, some of the spalted I left longer so if it's punky, I may get one long piece and a couple pieces for bolsters/ferrules. I have a tester and have been using that. I tried to do 2x2" blocks so I can better figure out how I want to use them when they come back :) bu8t some of the wood was weird shape or had cracks I trimmed out. I wanted to leave extra to trim down and make into actual blocks since I am expecting some movement when they get stabilized. I figured I would cut oversize and them trim down more once I got them back. Some of the pieces are kinda plain, some are spalted like crazy, so there is a good mix. Plus, I got this wood for free, so I can't complain about that!!!
 
I weighed the pieces, around 30#. Prior to cutting, the blocks were at 10%, but were around 7" sq and 16-18" long. I tested several pieces after they were cut since they would have been in the middle of the larger chunks and they came out to 13-15%. I'm guessing I should end seal these and let dry for a while longer??
 
If I remember correctly, 11% is the MAX moisture level for WSSI to stabilize......several years ago, I sent a batch to them, and did not pay much attention to the moisture level.....several of the "wetter" blocks came back in nearly a horseshoe shape! Learned my lesson the hard way. :)

There are some really nice looking blocks in those photos. Make sure they are dry enough before sending them off, and you'll have some super nice handle material!
 
Taz575 said:
I weighed the pieces, around 30#. Prior to cutting, the blocks were at 10%, but were around 7" sq and 16-18" long. I tested several pieces after they were cut since they would have been in the middle of the larger chunks and they came out to 13-15%. I'm guessing I should end seal these and let dry for a while longer??
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Try wrapping them in news paper rather than sealing them. I do it and the results are great as it saves you from having to scrape wax off at the ends and the checking and cracking is minimal. Also, you can just put a few in a brown grocery bag rather than individually wrapping them and get nearly the same results, though the news paper thing works best.
 
Thanks for the tips!! I will wrap them up tomorrow when I get home from work.

I got these from as guy who does high end burl and wood turnings/art. This was his scrap pile that he was going to use as firewood!!!
 
I saw a video about salt curing steaks by placing the whole cut of meat in a rack over a tray of sea salt in a refridgerator. Any one try using salt or other moisture absorbing stuff or is it too quick??
 
Taz, I've used kitty litter and it works ok, my "fast curing," method for green wood is boiling. I've posted a few times with the in-and-outs of it, but if you are just wanting to remove the last few % to send them off, the microwave is excellent. Run for 10 seconds, let cool then repeat the process until its as dry as you need it to be. For the kitty litter trick, it cuts your dry time in less than half but its only worth doing on pieces that are nearly dry as green pieces will split and check on you. Anyhow, after you the kitty litter stops absorbing moisture, you can put it on a cookie sheet and bake it or set it out in the Hot Texas Sun to let it dry out and you can keep reusing it.
 
This stuff is fairly dry at 15% but I want to get it to at most 10% before sending it out to WSSI. Doesn't it leave a smell in the microwave to do it that way? I may try the kitty litter trick or the newspaper trick. I have over 55 blocks, so I am going to pick the ones I want to do first, probably do 2 batches for stabilizing of 15# each.
 
My wife gave me the old microwave to use in the shop since I'd already tainted it with some Black Locust Burl (smells like feet suffering from Jungle Rot). The kitty litter works pretty fast, it helps if you have air flow moving over the container with either sand or newspaper. Make sure that if you stack your pieces that you use stickers in between them.
 
I was going to set up a box with a light and fan in it to do a make shift Kiln, but wrapping the pieces in newspaper and a fan over them is much easier!
 
Drop point, you can use a cheap HF model if you just need to check MC% to have pieces stabilized. If you're working with wood and need something more precise a TimberMaster will get you there at about 275.00 versus the 25 or so for a ballpark HF model.
 
Taz575 said:
This stuff is fairly dry at 15% but I want to get it to at most 10% before sending it out to WSSI. Doesn't it leave a smell in the microwave to do it that way? I may try the kitty litter trick or the newspaper trick. I have over 55 blocks, so I am going to pick the ones I want to do first, probably do 2 batches for stabilizing of 15# each.
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Only if you are single!!!:biggrin: If you have Marital bliss? Refrain from putting wood etc in "HER"
Microwave! Even if you can't smell a thing! She will!:biggrin:

So Buy yourself a cheap Microwave for the shop. It's worth the under a $100.00 that a usable will cost.
Especially if your married!

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com/
 
Worse, still living with the parents :( But I just got a new shed that is my storage area for my rod building business and my dusty/dirty shop for the knife hobby :)

Still working on getting that Camo Laminate stuff down pat (I'm Tim J from Foodieforums), having some issues with the bubbles still, gotta try out something new in the next batch and I got some more colors that may contrast better!
 
Taz
I would square up those blocks before you send them to Mike, unless you have a reason for leaving them rough like that. All that extra material will not get used in most scenarios, but you will have to pay for it to be stabilized. IMO the ideal size is 1 x 2 x 5 give or take .25 here or there. That spalted will maple will come close to doubling its weight when you get it back, so save yourself some dough and cut them to size.

L
 
Yeah, I was looking at letting them fully dry and truing them up on a disc sander so I have a better idea of the grain and how I want to use the various blocks, then trim down for the cracks to a more final size. But the disc sander I want has been out of stock, so I am waiting on that.
 
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