Thread: Wood Stabilization, Pick a Pump

I was going to respond to another thread where the subject of wood stabilization came up, but did not want to derail.

I have been looking at stabilizing wood for some time now and from what I have found is, once you have the stabilizer, I plan on using Cactus Juice, and pump, the rest is jut plumbing and a pot.

Here is a good resource turntex.com and good comparison on pumps.

Some say the cheaper pumps blow out oil fumes. That’s the rap on the Harbor Freight pump. The good pumps like Robinair, are not all that much more, so I am leaning towards a more expensive pump. It would run it in the shop and it would run for a while.

I think once I get into it, I will do enough to make the cost worthwhile.

I like the idea of using a large pot with a smaller containers, holding stabilizing liquid and the wood, rather than vacuuming a small pot like Turn Tex makes, though I probably will start with one of his pots and scale up later. Once you have the pump and fittings, you can have multiple pots set up.

I know this idea has been kicked around here for some time and many have experimented with vacuum and pressure pots. Not much shows up in a search, and what does, are old threads.

I have a quantity of burled redwood and other woods and plan on cutting into 1X6x2 in blocks for stabilization then into ¼ in slabs for scales.

So what have you learned and what can you recommend to one wanting to start in stabilization? Looking more for comments on pumps and large pot vs smaller pots?

I use the HF pump,works to perfection even after 2 yrs,Just cannot run it in the shop.
Put in in the side yard outside and let her run.
Size of the pot makes no diff as long as you can pull full Vac.

Same a pix. Assure that you have a shut off valve between the pump and the pot and a vacuum break valve to atmosphere before shutting off the pump.. Open the break valve for atmosphere to the pump before shutting off the pump.
Otherwise, you will have a serious mess and a screwed up pump.
We used to use two valves so the pot could be left at vacuum and the pump shut off. I think that I sucked all the oil out of the pump or something like that happened but there was a mess.
Look how the Cactus Juice pots are made with a single valve to atmosphere!
~Richard

Geezer, I was thinking of a 2 valve system, specifically to hold pressure with the pump off and to protect the pump, will that work or does the pump have to run the whole time?

So, I don’t need 2 valves? I noticed he only had 1 valve.

I was thinking of using a large Stainless pot with a clear 1/4 in Plexi lid, so I could use separate Quart Jars and do colors in one pull. Has anyone tried that?

Thanks

Be carefull using jars,you can get hurt bigtime.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Geezer, I was thinking of a 2 valve system, specifically to hold pressure with the pump off and to protect the pump, will that work or does the pump have to run the whole time?...snip...
For that type of pump it must run all the time it is connected to a vacuum container. Otherwise it will lose oil.
So, I don’t need 2 valves? I noticed he only had 1 valve....snip...
Then the pump is vented from atmosphere at the same time the vacuum container is vented.
..snip...
Thanks

I was thinking of using a large Stainless pot with a clear 1/4 in Plexi lid, so I could use separate Quart Jars and do colors in one pull. Has anyone tried that?

¼" plex will bend alarmingly if the pot is over a 4" and may break. There is a reason those guys use ¾" with a gasket groove in it.
Cheers!
~Richard
PS..NO GLASS It throws supersonic shrapnel through the opposite walls when a vacuum container breaks.

Glass to a point is OK,but it has to be the right kind of Glass,Belljars have been used for hundreds of yrs,it is at least 1/4 inch thick.

Just do not not use jars,some people have used pickle jars with success,an accident waiting to happen IMO