Thread: I hate burl....

John, you are correct in assuming that the epoxy is displacing the gas bubbles in the wood and there are many ways to eliminate this:
One common way is with vacuum.
Another is with heat.
My favorite way is to mix a small batch of slow set and apply to a slightly heated wood surface. This allows the epoxy to thin without affecting the hardening properties. Then the first layer of epoxy is applied thin then wiped off, not removed completely, but so it is not producing a thick layer. This layer is allowed to cure to a tacky state where it hasn't fully set, but seems unworkable. Some times I will apply a second base coat to fully seal the wood, this second coat is treated much the same as the first, but with no heating. Then a final coat is floated on top of the base. This system allows one coat to penetrate and fill the open pores, then applying the finish coat before the base coat cures provides a true chemical bond between the two coats, add in that the base coat penetrated deeper this provides a secure finish with less chance of chipping or separation.

Gerrit that's how i apply epoxy finishes to my knife handles no matter what wood i've used and i've found it works best with some soft woods with looser grain,i even do it when i epoxy the blank and inside of the scales as seems to work better and is much neater for me,i do wonder if stabalized burl would have made a difference

Just curious, has anyone used CA to seal a wood, then used epoxy as a "high-build" finish? Just figured it may help with your efforts to keep the thin sheets from crumbling...

I don't recommend using CA as a base for any other finish. I find CA to be extremely brittle and subject to flaking. I prefer the bond strength of epoxy for that very reason. The biggest issue I see with epoxy finishes later is that people tend to use an epoxy that continually cures or has little to no flexibility.

I have not made a veneer from stabilized or stabilized a veneer other than to layer veneers into billets and stabilize them for turning later. I don't know about whether or not it would help this situation, but I would believe it to and would say that it is worth a try.