Thread: My stabilizing set up

Here is my new stabilizing set up. I thought I'd start a new thread, rather than adding it on the a previous thread that listed several different set ups and comments. The fist photo shows the jar - a 1 gallon Ball jar, and the controls.
The second photo is a closeup of the control system. The valve on the left can be connected to a container of resin, which can then be added to the jar while under full vacuum. If you do this, you can remove the air from the wood before adding the resin - no bubbles and foaming. Haven't tried this yet. The upper valve on the right is used to bleed vacuum to the pump, while leaving vacuum in the jar. This is necessary because one can't shut off the vacuum pump until the vacuum is bled off - supposed to be very hard on the pump, as resin can be drawn into it. The valve next to the gauge is used to hold vacuum in the jar when the pump is turned off, and to let vacuum in when the pump is turned on. The resin used is ZK TR90 from Kennedy Custom Calls. I think it is the same as Cactus Juice. Removing air on the first run took about 4 hours, and the total run was 9 hours. I turned the pump off several times during the run. My gasket system isn't perfect, and the vacuum would drop 10 lbs. in about 30 minutes. I can work with that. The weight of the brush blanks almost tripled during the process. Cured the resin in a Black and Decker toaster oven in about 2 1/2 hours. I'm very pleased with the results. See my other thread for the first brush turned from the first batch of stabilized wood.

Very nice,that will work great

I can see you're gonna be doing some serious work with that apparatus.

Very cool. Looks like a nice setup

What did you settle on for Gasket material? and what are you using for a pump?

The gasket is made from a piece of 1/4 closed cell foam I got from the Axe Man, a local overstock and "junk" store. It looks like it may have been a yoga mat???? It isn't perfect, but it works good enough. The vacuum pump is a Robinaire from a vehical air conditioning service machine. Works fine - gets a tad hot - I'm running a batch now, and I just shot it with my infrared thermometer, and the motor is 146 degrees, and the pump in 116 degrees (F). I'll assume that is normal, unless I hear otherwise. The amount of foam and bubbles during the first 15 minutes is amazing - I bleed off a bit of vacuum - down to about 20 - until the worst is over. I've got 4 brush blanks and 3 pen blanks in this run.

I found the heat buildup to be high also but have run mine for up to six hrs with no issues.
Yep,the bubbles on the softwoods can put on quite a show.No gasket on mine,just lapped the glass edge flat and use grease.

One of the things I like about this place is the vast sharing of information. I love doing projects and making things. The inspiration here is also top notch. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

I found the heat buildup to be high also but have run mine for up to six hrs with no issues.
Yep,the bubbles on the softwoods can put on quite a show.No gasket on mine,just lapped the glass edge flat and use grease.

The reason I've got a mild gasket issue is I used a piece of 1/4 steel that I had laying around my shop for a top. I got it as flat as I could, but I got a bit of warp when I welded in the pipe on the left side (see photo). I wanted it to be in solid, so I tack welded it, and then sealed it with silicone on the atmosphere side ( the top). I can live with losing 10 lbs in 30 minutes with the pump turned off - don't that much anyway. The fitting on the right side is 1/4 pipe, and threaded into the steel top. Thanks for the info on pump heat build up - makes me more comfortable with what mine is doing. Sorry to here about your wood allergy issues. I'm ok so far, but I've had nowhere near the contact you have had. Wearing nitrile gloves and using a respirator when I turn and sand. Hope I don't have to go to the hazmet suit.
Peace

Here is the system running. Notice the blue-ish caste to the liquid. Is this true of Cactus Juice? Just curious.